Where Have All The Jews Gone!??

Seriously - Where have all the Jews gone?
The movies Hollywood is pumping out are absolute crap! Bloody rubbish.

Now some (you know the type) might say Hollywood always pumps out sh*t. But come on...
We all know, like the famous Thomas J Watson Sr. of IBM said, if you want to double your rate of success, double your rate of failure. It's a well-known fact.

Those who take the most swings, DO fail And succeed the most. So - Hollywood puts out a lot of duds, and also comes up with some gems and a fair slew of not-too-bad (if predictably formulaic) movies.

So what's my beef? And what's this have to do with the Jews? And besides, aren't i treading on sensitive ground, here?

Just this: Forget all the religious labels, epithets, politics and the whole schebang. I'm only talking about the Jews as a cultural group. A group which shares in a common set of values and a shared history no matter where they might find themselves on this planet. And one I have great personal respect and admiration for.

It is an undisputed fact that many Jews came to America after WWII. For obvious reasons. In fact - Albert Einstein famously commented he would only live in a society where there was tolerance, freedom and where his rights were protected. (I'm paraphrasing.) He even took US citizenship.

It is also a fact that countries around the world compete for brains. There is the famous 'brain-drain' phenomenon which many poor and developing, and even some developed countries experience.

For those unfamiliar with this idea, it is simply that those people with the most brains, courage and talent will naturally move beyond their borders to greener pastures and better opportunities. Those of lesser talents will remain trapped where they are.

And it is this top 1% that can have a huge impact on the progress and prosperity of a country. For example - until recently, many of the best and brightest from Canada migrated to America in search of better opportunities.

Conversely, losing that top 1% in the brain-game can have equally devastating effects...

Now - consider if one country becomes the recipient of not one country's top 1%, but the best and the brightest from a whole continent?

Let's take this one step further. What if were one group that singularly stood out for its accomplishments --- in this case the Jews in Europe --- in every known field of endeavor: Business, finance, the arts, music, science, medicine and on and on and on...

What if - through some historical aberration, such as pogroms and persecution - this group migrated en masse to one destination principally?

Yep. I'm referring to the mass exodus of Jews after WWII from every corner of Europe to America. Wouldn't this sudden influx of the top 1/10  or even 1/100 of of 1% tend to have a magnified impact on the receiving country?

Is it only coincidence that America's great rise to power only really got underway AFTER World War II?

Some cultures have been more successful at adapting to, and maximising their effectiveness in the world. They've been more successful. They are superior. Others lag behind - even today. Of course there are some who say all cultures and civilizations are equal, but that is patently not true.

The measure of any creature -- including humans -- on planet earth, is its ability to obtain the basics ---food, shelter and protection. And then go beyond that --- to expand their domain of influence.

In human societies the mechanism is culture. So - back to the Jews. If -- as a people and a culture -- they can consistently, over centuries, outperform nearly every other culture on earth, then isn't it logical to at least suspect that maybe there is something superior in their culture?

Something which uniquely equips them for success in the world at large?

Some people will tell you it's something mystical. Bah Humbug - I say. It's their education. Plain and simple.
I believe they have a superior education system.
Not this is not a treatise on education. I'm coming back to Hollywood.

It is a well known fact there are many many Jews in Hollywood. Why? Let me just take a little crack at this. After all - my guess is probably as good as the next.

Anyway. If your people had no fixed piece of land to call their own. And if you were persecuted and discriminated against in almost every country, what would you do? Think survival - plain and simple. This is just human nature and our desire to live and breathe another day.

You'd probably ask yourself, what is the one thing that no one can take from me. And the answer to that beautiful question is : What's between my ears. My knowledge, my education, my culture... My ability to work intelligently.

And I believe that somewhere --- deeply embedded in their culture --- you find this almost obsessive drive to excel. Not to pass others, but to ensure their own survival in the face of overwhelming odds.

And as each Jewish boy and girl brought up in the temple will attest, they receive a rigorous and additional education before they even graduate from secondary school. An education which requires them to read and understand the stories and lessons of the Torah. This is a book filled with many many stories.

Stories of love, and war, passion. Stories of the underdog winning against a much more powerful enemy. Stories of deep human suffering. Stories of triumph. Silly stories. Wild adventures.

Just as the ancient upper class Greeks did for their children, Jews are thoroughly bathed in their classics. They are awash in many great stories.

I believe that's why they are such superb story-tellers - and why so many of the great story tellers come from this cultural embryo.

But -------- and here's the rub: In the last year or so, I've noticed that the genius is inexorably slipping away. The brilliant sets are still there. The same A-list actors. But the writing and directing.

OK. Let me spell it out. The spirit. The spark, The talent. The genius is gone. Most of the movies i've seen in the past year have been mere shells of their former glory. It's as if the body is still functioning, but the brain is dead.

Sure there have been two or three notable exceptions --movies that were both imaginative and entertaining -- even thought-provoking. But that's it. 

So my question is: Where have all the Jews gone?
Have they stuck their finger in the air and sensed danger on the horizon? Have the top 1/10th of 1% migrated somewhere else?
Are Hollywood's glory days behind it? And is the brain-game turning against America?

If Hollywood is any kind of leading indicator, the answer is clear...