Avram > You are coming from a starting point that does not seem to be Torah based, in fact acknowledged with, “[m]aybe I am biased by Republican thinking.”
This is an important point. I understand your feelings but not your logic. It just seems that certain cultural and historical trends became so entrenched that there is internalization that this is the only Torah and defensive reaction to that. It is a reasonable reaction, and we had similar reactions in history. For example, we found ways to distance from religions that use our books…
It _seems_ to me that the community went too much in this direction, well past the time of danger we were protecting from. And that is why I am pondering this. I am not 100% sure that this is right. That is, if I were a Lakewood parnas, I would not start introducing math classes into BMG, but I would go discuss this and maybe do experiments. And as it unfortunately happens in online forums, discussing a position unfortunately leads to making and taking shots. I am trying to be impartial, but maybe I failed, To clarify, I am not claiming any facts, for example, that kollel members collect welfare. I am just saying that – as a matter of Jewish attitude – they should not. If someone says to me that they usually don’t, I’ll be happy to hear that.