Trumpisms pessimism, insularity should make us all despair
I heard a talk this week by Bryan Stevenson, who grew up amidst the worst sort of racism, became a Harvard-trained lawyer, and dedicated his life to representing people on death row, and to his Equal Justice Initiative (eji.org). Everyone, especially those who think our system is fair, should read his book, “Just Mercy.” (We treat a guilty wealthy person better than an innocent poor person, he said.) What struck me is how optimistic he is, despite the horrors he’s seen. He still believes in people.
I had coffee this week with a friend, a hardcore right-winger, who’s my friend because he’s more than just a hardcore right-winger. He loves seeing how upset Donald Trump has made liberals, though. He loved seeing liberals cry on election night, he said.
The contrast made me realize what’s so depressing about Trump and his supporters and their agenda. It’s so pessimistic. They see no commonality among human beings. They see little worth saving, no value in investing except for themselves. That’s why liberals wept. It’s why I write, even knowing it makes no difference. To give in to their view of the world is to give up on the future, our planet, and, most especially, our children.
Everything Trump and our Republican Congress have done so far, and what they plan to do, reveals a view of humanity that’s dark and despairing. It’s as if they think we’re so far gone there’s no point in doing anything but enriching themselves, plundering what’s left while they can. Cut school funding, food programs, early childhood education. Ignore climate change, allow companies to exploit workers. Spend more on war. Increase pollution, mine coal in national parks. Curtail research, deny science. Bomb the Middle East with no planning for the consequences. It’s a strange list of priorities, the politics of ignoring and of ignorance, of misanthropy and greed. It’s punitive. It’s a fist, not a hand. These are not the goals of people with hope. In these times caring for others is caring for oneself. Godly folks that they are, they can’t see it.
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