Just One More Time
There is much being said from both sides of the political spectrum regarding the President’s handling of the spread of the Coronavirus and his continually changing story, as he attempts to cast blame and mitigate his own actions. The conservative Right is sticking to the President’s first words claiming the potential pandemic was a hoax, while the progressive Left is spitting acidic vitriol at him for his mendacious monologues and inability to protect the nation.
Unfortunately both sides are getting what they deserve. Don’t misunderstand me, I am not trying to imply that we are experiencing the wrath of god for our sins, but rather that we are all in this together and if the ship is sinking it may just be because we all brought too much of the wrong baggage.
Donald John Trump, undoubtedly the worst President in our nation’s history, is not the problem...just the absolute worst symptom of our problem. Our problem is that for the entire two hundred thirty three years since the drafting and signing of the U.S. Constitution we have chosen to hide from our most challenging and debilitating issue.
It began with the Founding Fathers who, for all their bravery when facing up to the British Crown, allowed the base inequality we are dealing with today to become part of the fabric of our nation’s soul by refusing to deal with it up front. They avoided the confrontation of the inherent inequality of the citizenry as put forth in the Constitution, and allowed for the White male domination of the burgeoning nation. This was partly because that was the status quo, but more than that was the of fear that the schism created by opposing positions would cause irreparable damage to America: hatred and the attendant violence that might ensue.
Their worst fears were realized some seventy-three years later...Civil War. A war that solved nothing and merely created a resentment that ate at those who supported the Confederacy, while making the opposition feel vindicated. That support and I resentment is still evident today. And today, just like two hundred thirty-three years ago we still would prefer to as they say, “kick the can down the road.”
That is why we have the dangerous buffoon sitting in the Oval Office today. We have been fooling ourselves for years that we were the World’s moral and ethical leader, which is ridiculous given how White America has treated its’ citizens of color: from the enslavement of fellow human beings, and the attempted genocide of the Indigenous People, the justification of which was predicated on skin color and facial differences, to the incarceration of fellow Americans in what were euphemistically called internment camps (they were prisons). These actions were based upon those same two immoral determinants. But our moral degradation doesn’t stop with our treatment of people of color; we have, from our very beginning, elected to treat women just as poorly.
That we have claimed that we believe all men are created equal and then to promote White male privilege at the expense of both persons of color and women is obscene. What fears bring us to distrust those among us who appear different? How is it that we are critical of the rest of the world’s morals while ignoring our own moral failures? I have been to many nations throughout the world and can tell you that racial and gender bias appear everywhere, however, that is no excuse for our nation. Especially since we’re the nation that put it in writing...“We hold these truths to be self evident, all men are created equal.” What we do, we do to ourselves.
It is way past the time that we act as we do. It is time for every White male in this country to first have a chat with the person that looks back from his mirror. That’s right, ask the fellow in the mirror why he is biased, what he fears about women, and people that look different: and when you answer don’t use excuses that come from politicians...think for yourself. Are people of color or a different gender really different from you? Are you merely reacting out of fear and distrust of that which you have purposely chosen to not understand? Then, once you have had that talk with yourself, stand up and be counted with those who know there is no difference worth considering: know there is more to life than bigotry and hatred. And know too that if you want a nation of which you can be proud; a nation that doesn’t put a narcissistic misogynist in the Oval Office, a nation that leads and doesn’t follow, and a nation that does not fear the results of bad government decisions then dump your heavy baggage that the Ship of State can voyage on without fear of sinking. Quit being afraid and remember to live your own life and not be resentful of someone else's.
If America is to live up to her promise we must all get over our mistrust and fear of anyone who doesn’t look or think as we do. We need to remember what Benjamin Franklin said, “your fist stops where the other fellow’s nose begins.” Unless we learn that, there will be more of the same and our ever hopeful nation cannot recover from that.
We are the United States. That means we are a united people, and as such it follows that we must all be equal. As a seventy-three year old the Coronavirus and potential pandemic frightens me, but not nearly so much as the thought of this wonderful nation going the way of the Roman Empire.
