The Mob, the Baron, and the Republic
A warning from Jewish history — and why it matters to everyone who believes in democracy
There’s a story Jews tell — not from scripture, but from centuries of lived experience.
In the village, there’s a Baron. He is powerful, rich, above it all.
There’s a Mob. Angry, volatile, easily stirred.
And then there’s the Jewish community — loyal, vulnerable, and caught in between.
When times are calm, the Baron uses the Jews. He makes them tax collectors, merchants, donors, diplomats. In return, he offers protection.
But when the Mob grows restless — because of wars, plagues, or rising resentment — they look for someone to blame. They come for the Jews.
The Jews, the story goes, run to the Baron. “Help us,” they plead. “We’ve always been loyal.”
And sometimes he does. Until it becomes inconvenient.
Then, the Baron does what he has done for a thousand years: he opens the gates, and let’s the mob have their way.
This isn’t just an old parable. It’s a warning — one that echoes with urgency in America today, not only for Jewish people, but for the survival of democracy itself.
In just the past six weeks:
Two young people were murdered at a Jewish community event in Washington, D.C.
Eight people were set on fire — set on fire — during a peaceful vigil for hostages in Boulder, Colorado.
The official residence of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Jewish public servant, was set ablaze while he and his family were inside.
These aren’t isolated acts of violence. They’re part of a chilling and accelerating pattern. Jewish Americans are being targeted in broad daylight — and the response from national leaders has largely been silence. At most, a placating tweet: “Antisemitism has no place…”
Not moral outrage. Not urgent action.
At the same time, President Donald Trump — lauded by some as “Israel’s greatest ally” — is holding talks with Iran behind closed doors, brokering deals with the Houthis, striking hostage arrangements without Israeli involvement, and touring the Middle East without stopping in Israel. He’s accepted extravagant gifts from Qatar, a primary funder of Hamas.
All while American Jews are being burned, murdered, and terrorized at home.
This moment isn’t just dangerous for Jews. It’s dangerous for American democracy.
Because in every society where democracy has faltered, the same pattern emerges:
First, the mob grows louder and more violent.
Then, leaders look away — or worse, quietly join in.
The targeting of minorities becomes normalized.
The rule of law starts to bend.
And the system doesn’t collapse all at once — it erodes slowly, one norm, one silence, one betrayal at a time.
Historically, the targeting of Jews is not just about hatred. It’s a signal — a warning sign that democracy itself is becoming unstable.
Because once a society accepts political violence against a small group, it becomes easier to justify violence against any group.
Once truth is devalued, once protection becomes conditional, once leaders sell out the vulnerable for the sake of power — the fabric of a free society begins to tear.
The Jews may be the first fed to the mob, but they are never the last.
If you care about democracy, this should matter to you — whether you’re Jewish or not.
This is not about partisanship. It’s about principle. It’s about refusing to accept a country where vigilantes can burn people alive — and elected leaders do little more than tweet. It’s about recognizing that political violence, once normalized, does not stay contained.
And it’s about seeing what’s happening clearly — before it’s too late to stop it.
For centuries, Jews have asked, “Who will stand with us?”
Today, the question is bigger:
Will we protect each other? Will Americans — across faiths, parties, and identities — draw the line together?
Because the Mob is not going away. And the Baron will always choose power over principle.
Democracy only works if the rest of us reject the ideologies of both.
If you believe in democracy, join Bright America in speaking out and share this piece with others. Contact your elected officials. Demand real consequences for political violence. And make clear — in public and in private — that silence is complicity.
 | A guest post by
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WOW .. one of the most succint powerful articles I have read in a long long time .. thank you .. As I read, I feel the pain of what’s happening .. it would help if we would all have some honest talk about who our leaders are versus who are not. As you say, this is about all of us, not just the Jewish communities. Were do we look to find examples of what to do?
Our problem is that about four decades ago, unbeknownst to just about everyone, fascists, the power seekers that for sure have no spiritual people in their midst, took over our schools.
Having started teaching in 1966, before they took hold, and then returning to teaching in 1990 when they were in full bloom, I knew we were in trouble because these fascists have everyone thinking that the problem with our schools is our teachers when called-to-teach teachers are our God given solution.
The fact that these teachers have been blowing the whistle on this evil takeover since 2002 at WhiteChalkCrime.com and at EndTeacherAbuse.org and no one with the power to expose this has done a thing about it proves these fascists succeeded at their agenda to takeover this nation by silencing these teachers.
They accomplished this with the same precision that Trump is now filling government leadership to make government his treasure chest - filling it with the most shallow profiles possible. I watched the unraveling of democracy’s pillar as a teacher. My administrators had the character and wisdom of Pete Hegseth and RFK!! They were profiles in selfishness.
I wrote a memoir of my teaching days so all who believe in democracy as I do can dig their way out of a mess destined for obscurity because of education’s low status and a massive number of educators silenced in the way only fascists know how to accomplish.
You don’t need to just take it from me that we’re about to lose our democracy due to what we let happen in education. Ulysses S. Grant warned how important education is saying: "In a Republic like ours, where the citizen is the sovereign, and the official the servant, where no power is exercised except by the will of the people, it is important that the sovereign—the people—should possess intelligence. If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason's and Dixon's, but between patriotism and intelligence on one side, and superstition, ambition, and ignorance on the other."
That’s before us now because empowered bullies are running corrupt, inept schools that abuse teachers and their unions, turning them into puppets, and consequently many Americans into forgotten men and women rather than citizens. Yes, our teachers unions became complicit due to fear. They cannot be trusted!
Abraham Lincoln warned, "The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next."
Many warned us. And that was well before social media with its power to make us deeply stupid inflicted on us a desperate need for authentic education, the spiritual antidote that is kryptonite to fascism.
I’ve tried to add a foundation to what this generation’s brave politicians must do to ward off the fascist onslaught we’re now living through. They must understand how they pulled the rug out from under us or there’s no hope we can put it back together. We must have schools that produce citizens once again. Our schools are our only spiritual institution. Thus, now we have none.
The story of my Jewish heritage may have inspired me to not give up despite doing this against-the-odds work since 1995. However, anyone from any background who believes in good over evil must start listening to teachers as they are here to make sure good prevails.