All things bright and beautiful

February 13, 2018

Watching the Trump administration on a daily basis is as if Hieronymus Bosch’s “Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things,” had come to life and taken up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  Pride is on display in Trump’s irrational boasts that he is a very “stable genius,” with the “best words.”  Greed is apparent in his refusal to divest his from his companies and to exploit the presidency for its brand value.  Lust is evident in the comment that fame allows him to “grab [women] by the p–sy” and gluttony and sloth conjured up by the image of Trump in his bed scarfing down McDonald’s cheeseburgers while watching Fox.

This administration is truly a collection of the worst human beings imaginable.  From profligate spendthrifts like EPA head Scott Pruitt, who bilk the public treasury for luxury flights while dismantling environmental protections to Staff Secretary Rob Porter, unable to obtain security clearance for a job that required one, because of his habit of violently abusing his wives, Trump staffers embody all of the most detestable human traits.

Unfortunately for us, their personal qualities are echoed in their policy choices, which are uniformly abusive, wasteful and corrupt.  Yesterday, Trump unveiled a budget which, while likely to be dead on arrival in Congress, was stunning in its naked cruelty.  Trump proposed a 22% cut in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, elimination of the Medicaid expansion under the ACA and a 14% cut to the budget of the Housing and Urban Development Department (including complete elimination of the fund for public housing capital repairs) (Source: “In Trump’s Budget Proposal, The Poor Lose,”  by Tracy Jan, Caitlin Dewey, Amy Goldstein & Jeff Stein, The Washington Post, 2/12/18).

Meanwhile, Trump’s much vaunted “infrastructure plan” was such an obvious fraud that it barely made the news.  Despite our country’s crumbling infrastructure, with our 50 year old roads and bridges and nearly century old water systems and railways, Trump only proposed federal spending of $200 billion. This paltry sum is supposed to magically spur a total of $1.5 trillion in state and local funding required to put a dent in our critical infrastructure needs.  It relies on skirting environmental regulations and public/private partnerships that is simply another way of enriching private industry at public expense (Source: “Trump is announcing a huge $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan–here’s what’s in it” by Bob Bryant, Businessinsider.com, 2/12/18).  

There seems to be no end to the incompetence, cruelty and corruption this administration is determined to visit upon this nation, like some Biblical pestilential plague.  That is why the unveiling of the portraits of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama was such a welcome respite and reminder.  The beauty and artistry on display in that unveiling was a respite from the coarseness and vulgarity that is our daily news diet.  Watching these elegant, intellectual, loving and supremely confident people unveil portraits by two estimable, groundbreaking and thrilling Black artists was like watching actors break the fourth wall to remind us that the ghastly waking nightmare of the Trump administration need not be our fate. They remind us that no matter how much small-minded bullies seek to crowd out their legacies, the fact is that the Obamas represent our true American heritage- an aristocracy born of merit, of hard work, decency, intellect and love.  That at our best, we strive to forge unity from our polyglot origins and that the children of America’s original sin create much of what is bright and beautiful in this world.