Trump the Racist

Not a bad subject for my return to the blog.  In the last couple of weeks the rhetoric against President Trump has been over the top.  I won't go into the sordid details because if you're reading you likely know the story.  But here's the Reader's Digest version.

He took on the four radical, socialist, far-left freshman Congresswomen by telling them to go back to where they came from.  And the world exploded.  Only one of them, Omar is from someplace else (Somalia) but they were all immediately lumped into a group that Trump hated because they were women of color.  Of course, you could interpret his remarks to mean maybe they ought to go back to their districts, figure out where it needs help and work on that instead of continually grabbing the national spotlight as a Trump hater.  And I can't emphasize their hatred of Trump enough.

Second he took on Rep Elijah Cummings from Baltimore after Cummings bullied Trumps Director of the CBP in a hearing.  He told the world the truth that parts of Baltimore, including Cumming's district is a shithole.  And the world exploded.  But the truth is that the city has been given billions of dollars and it's disappeared.  The truth is that the leadership of Baltimore has been Democrat, incompetent, and corrupt.  Oh yeah...they all happen to be black.  But I don't think Trump gives a shit about that.  The simple truth is that he is a streetfighter and doesn't hesitate to call it as he sees it.

But the media and the Democrats have adopted the narrative that Trump is a racist and it's becoming clear that they will use that mantra all the way to the election.  Funny that for 2 years the narrative was that Trump was a Russian agent and doing the bidding of Putin.  But that has waned as the Mueller report fizzled.  So they had to find something else.  Hence...racist.  And all the useful idiots run gleefully into the fray exclaiming their disgust and wringing their hands at what he is "doing to the country".

And so that brings me to a diatribe by the leaders of the National Cathedral in Washington DC.  I pay attention to this stuff because I'm an Episcopalian and this is my church.  But the sad thing is that I've tuned most of them out when it comes to cultural or political or ethical subjects.  Here it is:

Have We No Decency? A Response to President Trump

July 30, 2019

The escalation of racialized rhetoric from the President of the United States has evoked responses from all sides of the political spectrum. On one side, African American leaders have led the way in rightfully expressing outrage. On the other, those aligned with the President seek to downplay the racial overtones of his attacks, or remain silent.

As faith leaders who serve at Washington National Cathedral ¬– the sacred space where America gathers at moments of national significance – we feel compelled to ask: After two years of President Trump’s words and actions, when will Americans have enough?

As Americans, we have had such moments before, and as a people we have acted. Events of the last week call to mind a similarly dark period in our history:

“Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. … You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?”

That was U.S. Army attorney Joseph Welch on June 9, 1954, when he confronted Senator Joseph McCarthy before a live television audience, effectively ending McCarthy’s notorious hold on the nation. Until then, under the guise of ridding the country of Communist infiltration, McCarthy had free rein to say and do whatever he wished. With unbridled speech, he stoked the fears of an anxious nation with lies; destroyed the careers of countless Americans; and bullied into submissive silence anyone who dared criticize him.

In retrospect, it’s clear that Welch’s question was directed less toward McCarthy and more to the nation as a whole. Had Americans had enough? Where was our sense of decency?

We have come to accept a level of insult and abuse in political discourse that violates each person’s sacred identity as a child of God. We have come to accept as normal a steady stream of language and accusations coming from the highest office in the land that plays to racist elements in society.

This week, President Trump crossed another threshold. Not only did he insult a leader in the fight for racial justice and equality for all persons; not only did he savage the nations from which immigrants to this country have come; but now he has condemned the residents of an entire American city. Where will he go from here?

Make no mistake about it, words matter. And, Mr. Trump’s words are dangerous.

These words are more than a “dog-whistle.” When such violent dehumanizing words come from the President of the United States, they are a clarion call, and give cover, to white supremacists who consider people of color a sub-human “infestation” in America. They serve as a call to action from those people to keep America great by ridding it of such infestation. Violent words lead to violent actions.

When does silence become complicity? What will it take for us all to say, with one voice, that we have had enough? The question is less about the president’s sense of decency, but of ours.

As leaders of faith who believe in the sacredness of every single human being, the time for silence is over. We must boldly stand witness against the bigotry, hatred, intolerance, and xenophobia that is hurled at us, especially when it comes from the highest offices of this nation. We must say that this will not be tolerated. To stay silent in the face of such rhetoric is for us to tacitly condone the violence of these words. We are compelled to take every opportunity to oppose the indecency and dehumanization that is racism, whether it comes to us through words or actions.

There is another moment in our history worth recalling. On January 21, 2017, Washington National Cathedral hosted an interfaith national prayer service, a sacred tradition to honor the peaceful transfer of political power. We prayed for the President and his young Administration to have “wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties that they may serve all people of this nation, and promote the dignity and freedom of every person.”

That remains our prayer today for us all.

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington

The Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, Dean of Washington National Cathedral

The Rev. Canon Kelly Brown Douglas, Canon Theologian of Washington National Cathedral

As I said, I in no way associate myself with this propaganda.  But I was sent another viewpoint today by a friend who believes as I do.  What's interesting is that there are a lot of us.  More than our clergy believes.  I think this guy nails it and speaks for many:

"As a life long Episcopalian educated in some of the nation’s finest Christian schools I am so sorry to see that the Cathedral is willfully blind to reality. President Trump is being forced to fight a particularly ugly battle to protect the citizens and borders of this country, to stop the horrific human trafficking and abuse of migrants and to actually enforce the immigration laws that were passed 30 years ago but have been largely ignored because of the economic benefits of cheap labor of poor people who can’t complain. How sad that a President who boldly points out the colossal failures of socialism and our own growing welfare state and the blatant failures and corruption of cities that happen to be run by democrat and black political machines suddenly makes him a racist in your eyes instead of a truth teller. Christ’s most vulnerable are being exploited and then abandoned by corrupt politicians and Donald Trump actually points it out- loudly and unapologetically. YOU should feel shame for cloaking your bigoted low expectations for minorities and overt political deceit in the moral language of the church. I will not take moral lectures from people who embrace policies and people who everyday bring us closer to a cultural and economic collapse and who attack those who tell the truth."

I think the last sentence nails it.  Spare me the moral lectures.

I posted this about an hour ago and started thinking about it and realized I left out a major issue I wanted to address.  Really a fundamental issue.  And that is the unprecedented hatred of our President.  You can't turn on the TV or log into social media or have a political discussion with almost anyone that it doesn't come through.  I guess some of the blame could be layed at Trump's feet because he is a streetfighter.  He gets hit, he hits back.  Simple as that.  It's also because he won an election that was supposed to be a coronation of the Queen.  Of course, the Queen was a criminal and should be in jail, but nothing to see here...move along.  But the weird thing is that the Democrats and the opposition just can't figure him out.  It's strange.  He is an open book. He calls them as he sees them.  He's not a politician.  And all the other platitudes.  But the only explanation is that they can't figure him out and when he does something they think outrageous, their heads explode.  The other thing that is more serious is the complete abdication of journalistic responsibility by the press.  I'm a big First Amendment guy.  I strongly believe in freedom of the press.  But the press should be free and skeptical.  It should not be prejudicial.  And all we see is a prejudiced and slanted press.  The latest evidence is the language used by them to describe Trump's tweets and language about the latest controversy described above.  They blatantly call them racist when there is no evidence of that.  They blithely think we'll all believe them just because they say so.  Many people see nothing racist in President Trump and in fact see him as doing an enormous amount for the minority communities.  Witness prison reform.  Witness opportunity zones.  Witness roll back of criminal charges.  Witness his rhetoric when meeting with minorities and their response.  The reality that is in front of everyone's eyes and the rhetoric from the press doesn't add up.  And they as a profession ought to be ashamed.