"Writing is the way I think things through."
- Sister Joan D. Chittister, OSB
Amidst what is a disorientingly powerful sense of dismay, today I need to clear my head and begin to think things through carefully, as, I suspect, do many of us. What happened yesterday/earlier today was indeed historic ... and saddening ... and concerning ... and worthy of note and consideration. But in order to consider what's occurred and learn from it, we must, as Sister Chittister notes, "go beyond the freedom of being wrong to be honest enough to see life as it is, rather than the way we are told it is supposed to be" (or that we want/wish it to be). And so I write....
And invite you to join me on the journey....
The election of Mr. Trump and apparent broad rejection of Ms. Clinton is truly a one-two punch in the gut for many of us. With respect to the latter, it's hard to fathom how a supremely qualified candidate who also happens to be a woman could be successfully branded as untrustworthy - despite repeated, verified fact-checking that showed her to be the most truthful candidate in both the primaries and general election - while generating a depth of quite personal antipathy that seems somehow far out of proportion. (I was and am no ardent HRC fan either, but I respect her and couldn't see anything that she's done in this election cycle that's worthy of such disrespect and vitriolic ad hominem attacks ... but, then again, I've been saying the same thing about President Obama for eight years now, so....)
With respect to Mr. Trump's election, one one level, I understand it perfectly well: his anti-establishment theme tapped into a deep wellspring of resentment - expressed in myriad ways including political 'enragement-engagement' and racism/bigotry, xenophobia, sexism/misogyny, religiocentrism, etc. - of those whose standing in our society has been eroded by the realities of late 20th and 21st century globalization, American trade policy and brilliant but craven (and largely domestic) politics. To paraphrase the great Chris Rock, I'm not sayin' he should've done it, but I understand.
But what I can't wrap my head around - not since the announcement of his candidacy 18 months ago nor since the reality of his election in the wee hours of this morning - is his utter unfitness, with respect to both character and competence, to be the occupant of the highest office in our representative democracy and, indeed, to become, de facto, the Leader of the Free World. There is no gainsaying that America has just elected its most openly bigoted/racist, sexist/misogynistic, xenophobic, narcissistic, etc., president in decades (if not a century or more) who's a repeatedly proven pathological liar with a thin-skinned sensibility, hair-trigger temper, proclivity to vindictiveness, and seemingly complete aversion to learning, growth and magnanimity to help us navigate through the ever more complex, diverse and dangerous times in which we live.
Or, put differently, perhaps I was/we were naive to believe that White Privilege wasn't so ultimately powerful still. And before you're tempted to say that this wasn't Privilege writ large(r than ever in history), just consider any of the following:
Mr. Trump will follow an urbane, thoughtful and unfailingly prepared African-American who, for the past eight years, along with his family, has been a model of grace and decorum amidst historic obstruction and disrespect. Still not convinced? Then answer this question: could Mr. Obama have been elected as a thrice-married, serial philanderer without fixed principles or policies nor any relevant experience in governance, all the while stoking racial, ethnic, religious and gender-based bigotry and hatred? Of course not ... which is the proof of the profundity of the still-extant and ultimately powerful Privilege: we've just elected a man with absolutely no relevant or transferable experience and expertise to, arguably, the highest (and most demanding) office in the world. Let that sink in....
Alternatively, considered from the perspective of gender, how can we explain his selection over likely the most qualified candidate ever who just happens to be female? Again, the same question: could Mrs. Clinton have been selected as her party's candidate were she a willfully unprepared sexual abuser with a history - and future - replete with major litigation that alleges massive fraud and sexual assault of a minor, among other ignominious (proven and prospective) claims? No (f'in') way! Which is how you know that Male Privilege is still alive and well in our country.
And when you combine White Privilege with Male Privilege, you get a Leader of the Free World without the temperament, qualifications/experience or emotional competence/fitness to serve in what is the ultimate position of power in our world. Let that sink in....
Now breathe in slowly and deeply ... and, while exhaling, begin to pray....
(Lord, help us! Please!)
So, now what? I can think of at least three things that those of us who are self-considered to be more progressive and inclusive than Mr. Trump and his supporters appear to have been/are: First, we must listen, carefully, deeply/empathetically and fully, to those whose anger and disaffection have driven this regrettable outcome. Second, we must collaborate with them to develop a set of philosophies and policies that are both more equitable and inclusive than those of our recent history. (In essence, we must apply the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s wisdom in the year or two before his assassination: we must be class-based in our approach to fashioning the boundaries and rules of our society - especially those of an economic nature and those that define access to opportunity - rather than race- or religion-based, etc.) Third, we must coalesce quickly and devise a resilient defensive strategy for what is likely to be one of the most deleterious and hurtful first 100 days of any presidency.
And that's just where our work starts (or, for many, where the battle continues...). We still need to address the level of ignorance and lack of education and life skills, especially from a social/societal perspective, in our populace, too many of whom are not appreciating the reality of the knowledge- and service-based world in which we live (which requires a very different academic and skill preparation than did our more manual/blue collar/manufacturing-based past). Even though the dominant political party continues not to acknowledge the reality of Climate Change, we must become far more proactive in advocating for a more thoughtful and prudent approach to our environment and the one planet on which we can and do live now. And we must learn to live together better as brothers and sisters or risk perishing together as fools, as MLK noted a half-century ago.
Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but in my heart of hearts, I actually believe now is the time to begin to fight without ceasing to realize Dr. King's vision of the Beloved Community. Certainly the interests of the majority of our fellow citizens are served better therein, even if the majority clearly don't yet perceive this. In part, this passionate belief is also driven by the realization that much of what has undergirded this popular - and populist - uprising represents a regression to the past, effectively (if cynically) represented in Mr. Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. There is no example in human history of a culture or country able to go back - in effect, to devolve/revert - in order to progress, as emotionally (and politically) attractive a prospect as this may be.
The world is more evolved but complex than it ever has been and will only keep becoming more so. It's up to us to understand this, develop a comprehensive and inclusive plan to address it and then to invite those motivated at the moment by fear and angst to choose to take the steps forward with us into this better future for us all. But if we fail to organize and advocate virtually immediately, based on the President-elect's promises as a candidate and the behavior of his most virulent supporters thus far, this next four years could be a very damaging time indeed and an ill-advised and misguided repudiation of the progress that we've been making - admittedly unevenly and in a poorly distributed way - in recent years.
Our time is now and the challenge is great, but we must either choose to champion a more inclusive and equitable future or prepare to suffer an unimaginably painfully regressive one.
This continues to be our charge, our vision and our rallying cry, even if we don't have the leader that we would have preferred for the next four years. But we're in the long game of our lives, so, as challenging as it may prove to be in the short run, we have to stay focused on that day in the future - hopefully sooner rather than later - when, to paraphrase the great Dr. King, all men and women can live in a country in which they're judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin or their gender or their economic status, etc., and they have equitable access to opportunities to live the Reverend's and our American Dream.
And, as he shared with us so memorably on that long ago, sweltering day in our nation's capital, consider his prophetic vision and broaden his constituency to all Americans (as in when you read "Negro," consider that he was actually speaking to and for all of us, so we should read it this way...) ... and you'll realize that we, too and still, have a Dream today:
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.
It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.
With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.From every mountainside, let freedom ring.And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
No comments:
Post a Comment