Trump began with the usual platitudes...and...corny as they always are, he had me feeling good...for 2 or 3 minutes. But the real Trump quickly surfaced and the speech that was supposedly meant to unify, was actually bitterly divisive.
Flag Patriotism—Given the facts of Trump's life, it is always jarring and insulting when he uses symbols to put his insincere morality on display. He also does this with the Bible. I do not hate these symbols, but this type of patriotism is cheap. It is easy to love the flag...you just have to say that you do. The flag is not going to talk back. Flag-love, in Trump's hands is a weapon. He uses it to taunt his opponents and to dog-whistle to his base. As a veteran, I am disgusted by a soft and complacent nation that proudly cries during a Lee Greenwood song but defends itself with the poor and the brown. Give it a rest, Cadet Bonespurs.
No Climate Change—Not one word! No need to state the obvious. This is simply the most pressing issue of our time, but instead, he bragged that he had ended the "war on American Energy" and the "war on Clean Coal". Funny, but I have not heard of either war or the fact that Trump had ended them. He has disemboweled the EPA and the Interior Department and abdicated American leadership by withdrawing from the Paris Agreement...I suppose that is what he means.
The Author of the Speech—It was Stephen Miller. I have no words. I think he was recently ousted from the Society of American Vampires on an ethics charge.
Awkward—In his effort to prove that all...yes ALL...immigrants are bloodthirsty gangsters, he provided Gallery Exhibit A...the African-American parents of two young girls who...in fact...had been brutally murdered by MS13 gang members. And then he actually told them to stand while they cried in agony and everyone else clapped! And the subtext?
- You see? I really do like black people and I want to protect them from brown people.
- This never would have happened if we brought in more Norwegians.
- Democrats like murderers. I'm sorry, but I gotta go with my heart on this one. I am against murderers. This proves I am really a good person.
Clapping—Maybe this is a cheap shot, but imagine the sound of laundry day in a country where the women repeatedly slap the clothing against rocks at river's edge. Now imagine that they are not slapping clothing against the rocks, but rather the limp, wet bodies of recently killed Opossums. That is what it sounds like when Trump claps. Kudos to the acoustics guy for making this crystal clear. I may never sleep again.
Americans are Dreamers too—I think it was Samantha Bee who recently told the joke about Trump's response to Black History month. "All months are important". Yes, Mr. President...and when you meet a man who has just fallen and broken his wrist...nurturing and protecting this injury and giving it all sorts of special treatment...do you tell him that all bones matter? And since you seem to be an expert on the Bible, can you respond to Christ who tells us in a parable: Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me. (?)
Compassion must be felt. And when it is truly felt, then the words come.
But this president postures...he cynically manipulates dry symbols and the hearts of the gullible.
He is hollow.
1 comment:
As a veteran I find "flag patriotism" despicable. I have to brace for it on all the holidays these days on my social media feeds. Do nothing, do nothing, do nothing and then on Independence Day post a picture of the flag and type some platitude about how grateful you are for veterans. That means nothing. Talk is cheap. Take a knee and protest, at least you are engaged in the debate about what it means to be American. If you really are grateful to those soldiers why don't you join yourself or get your kid to join and give that soldier over there a break. I am reminded of Thomas Paine who wrote (while serving in the rebel army at the time) "These are the times that try men's soles: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." Donald J. Trump has never served in the military or any community of need. He has done nothing but advance his favorite cause: himself. That is the antithesis of the core value of the soldier who surrenders self for the good of the group.
Post a Comment