MONDAY — Each Monday morning my neighbor leaves his Sunday New York Times paper on my doorstep. The October 31st Magazine section had an article about the current president’s four-year trail of destruction; to individuals, our nation, and the world. Skimming the long, dense article, I thought of the pollsters who had assured us we would no longer suffer under his disorienting firehose of untruths and delusions. A wave of relief almost lifted me into the air!
WEDNESDAY — The vote tallies accumulated. Though the trend wasn’t following the pollsters’ predictions, I hopefully watched the evening television with two friends. It wasn’t looking good. Visceral memories of 2016 emerged as I feared a conservative’s clean sweep. I went to bed depressed.
THURSDAY — By evening, flickers of hope emerged. By Friday my mood was swinging to neutral, Saturday to excitement, and by that evening a wave of relief built again. Those new vote numbers were amazing.
SATURDAY — When Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and President-elect Biden joyfully announced their acceptance, I teared up — along with most Americans who are fed up with leader-encouraged conflict and divisiveness.
FINALLY, REFLECTION — The President
“The sins of the father shall be visited on the son, and he shall visit them on the nation — but that too shall pass.” Anon
Since he emerged onto the political scene, I have felt some sympathy for our current chief. Yes, he should behave as the leader of the free world, and yes, he is a narcissist and does all that the label implies, and yes, he is enabled by the sycophants and opportunists who surround him, but he is also a person, a human being, who deserves compassion — though not necessarily forgiveness.
“Before You Judge a Person, Walk A Mile in Their Shoes.” Anon, (Mary Torrans Lathrap)
No one gets out of bed intent on lying. We each do the best we can with the hand we are dealt. Some people are dealt such a rotten hand they suffer a life of misery and self-hatred. Try imagining what it’s like inside our President’s head. How do his actions and words make sense? When I put myself in those shoes, it’s scary. More like a nightmare.
My last blog, on personal responsibility, inspired several strong emotional comments. I said that what we do, our behavior, is the overlap of us and a situation. Who we are combines our genes and life experiences, particularly life with our parents and our culture. Sometimes a parent’s influence is overwhelming. That seems to be our current President’s situation. What his parents did, particularly his father, shaped his mind at an extremely young age, around age three.
MORE REFLECTION – The Enablers
Now, in full denial of conventional reality, our President rages against those same democratic institutions that brought him to power. In support, his party, having declared total war against their opponents (Mitch McConnell 2008, “Our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term in office.”) uses the President’s denial to continue their war-like actions — to dominate and undermine Democrats wherever possible. In war, these are your strategies. Sadly, it’s where our country has landed:
- Confuse and deflect — “The President has every right to challenge the results.”
- Lie — “There is widespread voter fraud.”
- Block — Deny the president-elect the resources needed to take office.
THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS?
When Mitch McConnell says, “The President has every right to challenge the results,” he continues what he’s been doing for 11 years, leading Republican efforts to destroy the Democrats. If the only game is total war, you don’t give an inch. Every situation is an opportunity to block, weaken, or destroy the enemy. It’s the only way I make sense of McConnell’s actions, which otherwise lack any good faith.
He cares nothing for the abstractions of democracy, human rights, community, civility. Like Napoleon, he sees winning as the only thing, attacking the “enemy” at every opportunity. That’s why he’s blocking the President-Elect from a smooth transition and why he’ll likely block legislation to contain the virus under Democrats.
IT’S TOTAL WAR
Coronavirus deaths count for nothing (245,000 American deaths and another 200,000 expected), if your only goal is demolishing your political opponent. He’ll block virus relief funds — that is, he’ll allow these massive deaths — to prevent Democrats from claiming any success.
Democracy is a fragile idea. It’s the opposite of authoritarianism. 85% of Americans are fed up with our divisive politics. Some leaders listen, some don’t. I’m hopeful for a better 2021.
Please give me your ideas or suggestions on this or other blogs. I do appreciate your feedback.
Thank you.
me, Barry Phegan
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