© by Mark Dempsey
In life, you either get humility or humiliation. There is no third choice. - Anonymous
Some of my liberal friends are distraught, literally losing sleep because they are so embarrassed by the Trump presidency. I sat down to breakfast with a friend of a friend, and the first words out of her mouth were “I wouldn’t want to live in a neighborhood with Trump supporters”
And, lets face it, Trump really is an embarrassment. He can’t open his mouth without sticking his foot in it...but really, he’s not doing much more than presidents of both parties have done that’s immoral, bigoted or offensive. There's nothing new about Trump.
For one of many examples, Andy Jackson marched the Indians out of the Southeastern U.S. in the genocidal “Trail of Tears,” even though the Indians won their case in the Supreme Court, and were, by law, entitled to their original land. Jackson defied the court, telling the chief justice to enforce its decision himself.
Even the New Deal was as racist as it gets, sanctioning and even encouraging white flight with government financing. African Americans living in those hollowed-out inner cities didn't even get public benefits until the civil rights legislation decades later. American women got the vote, but only after the slaves did.
Even the "noble" Obama didn't prosecute the war crimes of Bush & Cheney. He promoted the torturers and prosecuted the whistle blowers...after giving Wall Street a "Get Out of Jail Free" card when the financial sector executed what's arguably the largest theft in human history (U.S. net worth declined 40% in the wake of Lehman's bankruptcy).
You can't legitimize criminality as Obama (and Clinton) did, then expect something better than a mobbed-up sadist like Trump. The "disgusting" Trump administration is the fruit of seeds planted long ago...by both major parties.
True, even the poorest among us enjoy the benefits of modern civilization, but it's helpful to remember that we live on a continent conquered by rapacious adventurers whose wars and diseases wiped out 90% of the natives. We're wading hip deep in the blood of imperial edicts that spread suffering in Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, Guatemala, El Salvador, etc....and the current crop of American citizens believe we have the right, even the moral obligation, to incarcerate the refugees! Calling this American attitude arrogant is an understatment.
So...the benefit of Trump is that we no longer get to pretend we're the nice guys. Imperial cruelty is out front, not buried in the weeds of history. If we embrace it, the humility will do us good.
...and for an interesting contrary view, see this.
In life, you either get humility or humiliation. There is no third choice. - Anonymous
Some of my liberal friends are distraught, literally losing sleep because they are so embarrassed by the Trump presidency. I sat down to breakfast with a friend of a friend, and the first words out of her mouth were “I wouldn’t want to live in a neighborhood with Trump supporters”
And, lets face it, Trump really is an embarrassment. He can’t open his mouth without sticking his foot in it...but really, he’s not doing much more than presidents of both parties have done that’s immoral, bigoted or offensive. There's nothing new about Trump.
For one of many examples, Andy Jackson marched the Indians out of the Southeastern U.S. in the genocidal “Trail of Tears,” even though the Indians won their case in the Supreme Court, and were, by law, entitled to their original land. Jackson defied the court, telling the chief justice to enforce its decision himself.
Even the New Deal was as racist as it gets, sanctioning and even encouraging white flight with government financing. African Americans living in those hollowed-out inner cities didn't even get public benefits until the civil rights legislation decades later. American women got the vote, but only after the slaves did.
Even the "noble" Obama didn't prosecute the war crimes of Bush & Cheney. He promoted the torturers and prosecuted the whistle blowers...after giving Wall Street a "Get Out of Jail Free" card when the financial sector executed what's arguably the largest theft in human history (U.S. net worth declined 40% in the wake of Lehman's bankruptcy).
You can't legitimize criminality as Obama (and Clinton) did, then expect something better than a mobbed-up sadist like Trump. The "disgusting" Trump administration is the fruit of seeds planted long ago...by both major parties.
True, even the poorest among us enjoy the benefits of modern civilization, but it's helpful to remember that we live on a continent conquered by rapacious adventurers whose wars and diseases wiped out 90% of the natives. We're wading hip deep in the blood of imperial edicts that spread suffering in Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, Guatemala, El Salvador, etc....and the current crop of American citizens believe we have the right, even the moral obligation, to incarcerate the refugees! Calling this American attitude arrogant is an understatment.
So...the benefit of Trump is that we no longer get to pretend we're the nice guys. Imperial cruelty is out front, not buried in the weeds of history. If we embrace it, the humility will do us good.
...and for an interesting contrary view, see this.
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