July 5, 2018
Hi Cousin,
Your sister's greeting to the family list serve wishing us a happy Independence Day, though clearly well meaning, has really turned into quite a brouhaha, and it is typical of what Americans are experiencing both in public and private spheres. As I wrote earlier, we/I can no long expect that what used to be a kind and publicly stated comment of the type she wrote will elicit positive feeling or simple niceties from other Americans.
To me and others, facing the 4th of July with Trump in Office was painful. I posted this article on my website and on FB and Twitter this very day to make that very point. http://www.voices4hillary.com/can-we-celebrate-the...
I was not alone in experiencing the painfulness of the day and the irony of our situation- celebrating freedom and American values, like freedom of the press, with a would-be dictator in the White House.
She hit a raw nerve without meaning to.
I also don't see what happened on the email exchange as a political debate. I suspect you may.
I know I am not trying to persuade any Trump supporter, nor do I think our other cousins who reacted with great distress about a cheerful 4th of July celebration greeting are doing that either. These are not disagreements over policies (for instance taxes or size of government or proper role for government). This is no longer a Republican v Democratic debate, or even a Right or Left debate. This is about values and Democracy.
Many of us now feel an imperative to speak out and resist what we see as a determination to end Democracy and Decency by a violent, unfit narcissist who thinks there should be no boundaries to his powers. Again, this about right and wrong.
The fact is people no longer agree on what is right or wrong. The public debate doesn't acknowledge this but instead pretends that some people are simply refusing to be civil or insisting on being "political." (Folks who stand outside of the debate also think that criticizing Trump or Trump positions is "political," but they are dealing in a simpler "Dem or GOP" paradigm from another time).
For me, and many others (even Republicans like George Will, Bill Krystal, Ana Navarro, Matthew Dowd, Jennifer Rubin, Stephen Schmidt), Trump nor his GOP enablers who support him (and who seem not to care about important matters like Russian interference in our election or Trump immoral behaviors and comments) are no longer Republicans. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-left-the...
I am sure you will not like this comparison but to me, it is more appropriate to compare Trump to an authoritarian monster like Mussolini, Putin, Hitler than to Reagan or Bush. No, I don't think he has committed murders but I do believe he would if there were no checks and balances and public pressures stopping him. He acknowledges no limits. As he once boasted without irony, he feels he could kill someone on Fifth Avenue without losing his supporters.
Thus far, Trump has only managed to separate the families of immigrants seeking asylum without losing his supporters. Whose family will he come for next? What powers does he claim for himself?
Dear one, this leads me to ask all who support Trump serious questions: Do you support Trump's policies that have led to the separation of immigrant families seeking asylum? Do you support what our loved cousin and other clergy are doing to fight this? Did you care about Trump's Support for the Nazis in Charlottesville? Or lack of caring for the kids killed in Parkland? Do you panic at his attacks on the institutions of Democracy, like the FBI or the Press? I could go on.
The answers to these questions are critical, for if a person doesn't oppose Trump's policies, and support others (like our dear cousin and others of faith) who take risks in opposing his immorality, then those people do not seem to share the same ideas about what is right and what is wrong, as I and many others do.
Yes, dear cousin, supporting Trump to me (and many who share my views), is simply not acceptable. Yes, people can and may like policies that Trump put into place, but supporting him for those, in my view, is no longer an option. People like policies from many dangerous authoritarian figures but that is not the point ("Mussolini made the trains run on time" or "Der Fuhrer made Germany Great Again."). Demagogues and would be dictators must be shunned and stopped. Trump has shown us who he is, and what he aspires to do and be.
All must ask what are their positions on these issues... and on Democracy? And therefore reject Trump.
It is so sweet of you to invite us to see the house and you, and xxx and the baby and Pup of Wonder , though I am not sure when we could come. We are currently in France, and are booked virtually every week and weekend through the Jewish holidays.
But on the issues I spoke about above, for me it is not possible to have "spirited conversation." I sadly predict nothing good would come of our talks but frustration and anger. Again, this is not about politics.
Love you, Annette
Post Script. This was a version of a letter I sent to my Republican cousin about Trump & right and wrong. I am posting it w. minor edits & names omitted to protect the privacy of some. I suspect others will identify with this Family discussion. If you think it worthwhile, please share or retweet. #Resist
