Shocked and Appalled, but Never Shocked By Anything Trump Says or Does
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/03/opinion/trump-hijacked-american-presidency.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region®ion=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=1
Of course, I am in complete concert with Charles Blow on this.
Nothing Trump does now shocks me. Nothing.
He may nauseate me, may cause my body to seize up in fear for myself and others.
But he never shocks me.
Yet each insane/unprecedented/deeply inappropriate thing he does must be remarked upon because he remains the President of the United States.
Whether we refer to Trump that way or not, he, in fact, is the President of the United States.
To ignore each and every one of these shocking and appalling behaviors--from cozying up to our nation's enemies and stiff-arming our nation's friends, from the multi-lies he spews daily, from the made-up fantasies that he shares daily, from installing people who will destroy the departments they head and then having them declare their allegiance and the many reasons they love and admire him on camera . . . would be to ignore our Country's state of being. It would be irresponsible, and yes, unpatriotic, to do that.
It would be similar to an alcoholic whose drinking habit had hidden from him via alcoholic anasthetic serious physical pain, only to find when he quits booze that he's dying of cancer. (I knew a man to whom this happened--he was my supervisor at work.)
I want to stop the cancer before it gets a murderous toehold on my country. And I don't drink, so I can't hide from the painful reality.
It is interesting that conservatives who claim they did not vote for him find the large number of these remarks tiresome. The word "unprecedented" seems cliche. I understand why they feel this way--it is a barrage, because the number of things Trump does that are insane/unprecedented and/or deeply inappropriate is equally vast and constitutes a barrage.
And I think the conservatives who didn't vote for him want to turn away from the sight. Ignore him and perhaps he'll go away.
Certainly not take any responsibility for his being in office.
Equally, I see many liberals who can't wait to point the finger. "It's your fault," they crow, with each new Trump and Co.-inflicted wound of the US. They'll be sorry.
I certainly understand this reaction, but I'm not sure it serves a purpose. Shaming rarely does.
On the other hand, there's also a temptation and a natural reaction to see Trump as the problem, when really he's a symptom. An exuberant symptom, but a symptom nonetheless.
I feel like Cassandra. Richard Clarke knows all about Cassandra. His new book bears her name.
And a disease undiagnosed is a disease that kills.
At this point, we aren't divided by progressive vs. conservative. What has changed is that the GOP narrative is now so corroded with propaganda that it has become a form of fake news. Look at the health care bill, crafted in back rooms, while the GOP postures that the Dems aren't interested in helping.
Well, no, Dems aren't interested in taking away people's access to health care. That's really not a bad thing.
Name anything the GOP and/or Trump has offered since January 20th, and the analysis holds. Any single thing.
Of course, I am in complete concert with Charles Blow on this.
Nothing Trump does now shocks me. Nothing.
He may nauseate me, may cause my body to seize up in fear for myself and others.
But he never shocks me.
Yet each insane/unprecedented/deeply inappropriate thing he does must be remarked upon because he remains the President of the United States.
Whether we refer to Trump that way or not, he, in fact, is the President of the United States.
To ignore each and every one of these shocking and appalling behaviors--from cozying up to our nation's enemies and stiff-arming our nation's friends, from the multi-lies he spews daily, from the made-up fantasies that he shares daily, from installing people who will destroy the departments they head and then having them declare their allegiance and the many reasons they love and admire him on camera . . . would be to ignore our Country's state of being. It would be irresponsible, and yes, unpatriotic, to do that.
It would be similar to an alcoholic whose drinking habit had hidden from him via alcoholic anasthetic serious physical pain, only to find when he quits booze that he's dying of cancer. (I knew a man to whom this happened--he was my supervisor at work.)
I want to stop the cancer before it gets a murderous toehold on my country. And I don't drink, so I can't hide from the painful reality.
It is interesting that conservatives who claim they did not vote for him find the large number of these remarks tiresome. The word "unprecedented" seems cliche. I understand why they feel this way--it is a barrage, because the number of things Trump does that are insane/unprecedented and/or deeply inappropriate is equally vast and constitutes a barrage.
And I think the conservatives who didn't vote for him want to turn away from the sight. Ignore him and perhaps he'll go away.
Certainly not take any responsibility for his being in office.
Equally, I see many liberals who can't wait to point the finger. "It's your fault," they crow, with each new Trump and Co.-inflicted wound of the US. They'll be sorry.
I certainly understand this reaction, but I'm not sure it serves a purpose. Shaming rarely does.
On the other hand, there's also a temptation and a natural reaction to see Trump as the problem, when really he's a symptom. An exuberant symptom, but a symptom nonetheless.
I feel like Cassandra. Richard Clarke knows all about Cassandra. His new book bears her name.
And a disease undiagnosed is a disease that kills.
At this point, we aren't divided by progressive vs. conservative. What has changed is that the GOP narrative is now so corroded with propaganda that it has become a form of fake news. Look at the health care bill, crafted in back rooms, while the GOP postures that the Dems aren't interested in helping.
Well, no, Dems aren't interested in taking away people's access to health care. That's really not a bad thing.
Name anything the GOP and/or Trump has offered since January 20th, and the analysis holds. Any single thing.