Trump's Dirty Tricks (An Apolitical Take)

I want to make it clear that I don't write about "politics." If you were to search the 14-year history of this blog, you would find, though, that I have written about the human condition surrounding politicians. Donald Trump has given me, let's say, much to consider in that regard. It's no secret: I have no respect for the man as a man, especially because I think he manipulates people on a level that I have not seen from a politician in my lifetime. That said: I think there are three types of people who support Trump.

1. Those who are racists and want to make America white again. (Because Trump's dog-whistles are pretty loud, like implying, recently, that Robert E. Lee is unfairly "no longer in favor," and then quoting him.) He's giving them his validation -- the way it was in the Stanley Milgram experiments: the authority is giving permission and encouragement -- "Stand back and stand by." Is he a racist? He may or may not be. I'm not sure. But maybe it is even more inhuman that, if he's not, he is simply reaching for the votes of racists. 

2. This group I feel compassion for: those who are fooled by his brilliant ploy of using the vague catch-phrase ("Make America Great Again") into thinking he is talking about that specific time in which they were happiest. When exactly was America great? "Oh," says the victim, "I remember..." (Yeah, I did call it "brilliant." If I say Hitler was a good orator, I am not saying he was a great guy.) Anyway, these poor people think Trump stands for all of the often laudable conservative values they espouse (some of which, to be clear, I also value); they just don't realize he's completely bamboozling them and that he, personally, holds none of the values they do. The paradox is that he is everything they, themselves, have taught their children not to be: misogynistic; a bald-faced liar; an whining complainer; an excuse-maker; an elitist. This is often the result of a lack of education. They don't know history and they have never read "The Emperor's New Clothes." Or, it could also be a willfully ignorant kind of hope. The conservatism I grew up with was about "truth, justice and the American way," not complaining, making excuses and bragging about where you can grab women. (Also, remember: the picture at the top of this post was made by Trump. It is not satire. This is the image he was literally selling.)

3. Those who really don't like him and know he is a dishonest creep, but who "like his policies."

It is the third group I would like to appeal to. The first two are probably beyond convincing. 

I remember having a long discussion with two very intelligent friends about Trump before the 2016 election. The topic was a philosophical one: How much does a president's character mean, in the grand scheme? After all, Clinton and even the sub-beatified Kennedy were not great guys. My friends (two of my best, to this day) felt that policy was most important. I remember saying that Trump, immoral worm that he is (I believed it then and I believe it now), was going to do great damage to the spirit of the country if not the body. I wish I had been wrong. (I know his supporters would argue that he was not the problem; I don't see it that way, and I am not hashing out that argument now -- that is about politics.) I think his example has shone the light on the hidden cock roaches everywhere. I think he has taught our young men that one can be president and treat women, including his own wife (he cheated on her -- there is no remorse), like garbage. (And, as I have said, he has also fooled otherwise well-meaning folks into his illusion.) 

In my 56 years alive, I have never seen such widespread, unabashed disregard for other humans and it comes in the wake of his influence. A MAGA lady at a rally, for instance, responding to a reporter's point that many children have died in Ukraine. The woman's response: "That's fine with me. Putin just wants back what is his." 

It is fine with her that children are dying. People like this never seemed to feel empowered to say these things out loud before in public interviews. Why now? It could be said I am using a false cause...but I don't think so. 

So, what is my message to group 3? If I am right about Trump's negative effect (you might disagree, but I can't see how) supporting him because you like his policies is a bit selfish: "I don't care if he is a disease to the national spirit, because I like his policies on the border." All I ask is that you consider that. 

I think it is nearly impossible to argue that Trump is a good person. He proves, out loud, every day, that he is narcissistic and unfeeling, and he is caught in lie after lie. He is clearly trying to win votes from racists. If you are okay with all that because you support some of his policies, then continue your Internet travels... 

 

Of January, 20, 2017 and Matthew 1, 8:6

As we approach the inauguration of soon-to-be President Trump, I hear the conversation shifting. I hear people chastising others for hoping Trump will fail; saying that if he fails we all suffer. True, I suppose.

I hope he brings us joy and prosperity. But, in fact I have no idea how he will actually do as President. In the end, I don't much care. I am dubious as to how much good or harm one man -- even the most powerful man in the country -- can do. I think that when a president does well, it is a combination of his efforts, the efforts of the rest of the government officials, the efforts and choices of the populace and of the circumstances of his given historical time. So, Trump could well be the president when things go well or he could be the president when things go due south on a jetski.

But, as I say, I really don't care. It is in the hands of fate (and of both the good and bad, hard-fighting elected officials) now.

What I do care about is that Trump's damage will be bigger than what he does as president. He is already a symptom of a dying culture. He is already a sign that any sense of manners, propriety and class are fading out of the American consciousness.

Now, our children will have a crass, loudmouthed, misogynistic egomaniac as their president. He is now the symptom of a societal sickness; on January 20th, he will become the cause of further decline. He is a bad example for our kids; for our people and for the world.

For me, it is not a question of agreeing or disagreeing with his politics. No, I really don't want to play the fiddle with a smile of self satisfaction on my face while Rome burns. But you will never hear me say that Trump is a good president. Not unless he becomes, all of a sudden, a gentleman. (For God's sake -- not, at least, until her pretends to be one, like some of his predecessors did. No, I am not kidding. It's like the difference between the student who fails but at least pretends his studied so as to show the teacher some modicum or respect... )

For a nut like me, being a gentleman is important. For a nut like me, sports figures and celebrities do have a responsibility to be role models. So, especially, does the President of the United States.

I know many Christians voted for him. I'd like to remind him of Jesus's words, in Matthew 1, 8:6:

"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."

Trump has shown us all dishonesty; a lack of compassion and a disregard of feeling for the unfortunate. His business practices are questionable, to say the least. He shuts down questions by raising his voice. He openly seeks to suppress truth by working to circumvent answering the press. He is a poor example for our kids. 

If we see a new era of prosperity, I will not change my opinion. Wealth is not cultural prosperity -- not all of it, anyway. Art, collegiality, manners, compassion, kindness...these are the things that foster prosperity. We can become a country of 98% millionaires under this administration and not become the least bit dearer in the eyes of God; or in the eyes of any gentleman or true lady; or in the eyes of history. 

To me, a "great" America is one in which respect and comportment are the currency of daily social commerce. Trump only knows one kind of currency. (If only we knew if he pays his taxes on it. as we have done with every other president...) 

Bigger Than Trump

So here we are. President Donald Trump.

I am tremendously surprised. Never thought it would happen. But I am certainly not going to contribute to the over-dramatics.

It's no secret I don't like the man. He is, as far as I am concerned, a horrible role model for our country and for our kids. But that does not matter anymore. It has not, for awhile. Bill Clinton was up to all kinds of inappropriate hoo-ha in the oval office, and it didn't put an dent in his presidency or his legacy.

I still think The President of the United States should be a gentleman/lady, but I am in the minority.

I haven't had to think about that much, because our last eight years have seen a true gentleman in office. Many disagree with his actions and policies, but it would be hard to say he was not the consummate gentleman.

There are those who argue that it does not matter; that a worm can, in fact, be a good president (which, at this point, I certainly hope is true). But I still have a problem with the fact that my countrymen elected a man who refers to grabbing women "by the p--." And, no, this is not standard locker-room talk. This is misogyny. If you disagree, you are like Trump.

All that aside, I think we all need to calm down. We have spent months as ants under the proverbial sun-focusing magnifying glass.

We have a system of checks and balances. Trump will not become a dictator.

True -- it has happened in the past. But, in the past, the governments in question have not been as brilliantly conceived as ours. I still have profound faith in the work of the Founding Fathers. Their foresight will hold things together. I have never had less respect for a president, but I do not believe he will be allowed to run rampant.

The pendulum is at the top of its rightward swing. It will, as it always has, go back and find itself in an equally ridiculous leftward place and everywhere in-between, over and over, even after we are all long-gone.

But, most importantly, I would appeal to everyone's innate ability to perform a lost art: transcendence. Life is so much bigger than politics. Yes, I know -- politics in the hands of evil people can lead to the end of life or even to life-in-death. When it gets to that level, we fight. Before it gets to that level, we should fight with pens and protests, but, in the end, we still have something much bigger than laws and court rulings and unfair taxes. We have lives.

One human soul, "like gold to airy thinness beat," stretches wider and farther than politics, elections, government or the whole stretch of human history. Real change will come when we harness that; not when we strap ourselves into a flawed system and then complain about where it takes us and then argue about it on Facebook.

But, in the meantime, the morning after the election...

...love remained. Husbands and wives kissed each other goodbye. Music was beautiful as ever. Babies still smiled. And children woke up recharged by their dreams and hopes as they trudged with backpack-drooped shoulders through the crackling leaves. Dogs stretched as they did yesterday and cats cleaned themselves on window-ledges, as ever before. God sat, chin on one hand, smiling gently, waiting. 

What will we do now? Each of us? It is easy to vote. It is harder to do stuff to make things better.

Why I Won't "Leave the Country" if "X" Gets Elected

My older son, Joe, is, as all young people must, finding his intellectual way into the world. He is extremely inquisitive, very philosophical and he is creative in ways that make me exceedingly proud. But, as a young man, he is, of course, apt to latch on to things he has heard that stir passion in him. The other day, he echoed the ubiquitous "If Trump wins, we should leave this country."

It just so happens that this was said two days ago as we were walking away from Sankaty Lighthouse in 'Sconset, on Nantucket. Only a few minutes earlier, we had passed "Footlight," the home where my favorite writer, John Steinbeck, had written East of Eden. I had completely forgotten he had written the book on Nantucket until the tour guide pointed out the house. Of course, my heart leaped with delight and I quickly took a blurred picture as we drove past...

...but only a few minutes later, there was my son talking about "leaving the country." The proximity -- in not only inches and feet but in my heart -- to my most beloved writer caused a discordant resonance for me. My son had rung a bell that a thousand people a day ring...but this time, it sounded broken...it rattled, like I would imagine the cracked Liberty Bell would. And like the Liberty Bell (rung-again) would, it made me feel pride in a country with a deep history and with a roll-call of fine human beings who did things both great and unknown.

I saw Steinbeck, silhouetted in a window in Footlight and recording his self-doubt (someday they will figure out I am not as good as they say I am) in his journal as he wrote East of Eden. I saw Lincoln in dark meetings, his soft voice urging his cabinet to fight for the Union above all else. I saw a simple, courageous man from Philadelphia, in 1866, driving his family in a covered wagon, out past the Mississippi, to claim the land offered by the Homestead Act (an act that encouraged African Americans and single women to apply, by the way). I saw Aaron Copeland at the piano adding notes to his manuscript for "Appalachian Spring"; Elie Wiesel exorcising his demons at the typewriter; Dr. King, his tie slack, his eyes watering, pondering the next line of a famous speech. I saw boys from my generation playing dusty baseball on a weedy infield on a summer day just for the joy of it -- no thought of scholarships; no travel teams to keep up with; no pitching and hitting lessons on the schedule -- just playing until the light was too low, a prelude to the night's dreams of the big leagues. I thought of newly-married couples, with no money, making love because they had to; because love and family were a need, not a business proposition. I saw a line of heroes and inspirations: Leonard Slatkin with his baton; Barber penning the notes of his adagio; Mike Schmidt, confident and almost defiant at the plate; Vinnie Colaiuta in complete command the drumkit; my own father sitting center-chair in a big band with his magical silver trumpet; Dr. Robert Ryan, his voice cracking with emotion as he read Keats to our little graduate seminar class; my wife, Karen, exercising every single dark morning at 5:30, to stay strong; my sons growing into fine, sensitive and moral young men...

...I saw all of this as my son and I walked a gravel path under a hot blue sky, just after I heard the words: "leave this country." And it occurred to me: hell, no.

I told Joe that I am too proud of the real great people of this country to abandon it, either physically or mentally, just because of the behavior of high-profile creeps. I'll never give up hope for America. There are too many good people living good, just and sincere lives, who are the blood in the veins. The President is not the country. The loud-mouthed flag-wavers are not the country. The Tweeters and Facebookers who spend their time spreading their political agenda and un-researched claims are not the country.

We are the country. "We the people" -- the ones going to work for others or for themselves; the ones cutting grass on Saturday; the ones trying to get better at golf or music or writing or dancing or fishing or at just being people; the ones who are trying to teach their kids to be good men and women; the ones who have no time for politics and angry online arguments; the ones who would rather read a book than a meme; the ones who walk their dogs, rain or shine; the ones who stand comically in bathrooms with their spouses, brushing their teeth before bed -- we are the ones who make this country what it is.

No politician; no president, good or bad, can take that away from us or "bring it back" to us. I understand how those in charge can change our circumstances, but they don't shape our American-ness.

I have very little respect for many politicians, but they are just some of the many pimples on the beautiful face of a great country. Yeah, the Liberty Bell is cracked. It has to be. It tells the truth in its silent sound.

My son's response? "Good point, dad. Can we get lunch soon?"

An Open Letter to Donald Trump

Dear Donald Trump:

Well, it didn't happen. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was sure that, maybe after one of your most ridiculous actions -- say, for instance, your hesitation to disavow the KKK -- that you were going to turn around and announce that your whole campaign was just a social experiment; that you were going to say: "Look how far you let me push you, American people, to support the most negative and insensitive views! Look how you let me appeal to your reptilian brain instincts! Let this be a lesson to you: Don't let fear and hate drive your decisions. I am officially dropping out of the presidential race. It has all been an act. How could it have been enything else? Just don't forget how you almost voted for a guy who was clearly running a campaign that alluded to Hitleresque ideas..."

But, much to my surprise, it looks like you are actually serious. You really do think your views are okay. You really do think you could shoot someone and get elected. You, like, really do hesitate to distance yourself from even the most heinous of people because of a fear of losing votes... And you are self-absorbed enough to think you can get away with constantly referring to how smart and great you are and then to say that you don't know anything about David Duke and white supremacists. My sixth grade son knows about the KKK. Don't they teach those things in the Ivy League you like to brag about having attended? Maybe I need to check the curriculum.

Astoundingly, you really did say and really did mean that, in order to defeat ISIS, "you have to take out their families." As John Oliver points out, you really are a potential president who advocates war crimes in public, without shame or apology -- not that an apology can erase that barbaric statement. What will you try to get away with if you're in office, with secret organizations of espionage at your service?

Well, I don't think you are smart at all, despite your insistance. I think you are good at making money through appealing to the lowest of human instincts or bullying others into submission. That doesn't make you smart, that makes you a one-trick pony and that certainly does not make you a reasonable presidential candidate. You don't think; you react and you cater to the low desires of the drooling mob.

I never write about politics, directly, on my blog, but you have forced my hand. I don't care who stops reading me because they like you. I don't care if friends abandon me because of my view. This is that important. I will vote for anyone but you. This election is easy. I have no confidence or interest in Hilary Clinton. I think that, despite her being the first real possible female president (which is something that needs to happen, soon), she is the same-old, worn-out, underhanded and shifty "white male politician" we have had for years. But if it is you against her, I will vote for her. If it is you against Daffy Duck, I would vote for Daffy.

Anyone is better than you. If the American public is a body, then you are its brain tumor. You came from that body's internal chemistry of ignorance and prejudice. You befuddle its thoughts by jamming its synapses and you, if not extracted by the vote, might realistically cause its death.

See, here is what and why you are: You are the result of the slow and steady diminishment of tact, manners and ethical backbone in our society. No one thinks old-fashioned values are important anymore and no one cares about their disappearance because, after all -- what harm can it do to lose these antiquated ideas? Comportment is a cliche, right? Respect for woman and everyone else? Pfft. Well, we are seeing the harm: people are actually considering voting for a classless, self-centered, misogynistic, narcissistic spoiled brat of an adult who thinks "winning" is everything -- more even than holding on to the ideals that make us human (and specifically, that make us better than the terrorists).

Being the president is not the same as negotiating business deals to get you more money; it's not the coaching of a high school basketball team that you can inspire with worn-out sayings off of posters with pictures of muddy cleats on them. It's okay for two guys in a bar to say that we should "blow up" so-and-so country; it's not okay for the President of the United States. The fact that Christians would vote for you just show me how far off the track of Christ some Christians have wandered. What would Jesus do? Well, I know for sure he wouldn't sacrifice basic human values and respect for life in order to avoid dangers that are only possible.

You are success without sophistication. You aspire to the highest office in the land, but feel no obligation to comport yourself in a manner that does the office credit. And no one seems to care.

Well, I do. You are not a gentleman. It doesn't sound like a big deal to you, I know, but I think the president should be a gentleman. You are not funny or entertaining to me anymore. If elected, you will be the worst choice this country has even made for its highest office.

My decisions about you are not made as a result of media spin but based on what you said and did, in plain view of the world, so I don't want to hear the "liberal media bias" argument. In fact, I am not "liberal" and I do hold many views some would see as "conservative," so this does not come from an agenda. I've evaluated your words and actions for months; this is what I think, not what my gut tells me. You can't get to that with me.

Any success you gain is yet another historical proof that masses of people are easily blinded by bluster and the stoking of their engines of hate with shovel-full after shovel-full of the blackest coal.

With an absolute lack of respect,
Chris

PS: If you ever do read this, don't forget to tweet about my being some loser/nobody and how my invalidates my thinking. Maybe you could call me a "dego" and say that I should go make a pizza...

PPS: I think America has been great since day one; flawed, but great, and I'm astounded that anyone wants a president who thinks it is not a great country...or is this just another example of your simplistic mind: the inability to think beyond generalities and say specifically what needs to be improved.

Make America Classy Again

At some point, at some indistinguishable time in recent history, someone decided that it would be cool to dispense with the traditional notion of humility and to brashly brag about his or her worth or achievements. At that moment, and for some moments after, it was refreshing; it was refreshing because it flew in the face of propriety. But because of this, eventually, confidence got confused with arrogance, and braggadocio became the norm.

Then, the landslide began and it went out of fashion to be subtle or to maintain composure, at least in terms of one's words, and people started just saying whatever they felt like saying. And that is where we are...

...and that is why we have a presidential candidate openly saying that America is no longer great.

I'm not a flag-waving patriot. I don't dwell in America as if I were a rabid fan at a football game: go team, and all that. But I do have a deep pride in many aspects of American culture; in its literature and in its music and in its historical sense of rugged individualism. There is a spirit here that lives nowhere else; maybe not better than anywhere else, but a spirit all its own. There are also numerous, gaping flaws in this country, but, as a whole, we do pretty well. And there is still "greatness" here.

Donald Trump wants to "make America great again." Further, I just head a senator on the radio refer to "our broken government." Could we possibly hearken back to the old days when we exercised restraint? Might it be wise not to trumpet our feelings of internal collapse (true or not) to the world?

As President Obama pointed out last night, we are a world leader. We ever have been and we still are. We still have the most powerful military in the world. We still innovate and we still have some of the finest educational institutions in the world. There's a lot of greatness in America.

If Trump defines being great as being a world bully; if he defines it as bragging to the world about our power; if he defines it as turning our backs completely on those who need our help or if he defines it as completely abandoning diplomacy, whatever the consequences, then, no we haven't been great. If he does define greatness this way, I don't want us to be great.

It amazes me that social mores have shifted so much that we are okay with (even enthusiastic about) a presidential candidate saying that the country is a mess. Brashness has become so accepted that we cheer it, no matter the stage on which it appears. Of course, there is a lot wrapped up in people's acceptance -- and even strong support -- of this, not the least of which is a suspiciously vigorous disliking ("worst president ever") for the first African American President of the United states, but that's a whole other issue.

What we really need to do is to make America "classy" again.