Musings: Red fish, blue fish in one pond

With Election Day a day away, America could learn a thing or two from a plate of herring.

Americans seem divided between those convinced their candidates will save the country and those certain the opposition will destroy it.

Political arguments have become so heated that family dinners sometimes require United Nations peacekeepers.

I’ve reached an unusual conclusion: American politics resembles an enormous platter of herring. At a Shabbat kiddush, a traditional Jewish gathering after Saturday morning prayers, herring comes in several varieties. Each offers America a lesson.

Pickled herring is sharp, sour and difficult to swallow. Sound familiar? Some politicians are so sour that putting them alongside cucumbers would produce pickles overnight. But disagreement needn’t become bitterness.

Cream herring teaches that a little sweetness changes everything. Kindness isn’t weakness, courtesy isn’t surrender — and listening doesn’t mean agreeing.

Matjes herring, mild and understated, reminds us of humility. Imagine a politician admitting, “Occasionally, my foe makes a good point!” That might be America’s most shocking campaign advertisement.

Wine herring urges us to celebrate life. Elections produce winners and losers, but afterward we’re still neighbors sharing one country.

Finally, my favorite: schmaltz herring. Rich in character, its goodness comes from within. So does America’s greatness.

Here on Long Island, I witness it daily: volunteers helping strangers, neighbors comforting neighbors, people asking not “Republican or Democrat?” but “How can I help?”

At kiddush, people passionately disagree about their favorite herring. Yet everyone shares one table. Unity doesn’t require uniformity.

Vote passionately. Debate vigorously. But don’t let politics pickle your soul. America’s future depends not only on who wins elections but on who we become afterward.

— Rabbi Anchelle Perl, Mineola