Friday, January 12, 2018

Where's My Line?


He has publicly mocked the disabled, insulted First Families and war heroes, demeaned women, called Mexicans rapist, deported Latinos, threatened Muslims, affirmed Neo-Nazis, dismissed the media as “fake news,” pulled out of the International Paris Accord, put down Meryl Streep, pushed aside the Prime Minister of Montenegro and now called the entire continent of Africa and other places “shithole countries.” It’s as if every day is Opposite Day in Washington and he purposefully says and does the wrong thing. A teacher in an elementary school reported that they had a rule that children could not say the same kind of things he says. He even starts eating his own, as he fires Cabinet member after Cabinet member who supported his agenda of pure evil. And still he sits in the White House masquerading as the President of this nation. How can this be?

I believe it was Lord Chesterton who said something to the effect of, “We all pretty much agree as to what constitutes evil. We differ in what we’re willing to excuse.” What is extraordinary to me is all the people who continue to be okay with this, either because they have a vested interest in the game and want to dismantle Obama’s legacy ‘by any means necessary’ or because their hatred and ignorance and perceived threats to their “good ole boys” club (or their fantasies of being allowed in the club) runs so deep that they’re willing to excuse it all. And while this demented unstable genie’s ass thinks that it would be better if people from Norway immigrated here, the Norwegians are looking at all of this and concluding, “Are you out of your mind? Me go to this shithole country?!!”

There used to be a TV Quiz Show called “What’s My Line?” where celebrities tried to guess a guest’s profession by asking questions. We need a new one called “Where’s My Line?” where the contestants try to guess what will finally make people wake up. Mr. Opposite Day already publicly told the wealthy folks in Mar de Lago, “You’re about to get a whole lot richer” because of his tax plan and still the working folks think the guy is on their side. Really? And the 53% of the women who voted for this macho stalker with 19 sexual misconduct allegations—are you still excusing him? Just wondering whether any black families, war veterans, Latinos, disabled, environmentalists, scientists, teachers, psychologists, folks who came from shithole countries, Meryl Streep fans, etc. etc. are still compiling the excuses as to why this is okay with them and staying on what they think is the safe side of the line. How do you sleep at night? What kind of twisted logic allows you to allow this?

Sigh. Keep going, you fool, until you’ve managed to alienate and insult every group and America suddenly grows a backbone. Your days are numbered.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Doug! I love checking in with your blog for a breath of fresh air. My family and I left Vietnam last year to start out fresh in a new place and to give me a chance to get reacquainted with my responsive side. We're now in the Middle East where I'm getting a new education in humanity. I loved reading your comments above (January 14) about if it all led to the 2 minute moment at the en of the Oregon Music Educators Conference with the two year old dancing along with the group of playful adults then it is a life well led. Amen! And now to your final sentence above. How can we be sure that this guy's days are numbered? What can we do to speed us past this atrocious American self-inflicted black eye? I get emails daily asking me for money from the same groups that have been sending them since I signed my first online petition for something close to 15 years ago. I want to actively participate in putting this behind us, in a constructive way. Is it enough to simply maintain a progressive philosophy and outlook on life?

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    1. Hi Stephen. Thanks for your comment. For whatever reasons, it's very rare that people make comments and it's probably a good thing because I would certainly try to answer them all! But my two cents about your question is both/and. Maintaining a progressive philosophy outlook and passing that on to your neighbors and certainly the next generation is a large part of the needed healing. Policy change alone can't accomplish the deep-tissue work of changing minds to be more thoughtful and hearts to be more kind. At the same time, the political/ legal/ policy side of things cannot be ignored, as it can cause so much damage. So yes, it's the time for showing up at demonstrations, giving money to progressive candidates in upcoming elections, writing letters and making phone calls—while deepening your own soul's work. Thanks for writing!

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