As we sit shiva, mourning for Dina with the family, all kinds of people come to visit and comfort us.  Some are our friends, some are friends of one of the dozen-odd family members.  And the subject of politics comes up. 

No one argues, because we are in mourning, and some people have the facts and have read all the documents, and some have their information from the specific channel they watch on tv.  And it is all becoming a mess in my head.  I know that the changes in the government are extremely destructive, but I don’t know the answer to the question I was asked today, “What is the worst that could happen?”  “Don’t ask me now,” I said, “All I can see are graves and weeping.”  “Oh, come on,” he said, “Isn’t there anything positive?”  I thought and thought and realized that since this government has been in power, and the religious parties have made petty demands, the price of the six-packs of diet 7-up I’m addicted to has gone down 25% even though prices of everything else have risen dramatically.  And I checked the price of disposable dishes so favored by the religious parties and they too are down at least that much.  The fact that Iranian drones are entering our airspace seems to pale in significance….