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Editor, Asbury Park Sun,

Rabbi Zalman Schater-Shalomi at 85 says this: “When you’re in the December of your years and you know you are coming to the end of your tour of duty, what is the spiritual work of this time, and how do you prepare for the mystery?” He is talking about death and dying.

I, at the age of 81, am in the “December of my years,” but rather than write about death and dying, I want to write about life and living. I do this by saying (just saying) that I have come to the conclusion that the challenge/opportunity for us in the 21st century is in acknowledging and transforming the negativism that possesses all of us, regardless of our race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, politics or anything else.

The definition of -ism that I favor is this: “a distinctive practice, system or philosophy, ideology, or artistic movement.” My contention is that all of us, in one way or another, live with -isms that are expressed negatively. The difference is that some have the power to enforce their “negative-isms,” others do not.

I use the acronym C.R.A.S.H. to suggest that you who will live to see much more of the 21st century than I, will have the opportunity, first, to challenge, secondly, to personally and collectively confront, reverse, and transform these -isms. They are, classism, racism, ageism, sexism and heterosexism.

Rabbi Zalman, and Sara Davidson, the authors of “The December Project,” conclude their book with exercises. One of them, “Let Go,” quotes what Plato said to sum up his philosophy, “practice dying.” Sara Davidson suggests this means: “. . . dying to the past, dying to the known, and opening your arms to the unknown.”

My hope is that all who read this, in Asbury Park and beyond, will “open their arms to the unknown,” believing that we as individuals, as a community, as a nation and a world, if we do this, will achieve far beyond our expectations. Regardless of what we believe about or how we confront in ourselves and in society the -isms, of racism, ageism, sexism or heterosexism, our larger task is to confront classism in the USA, whether shaped by economics, education, or both. Classism is the challenge of the 21st century.

— Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell, Asbury Park

[This letter represents the opinion of its writer and is not representative of any opinion of the Asbury Park Sun staff. All readers are welcome to submit Letters to the Editor to news@asburyparksun.com for our consideration. For guidelines on letter-writing and submission, click here.]

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