Love my country, love my city, love the democratic process, do not love my president . . . a blog inspired by the 2020 RNC [almost] coming to town

 

As Donald Trump continues to double and triple down on his defense of Confederate monuments, I’m reminded of a core principle underscoring my opposition to his presidency. Most Americans likely have issues that they want to see their candidates promote – and on the flip side, they have those things that they cannot abide. For me, racism in a candidate is a clear deal breaker.

If this statement gives you pause because it seems unlikely to find a candidate from a culture seeped in white supremacy (like ours) that has not, at least inadvertently, supported or enabled systems of oppression, I see your point.

But I want my candidates to be part of the solution to this national struggle, not aggressive perpetrators of the problem. It is incumbent on all people in the US who profess to believe in equality to engage in a full-throated, unequivocal repudiation of the shameful chapter in our history marked by a Confederacy that was inextricable with the immoral practice of slavery. That racist legacy currently manifests in our economic, educational, criminal justice, and social mobility systems. To live up to the ideals of our country, I believe we must commit to actively eradicate those lingering inequalities. A very first step in all of this should include addressing the ways the Confederacy is still celebrated and revered – especially in shared public spaces.

For painfully obvious reasons related to this issue, from the very beginning Trump was not my guy. Early in his career in NYC, Trump Management was named in a lawsuit by the Justice Department for housing discrimination. Staff for his show The Apprentice reported that he used racial slurs. After the Central Park 5 teens were exonerated, he refused to apologize for calling for the death penalty against them, and continued to insist that they were guilty. He made a name for himself in politics by promoting a racist and ridiculous “birther” conspiracy theory that questioned the legitimacy of our first Black president.

After arriving at the White House, Trump’s priorities continued to reflect this intolerant world view, as seen in his chaotic and unconstitutional Muslim ban executive order, and his immoral family separation/asylum-punishing border policies. (I really do care, do you?)

After the tragedy in which protestor Heather Heyer was killed at a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, it took several attempts for President Trump to condemn fully the violence of white nationalists, and only happened long after his VP, AG, and several senators had publically responded. His silence was deafening – and much appreciated by white supremacist groups. “No condemnation at all,” the Daily Stormer wrote. “When asked to condemn, [Trump] just walked out of the room. Really, really good. God bless him.”

He loves to fan the flames of bigotry, like when he recast the NFL players’ peaceful protest against police brutality as an attack on the flag and those who had served in the military (even though Colin Kaepernick was advised by a veteran friend to kneel as a sign of respect), and called those players exercising their First Amendment rights “sons of bitches.”

His divisive rhetoric took aim at “shithole countries,” and targeted female American citizens of color serving in our government with an offensive admonition to “go back” to where they came from (the Bronx?)

He scheduled a recent rally in Tulsa, OK on Juneteeth, combining the site of one of the most horrific massacres upon Black citizens in our country, with the anniversary of when the last enslaved people learned of their freedom. At this particular moment in our history, with citizens still reeling from George Floyd’s murder by police, this tone deaf celebration could not stand. After thunderous outcry, he ended up rescheduling.

A long-standing theory that “the cruelty is the point” with President Trump suggests that this rally snafu (like many other Trump exploits and rants) was more than just coincidence. I’m not completely convinced that Trump knows the historical significance of some of his insulting choices. But I can guarantee that his most influential advisor, who has remained by his side amid numerous staff turnovers, exits, protest resignations and firings, does. Stephen Miller is a proud white nationalist whose influence has helped to perpetuate incalculable harm.

Regardless of the intellectual foundation of Trump’s racist tendencies, his instincts are consistent and despicable, resulting in endless dog whistles piercing our collective consciousness. As the country marched and protested and cried out against racial injustice, Trump recently threatened via tweet (how else) to release “vicious dogs” upon rioters – an unusual suggestion, unless it was meant to evoke the history of police violence throughout the civil rights movement.

When I think of these dog whistles, and of actually releasing dogs as a means of pushing back on a struggle for equality and freedom, my mind goes immediately to a Civil Rights mission trip I took with my church last summer. Among our many stops was Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham, Alabama, a site that commemorates the Children’s Crusade of 1963, when thousands of children participated in peaceful demonstrations against segregation. Images abound in this space that bring into sharp relief the pain and terror inflicted: police responded by spraying the children with fire hoses, beat them, and threatened them with police dogs. Hundreds of kids were arrested, filling the jails. The news footage of these atrocities circulated around the country and helped to fuel outrage that eventually pressured city leaders to agree to desegregation measures.

 

            

As our group later deconstructed these and many other searing spaces, it became clear that these issues were not ancient history to the Black teens among us. They bravely shared the reality of their lived experiences, an evolved but familiar story mirroring the pain of what came before. Today, as we contemplate the idea of defunding law enforcement, I remember one comment about the police in that discussion. Plaintively, quietly, almost just thinking aloud — and with profound sadness — one teen said, “I think the only way it would work, where we could be safe, is if somehow . . . the police . . . just didn’t have guns.” That calculus, stretching to try to accommodate and reconcile what was supposed to be, with the reality of what actually was, felt like a punch in the gut. How far my own experience was from this suffering; how far this precious child was from feeling protected and served.

                          

And how far I wanted to believe I was from images I saw on that trip. In exhibits at the Legacy Museum in Montgomery I confronted pictures of faces that looked like mine, spitting and screaming at children as they integrated schools. Innocents who were flanked by the National Guard, a necessary presence to keep them safe from people who looked just like me. I heard audio that sounded like me until it contorted with hate, women’s voices shrill and menacing, using vulgar language to dehumanize Black children and their parents.

As I took in the sprawling space that is the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, with its seemingly endless imposing monuments that each represent a county where lynchings occurred, I was forced to acknowledge the depth of the depravity that permeates our nation’s history. The shame and heartbreak came not only from the realization that lynchings were used as domestic terrorism to force people into submission to white supremacy, but that they were seen as sport by my people, who brought their children to picnic at the horrifying spectacle. Photos of those murders were made into postcards to mark the occasion, adding a final layer of repulsive injury to incomprehensible acts of immoral violence.

When I say that I want to see every last monument raised in reverence to this horrific history dealt with, I mean Every. Last. One. We should take a page from Germany’s book when it comes to how a country should acknowledge its history. We should never forget what happened; we can’t change it. But we should atone for it. At the very least, we should make sure proper context accompanies these structures, and provide an unflinching account of how these historical figures’ actions affected ALL citizens. If we’re unable to execute this idea effectively, the statues should be removed and put in a museum. (Charge admission. Put the money towards reparations.) Given the outcry proclaiming that removal would lead to  “erasing our history,” it’s highly ironic that in their current form these Confederate statues execute a most atrocious type of erasure.

And so. That is why my blood boils when President Trump defends these monuments, in a cheap play to his base. When he refuses to acknowledge the pain and harm they inflict and represent; when he revels in racist rhetoric; when he argues that we must protect our history.

I’m sorry. Whose history? That of “real” Americans? If we are going to laud the contributions of those who built this nation (figuratively/economically as well as literally), we would do well to be reminded of who that largely was. Spoiler: they currently don’t have statues erected in their honor all over the country.

To be clear, this is not to say that Democrats (or Joe Biden in particular), are beyond criticism where this issue is concerned. As Martin Luther King noted in his Letter From Birmingham Jail, “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is . . . the white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.” Democrats must not be complacent enablers of the status quo. Democratic candidates must not take the Black vote for granted; it must be earned by clear, decisive action to remedy issues of racial disparity and injustice. Biden’s history is imperfect – and includes past support of a crime bill that contributed to mass incarceration, his treatment of Anita Hill, his gaffes. But like our country, he seems capable of evolving. It should be instructive and humbling to all white Americans that many of our Black counterparts have extended a measure of grace to Biden, noting his failings but also his strengths, as evidenced in his selection as VP by, and subsequent relationship to, Barack Obama; and his securing the current nomination thanks largely to the support of Black voters in our country.

The promise of this great nation is embedded in righteous ideals of freedom and equality. But to realize that dream we have to keep striving to uphold our end of the deal. Joe Biden’s work is not done, the Democratic Party’s work is not done, and neither is yours or mine. We may start with putting away reverential signs of the Confederacy, like its monuments and its flag, but that is just the beginning. We must commit to keep at it: today, tomorrow, November 3^rd . . . and every day that follows, until our “self-evident truths” are held unimpeded by all Americans.

 

 

Previous UNCONVENTIONAL blogs:

 

READ THE FINE PRINT

 

LEFT TURN

 

SORRY, NOT SORRY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love my country, love my city, love the democratic process, do not love my president . . . a blog about the 2020 RNC coming to town

 

“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” – Mark Twain

At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Gold Star parent Khizr Khan gave a rousing speech in defense of immigrants and in support of Americans’ right to practice the religion of their choice, as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Khan’s son, Cpt Humayun Khan, was killed in a car bombing in 2004 while serving in the US military. Donald Trump had made Muslims and immigrants a focus of his odious campaign rhetoric, and Khan – affirmed by the deafening roar of the crowd – was having nothing of it.

“Donald Trump . . . Have you even read the United States Constitution?” he asked pointedly. “I will gladly lend you my copy.”

Mr. Trump did not take Mr. Khan up on his offer. Shortly after assuming office, he attempted to implement his long-promised “Muslim ban” in a hastily announced executive order, one that ignited stunned chaos across America. Unsurprisingly, that version of the order was deemed unconstitutional, and a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Supporters of President Trump argued that any president should be able to act in defense of the country; given Trump’s order did not specifically name Muslims, but rather targeted countries with majority Muslim populations, it should be allowed. But in court deliberations the intent behind the law could be considered, and the President’s many declarations – combined with Rudy Guiliani’s clarification that the order was meant to be a Muslim ban (if they could just figure out how to do it legally) – set the stage for subsequent roadblocks.

Is it too much to ask that an American president read/familiarize himself with a document that underscores our democracy? Unsurprisingly, it appears that every other president has, and somewhat proudly. Barack Obama liked to refer himself as a “constitutional professor,” a title that was met with some derision by actual tenured profs, since Obama was *only* a constitutional “senior lecturer” at the University of Chicago Law School for eight years. (Sigh. Why is “tan suit” immediately coming to mind? Where is the bar currently; it seems to have fallen completely through the earth and hurled into space out the other side.)

Of course, an expectation for Trump to read the Constitution would require that he . . . read. Which some advisors have claimed he does not, in spite of his “very, very large brain.” The idea that an American president should be able to tolerate some amount of processing and analysis via printed words seems, ironically, a no-brainer. But Trump has blown off daily briefings, historically a mainstay of providing information critical for our national security, saying he didn’t need them because he was “a smart person.” Of his distaste for reading these materials, his former economic advisor Gary Cohn remarked, “It’s worse than you can imagine. . . Trump won’t read anything – not one-page memos, not the brief policy papers, nothing.”

To be fair, others have noticed that he does read certain things, most notably articles from the press that are compiled by his staff. So at least he is a reader of newspapers . . . or was, before he began canceling the government’s subscriptions to them last week. Bummer. (Although the only papers on the outs are the ones that ever criticize him, so that’s awesome. What’s the point of a free press if not to lavish praise on the supreme leader, amirite?)

If President Trump is not a voracious reader, he perhaps represents the majority of the American people in this respect (it makes me sad to type this). It would appear that many of us cannot be bothered to do this one thing, even when it’s directly tied to the health of our democracy. All I know for sure when I hear people say “Russia hoax” or “witch hunt” or “total exoneration” is that they clearly have not read The Mueller Report. For those who think my take – so wildly different from, say, Fox News analysis – is suspect, let me offer some Cliff Notes. Here’s one fun part, that I’ve summarized*:

Although President Trump was aware of a Trump Tower meeting with a Russian contact who offered disparaging information on Hillary Clinton, he repeatedly told aides not to publicly acknowledge related emails, and personally dictated a statement (released by Donald Trump Jr.) saying the meeting was about adoption. As Hope Hicks and other advisors recognized that emails about the meeting contradicted these statements and would likely be leaked, they urged the president to disclose that information. At least three times Trump directed them not to do that. Multiple times he claimed publicly that he didn’t know anything about the meeting . . . that he was fashioning spin around behind the scenes.

(from The Mueller Report, Vol II, pg 106 *but please don’t take my word for it!!!!)

Apparently, hollering “Fake News” and publicly denying knowledge about something you were fully involved in is just considered media strategy – as long as you don’t make those statements under oath, or withhold related documents to the Special Counsel when he requests them. The American people can decide for themselves if they care if Donald Trump lies repeatedly, because these recollections are all compiled and recorded, along with the correlated documents, in the published report available to every citizen . . .

. . . who is willing to read it.

Ah, but now my bias is showing. And not just that of the liberal Democrat; perhaps more importantly is the partiality of the English major, the writer, the lover of books. Not everyone has the time or inclination to pick up a 448 page tome with 1,000+ footnotes (but maybe don’t comment on its findings, then-?). Plus media bias is a real thing, as is confirmation bias. It can be hard to know what/who to trust when reading about politics and political figures.

To this conundrum I have a suggestion (which is, in every way, the polar opposite of reading The Mueller Report): Go straight to the source.

Read President Trump’s Twitter.

Oh, but you’re not on Twitter; or you know he just goes on there to own the libs and act crazy; or you find that part of his deal pretty distasteful, you’d rather just focus on judges and the economy. But if you’re a citizen who choses to defend this president, it’s reasonable to take some time to absorb what he is doing every day – not through the lens of the liberal media, or the Deep State, or your snowflake friends.

I believe if you checked it out, you would likely land where I have regarding his behavior and your loyalty to him: He does not deserve you.

Speaking of Twitter, I recently came across a tweet by Neera Tanden who implored every American to read the devastating testimony of the Pompeo-hired Republican ambassador Bill Taylor regarding the Ukraine mess. To which I thought, oh hell. What are the chances? Will the American people read the transcript of this important statement? Probably not. Even if it turns out to be crucially important to the impeachment inquiry.

Ah, impeachment . . . another constitutionally legit exercise.

As for Trump, his Constitution-bashing “Greatest Hits” album – with favorites like Do the Muslim Ban, Media Is The Enemy (of the people), Democrats Overthrow Elections /Impeachment Blues—is ever growing. Just last week he referred to the “phony emoluments clause”  . . . THAT IS IN THE CONSTITUTION.

Paging Khizr Khan: Someone at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue needs to take you up on your offer, STAT!!

Actually, an entire country needs to as well.

“A word after a word after a word is power.” – Margaret Atwood

 

 

Other UNCONVENTIONAL blogs:

Sorry/Not Sorry

Left Turn

 

Love my country, love my city, love the democratic process, do not love my president . . . a blog about the 2020 RNC coming to town

 

“Are you watching TV? Anthony Foxx is on.” I grabbed the remote and found News 14 Carolina or CNN or some other local and/or national station that for the first, but not last, time would run the same report simultaneously about my hometown. That’s how I first heard that Charlotte had landed the 2012 Democratic National Convention. As it turns out, the fact that this heads-up came from my friend and writing compatriot Tracy Curtis was fitting. When the circus eventually came to town the two of us would be plucked from our stay-at-home existence and thrust into the thick of the action, writing for our local paper while trying to keep the family business intact. It’s not that you must have a girlfriend with you to have a really cool adventure that is full of meaning, and laughs, and exciting once-in-a-lifetime experiences. But man, it’s really, really fun when you do.

The thing about Tracy and me is that our writing mojo preceded our abiding friendship. When we first met, our oldest boys were in the same class at the church preschool. Much to my horror, I somehow had landed the Room Mom role. Much to Tracy’s dismay, she somehow had not. It was a particularly hectic time in my life, with my mother living with us post-knee replacement and my toddler and four-yr old systematically destroying my house. I was a little scattered, to say the least. When I had to send out emails for the class they were always, well, pretty much *close* to right, but not completely. Luckily, Tracy always quickly caught the errors and would kindly bring them to my attention.

“GOD . . . BLESS AMERICA!” I shrieked after the fourth mistake/correction, utilizing my new strategy for not cursing in front of the kids – a technique that left them clearly startled at my exuberant love of country yet with their innocent ears intact. “This woman has got to think I’m the BIGGEST idiot on the planet.” I wasn’t used to screwing simple things up, and I hated that my imperfections were displayed so publically.

At the class Mom’s Coffee, an event that’s not always exciting (but is an excuse to be showered, in normal clothes, and sporting full make-up – or a similarly composed look – at a time when that is not a given), we connected. I was on the front end of a master’s program at Queens University and was getting into writing; she was blogging for The Charlotte Observer about being 40 and pregnant. Pre- kids we had enjoyed unconventional jobs that had totally consumed our lives. Now we were stay-at-home moms. We had a lot in common, but also some differences. This is what you want in friendships, I noted at the time– but I wasn’t completely feeling that vibe six years later when Tracy was dragging me through the covert media entrance to do our arena tour the Friday before the DNC began.

“Ummm, I don’t think this is meant for us,” I said nervously as we looped around the white-tented walkway, gingerly stepping over taped down cords and wires. I thought about the end of the movie ET when the US government swoops in to get ET and drapes everything in white tenting. We passed someone walking purposefully in the opposite direction and his professional, non-trespassing credential glowed from his chest. I pulled my cardigan tightly around mine, naked and unofficial.

Our bumbling through the arena wasn’t helping the overwhelming imposter syndrome that had settled over me like an itchy blanket. Who did I think I was, trucking through the media entrance? I was not a columnist, like Tracy, whose blogging job had morphed into a humor column that appeared weekly in The Charlotte Observer. While I had finished my master’s degree several years prior, and did have to write a lot for my program, only a select few Organizational Communication cohorts saw those papers. I loved grad school so much: the complexity of communication, of writing, of how we connect as humans – but studying the effects of this endeavor on writers themselves had left me very hesitant to put myself out there. I saw how brutal the repercussions could be, with sometimes vicious responses to heart-felt, personal pieces. In addition, learning about the unintended but widespread phenomenon of falling down an endless internet rabbit hole left an impression. And so I became perhaps the only person in America with a graduate degree in communications who was not on social media, and eventually a blogger who only wrote under a pen name.

But when I heard that the DNC was coming to Charlotte, I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to write about it. I grew up in Charlotte, was obsessed with politics, was a life-long Democrat – heck, I was a high school and college friend of the mayor, who was primed to play host for the Queen City. The stars were aligned; I wanted to help tell the story of the DNC in Charlotte.

Trying to get that gig in an official capacity was a bit mortifying (and why I have a website today). I reached out to The Charlotte Observer very early on with a hot mess of a pitch. Unsure of what kind of writing they might need, I included a little bit of everything: humorous blogs, serious graduate research, mainstream freelance samples . . . all in a monster email replete with attachments, hyper-links, and cut-and-pasted excerpts. Hoo boy. (Retrospectively, I realize I probably should have just cut to the chase and put “I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL” in the subject line.)

For some reason I wasn’t immediately added to the team lol.

So I signed up to intersect with the convention in every capacity available to me. I volunteered with the DVAs, and the Host Committee. I worked on getting onto the convention floor. And just when I’d made my peace with the idea of blogging on my own about the many experiences I was now slated to have, I got the call.

I was going to be part of the editorial page team, representing the liberal side of the DNC experience in a column called “Left Turn, Right Turn.” The column would appear every day all week; I’d have a 5pm deadline, and after consulting with an editor, my essay would be posted immediately online and then appear in the printed paper the next day.

Daily deadline . . . online . . . in print . . . plus all of the commitments I’d made to volunteer. I’d teed up the first time I’d ever write publicly under my real name, and it would be for an international audience.

God . . . bless America. Left turn, you got that right.

As the event became imminent, I wondered how I would ever pull it all off. Figuring out bus schedules and arena spaces and a transformed uptown seemed like a good first step. It also occurred to me that maybe I shouldn’t act like a complete nerd while navigating this new experience. The rule follower in me couldn’t stay quiet as Tracy plowed ahead . . . but I also didn’t hesitate to go right along with her.

Besides, probably no one minded how we got into the arena. (They might have cared a little bit when we accidentally traipsed behind a press conference in full swing.) Unsurprisingly, though, the Secret Service didn’t swoop down to arrest us as we made our way from the back of the place to the front, where greeters and hall managers were getting organized for the onslaught. This wouldn’t be the last time during this action-packed adventure when my people would propel me forward in a way that embraced adventure and possibility. Boldness. It would come in handy during convention week.

 

 

 

Other UNCONVENTIONAL posts:

Sorry/Not Sorry

Read The Fine Print

 

Love my country, love my city, love the democratic process, do not love my president . . . a blog about the 2020 RNC coming to town

 

A couple of months ago, I posed a question on Facebook: Would you be interested in reading a political-ish blog (Unconventional) about someone who loves her country, and loves her city (host to the 2020 Republican National Convention), but who does not love President Trump? I wondered how I could square a desire to support my hometown as it carries out a treasured American tradition, with my ambivalence regarding this particular candidate and his re-election celebration. I said I was hopeful about reconciliation among Americans; I said I’d want to hear and consider the “other side” as it relates to the president.

Many folks kindly responded that they would be interested in that blog. I dutifully set out to write it; in fact, I attempted to write the first post twice before today. Both of those blogs were pretty benign. I tried to set a measured tone. I was very, very careful. I wrote one blog on my birthday, hoping if I posted it then perhaps I could mitigate the response from those who feel differently about America in 2019.

But before I could perfect them, and post them, the news cycle continued to explode. And while I did not want to be aggressive (at all), I did want to be relevant. And so I waited, trying to edit my way to an appropriate, but also timely, first essay.

And that led me to today, October 9^th, 2019.

Today is Yom Kippur, a solemn and holy day of atonement and repentance in the Jewish tradition. As I recognize the importance of this date, I find I have something else I want to say.

We, as Americans, desperately need forgiveness today.

Because today, the Trump administration hastily agreed to allow Turkey to send ground forces into northern Syria, and ordered our troops to stand down instead of protect the Kurds. Today, our soldiers were told to abandon those who stood shoulder to shoulder with us as we fought to defeat ISIS, and who lost over 11,000 people to that cause. Today, those Kurdish people will likely succumb to a slaughter.

[If you’re getting the feeling that the tone of this blog has changed a bit, you are correct. And I’m actually not sorry about that.]

As we approach 2020, and largely celebratory exercises like political conventions, I am confronted with our sobering responsibility as American citizens. We have a duty to take an unflinching look at the USA and evaluate our standing at home and abroad. Today offers a particularly instructive, albeit tragic, opportunity.

President Trump says he doesn’t want endless wars – but he is ensuring chaos and destruction with this move in Syria; our presence was essential there in holding ISIS at bay. His reckless decision came without collaboration, or coordination, or input, or expertise. It has been rejected by the military (the threat of this move prompted Gen Mattis to resign some months ago), national security experts, and our elected leaders. In fact, if I wanted this blog (and especially my first post in the series), to have a bipartisan bent, here it is: In addition to every Democrat I’ve come across, Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio, and Lindsey Graham all loudly condemn this heartless action. Even Pat Robertson said, “The President of the United States is in great danger of losing the mandate of Heaven if he permits this to happen.”

[Um I’m having an out-of-body experience quoting Pat Robertson in this blog. Did not see that one coming. Welcome to 2019.]

I am grateful to see this opposition.

I believe opposing this president is necessary. But this effort is unlike opposing those with a different guiding political philosophy (say, conservative versus liberal). Because I think folks from those different camps may still agree about the cornerstones of our democracy, about the importance of our traditions, about the dignity of the presidency, and about many of our common values as Americans. Or at least, there was a time when we agreed upon them. I think most of us, in spite of our differences, love our country.

I fear that President Trump, in his great and unmatched wisdom, primarily loves President Trump.

What happened today (and is happening as I type) underscores fundamental, on-going issues with this president. His complete disregard for the emoluments clause (which states that a president may not profit from  his presidency), was revisited again today, calling into question his motives given Trump Towers Istanbul. His current treatment of the Kurds is sadly reminiscent of an ongoing disdain for our allies, and his earlier abandonment of those who sacrificed mightily on our behalf during in the war in Iraq. And unfortunately, we’ve seen his rash, uninformed, inexplicable foreign policy actions before, notably when he implemented the “Muslim ban” without any coordination or planning. With unknowing, targeted people on planes in midair, or waiting to board planes across the world, American airport personnel scrambled to make sense of an extreme – and possibly unconstitutional – order.

There are human beings who pay the price for these policies. That has always been the case, regardless of who occupies the Oval Office, but it is striking that for President Trump, the human price never seems to be a consideration. As has been noted (regarding his border policy in particular), the cruelty often is the point.

As I align myself today with conservatives with whom I regularly do not agree, (and liberals with whom I usually do) my evolved two-pronged purpose for writing this particular blog is crystallized: first, to articulate explicitly and unapologetically why I do not support this president; and second, how – in the face of that obstacle – I may still support the democratic process and our treasured traditions (in this case, the 2020 RNC). And still affirm the right of those who heartily disagree with my take to hold their opinions and support whom they support; we are Americans, after all. Given the vitriol and aggression and anger permeating our culture, appeasement seemed like a noble goal for this space initially. But as I launch the Unconventional blog I have come to believe it shouldn’t be the only (or even the primary) one.

Today I revisited notes in my journal from a civil rights mission trip I took this summer (more on that later), and was drawn to a quote by Martin Luther King in his famous “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” When considering the make-no-waves white moderate, he lamented the citizen “who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice” . . . and I felt very seen – and called out.

Thank you for allowing me some space to call this day like I see it.

In my earlier attempts at this post, I ended with this:

“So let’s move forward . . . and pray for a contested convention! (Aw, just kidding. But not really. Hey, I’m doing my best – it’s my first post, lol.) How about this: Pray for America. Better, right?”

In my prayers for America – those of gratitude, and those of repentance – I would now add this: Pray for comfort and peace in all of the world. And especially today, for the casualties of a viciously unconventional American president.

 

Other UNCONVENTIONAL blogs:

Left Turn

Read The Fine Print

 

 

 

 

A partisan defense of Michelle Wolf

Well, I’m about to step in it. And I’ve done so well for so long, not coming onto social media (and Facebook especially) to stir the pot and write/scream my opinion at everyone within virtual reach. This is no small feat. I have had A LOOOOOOOOT of opinions over the last year or so. Every day I take in the news and my brain explodes and I have all of the feelings and all of the thoughts and all of the many, many frustrations – and I might let just a teeny little part of it out on Twitter, mostly through liking or occasionally re-tweeting something. But I rarely add my own words into the mix. I just engage in my daily internal brain melt, and resign myself to safe but uncomfortable quiet.

(I actually did write something political awhile back for Huffington Post. Then promptly left it on that site, and did NOT share it on Facebook. Now I can’t remember what the impetus for the post was. Maybe it was the travel ban. Or the transgender military decree. Or the DACA kids. In any event, I wrote my little snowflake heart out, in a piece that fully addressed my friends on the other side of the political aisle, and then made sure I did not engage them at all with my tirade.)

Why oh why is this the trigger that sends me flying to the keyboard? Of all of the assaults on reason, why this? I don’t know. Unlike other collateral damage situations from our current political status quo, no one was actually hurt, no punishing laws enacted, no civil rights threatened, and no humanity denied in this most recent pile-on.

If you love Trump, maybe just stop reading now. Because I do not. Love him. I do not love his administration, his rabid rallies, and his unrelenting combative default mode.

But I do love you. Still. Even if we don’t understand each other these days.

And . . . I love the point of Michelle Wolf’s roast at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner. Yep. I’m coming out of commentary retirement to defend a comedienne who was described by her FRIEND Seth Meyers as filthy, and who made jokes about (among other things): abortion, pedophile politicians, and the women in the Trump Administration.

I know lots of folks who are super offended by Trump —  by his tactics and his agenda, his lack of decorum, his gleeful ignorance, and his daily attack on the cornerstones of democracy (whoa . . . maybe should’ve let that out bit by bit and not “saved up” quite so much . . . or maybe my president shouldn’t refuse to be educated ever or ignore his skilled advisors or constantly feed off of chaotic discord at the expense of the American people . . . Damn. I’m really pissed.) BUT many of these same folks who really don’t like Trump and what he stands for did not care for Michelle Wolf’s remarks. I respect their take; it did give me pause. I have started and stopped and returned to this blog many times, over many months. I recognize that smart people whom I respect found Wolf brash, rude, and completely offensive.

The thing is, I’ve had a shifting of consciousness around what is truly and utterly offensive. I think the days of a startling word or a crass joke causing revulsion are long gone. How do I reconcile this seemingly hypocritical position with my disgust at Trump’s verbal rampages? That’s the point, actually. I wouldn’t love his aggressive mouth under any circumstances, but if he was all talk . . . then, whatever. But he backs his juvenile insults and ignorant attacks with actual orders that have devastating consequences for real people. If we only have space for some amount of disgust or disdain for unpleasantness (without losing our minds or becoming debilitated by our distress or our anger), then I think we have to hold that offended space for the unrelenting outrageous assaults by the current president – especially those that disregard objective truth.

What does it mean to have outrageous assaults on the truth? It means that our president lies daily. He says things that are demonstrably false. When confronted with his lies he often doubles down on them, or hollers “fake news” and insists he never said the first thing to begin with (even though his comments are typically recorded in some way, via tweet or video or any number of mediums.) He does not correct misstatements. I am not sure he believes he is capable of error. This is a stunning and delusional feat of arrogance, not to mention incredibly dangerous.

It is unprecedented. And please don’t say, “If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor.” The total misstatements made by Obama during his entire presidency don’t come close to equaling (in number and absurdity and consequence) the misstatements by Trump during a typical week.

How can Americans not universally demand this be rectified? Perhaps this moment has been a long time coming, aided by constant partisan spin, the echo chamber of our own biases, and solidified by our preferred channels or websites or talking heads. Maybe Colonel Jessup in A Few Good Men was right: We can’t handle the truth. Many of us don’t ever have to face it. Protected by our privilege we may choose to wallow in a delusional ignorance that requires nothing of us, while our neighbors suffer, watch their rights trampled, watch their causes mischaracterized and demonized. Maybe this works for some, for a while. But as Martin Luther King famously said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” The wrongs will be righted, eventually. Do you care which side of history you’re on?

Glennon Doyle recently shared an exchange she had with her kids. The question: would they have marched during the Civil Rights era? Before she could respond in the affirmative, her daughter replied, We would not. Startled, Doyle asked why she felt that way. Her daughter replied that they weren’t marching now . . . so it’s obvious what they would have done then. Once her breath returned, Doyle knew she had to step up, speak out, engage – surely a patriotic duty for a citizen who loves her country.

Which is exactly what Michelle Wolf did.

Granted, skewering the DC circus with an eviscerating and shocking stand-up routine is not the same (and in many ways is the other end of the spectrum of resistance) as peaceful protest, the dignified formality of many civil rights activists, the “we go high” mantra of Michelle Obama. But there is a time and a place for each of these things, and Michelle Wolf’s remarks were meant to light a fire under the increasingly despairing and subsequently complacent, or smugly ignorant and otherwise complicit, American people.

I think it’s most important to focus on the part of Michelle Wolf’s commentary that seemed to get the greatest blow-back. She was accused of attacking press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sander’s physical appearance, which garnered immediate and extensive disavowing and condemnation.

Here’s the thing. It’s ok not to get the joke. Or to get it but to think it’s not funny. But don’t lie about what Michelle Wolf did.**

Here’s what she said:

We are graced with Sarah’s presence tonight. I have to say I’m a little star-struck. I love you as Aunt Lydia in The Handmaid’s Tale. Mike Pence, if you haven’t seen it, you would love it.

Every time Sarah sets up to the podium I get excited, because I’m not really sure what we’re going to get – you know, a press briefing, a bunch of lies of divided into softball teams. “It’s shirts and skins, and this time don’t be such a little bitch, Jim Acosta!”

 I actually like Sarah. I think she’s very resourceful. She burns facts, and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smoky eye. Like maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s lies. It’s probably lies.

I’ve found three particularly instructive elements – especially given the criticism of it – to this part of her bit.

First, for anyone familiar with the disturbing, currently too-close-to-home story The Handmaid’s Tale (a dystopian novel penned by Margaret Atwood in 1985 and a current TV show addiction), the reference to Aunt Lydia is a brilliant parallel. For those unfamiliar with the story, Aunt Lydia is a woman who tows the oppressive, violent, and punishing party line of the government of Gilead, a philosophy that claims to be biblically based. She is complicit in helping men in power put and keep other women in submission, the “handmaids” who have been forced to bear children for infertile high-ranking government officials. She betrays her sex by aligning with those who seek to strip women of their rights and agency. She says what she is supposed to say and shapes an alternative reality that requires a complete suspension of one’s eyes, ears, and experiences to remain valid. She lies. There is no objective truth. Reality is only what the leaders say it is.

Sound familiar?

Notice that I did not mention what Aunt Lydia looks like – because that is completely irrelevant to the searing comparison to President Trump’s mouthpiece. Michelle Wolf very deliberately did not attack the appearance of any woman in the Trump administration. The complaint is with her dedicated service to a man whose misogyny is legend and whose dishonesty is routine.

The second instructive point is a good segway from the first, as it occurs when Wolf approaches – but keeps a healthy distance from – the issue of appearance. She references the professional make-up and hair services that Sanders ultimately utilized (noticeably) after a brief time at the podium without it. This change was remarked upon publicly by the White House chief-of-staff at the time, Anthony Scaramucci. Importantly, Michelle Wolf’s observation about this was neutral in tone – or even complimentary. Thus, the “perfect smoky eye,” a reference to a specific and difficult-to-achieve make-up technique, mastered by Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

The last point is the most important one. The overt reference to Trump’s lying, and Sanders’ perpetuating his lies for him, is harsh. But the fact that the president of the United States lies with such frequency and ferocity is even more so; it serves as an unfortunate foundation for his punishing presidency. His strategy of willful and pervasive disinformation perpetuates a horrible partisan divide in our country and weakens the institution of the presidency and even the strength of our democracy. Wolf wraps up this point with a bow: the ugliness of his lies is transformed and made palpable by Sanders’ delivery of them, in a desirable (by way of) professional form.

I have long revisited this part of Wolf’s speech – it felt so spot-on to me, so important, so critical, and so true that I was left reflecting upon its perfection, even (and perhaps particularly) when criticism and controversy swirled around it. The thing is, when lies are repeated over and over by prominent people with powerful platforms, they start to feel like the truth. They clearly have become the truth for some Americans. The way Barack Obama is a Muslim from Africa and the founder of ISIS; the way professional athletes kneeling to protest police brutality are “sons of bitches” who hate veterans; the way Mexicans are “rapists and murderers” and other immigrants are all criminals in MS-13; the way children languishing in detention centers after being separated – possibly permanently – from their parents seeking asylum at the border are just enjoying a vacation at summer camp; how the disavowing of all of our intelligence agencies while cozying up to a brutal thug who ordered an attack on our elections is “a good thing, not a bad thing.”

Maybe it took Michelle Wolf’s smoke-y eye bit to hold a mirror up to the illusion of presidential competence and prestige, disguised as patriotism and becoming ever bolder, that relentlessly bombards Americans’ sense of right and wrong. The thing about the “smoke and mirrors” phenomenon is that when it works, something appears to hover in space unassisted. Wouldn’t it be nice if the American people could turn this trick on its head when applied to the Trump administration (and those who make it possible), and instead of giving the legitimacy of the Oval office to consistently off-base, harmful, and self-serving talking points, to see and to know that – in fact – there is truly nothing there.

 

**Oh, the irony.