November 2, 2017
Every morning we steel ourselves for the quotidian journey through the toxic sludge of our current reality. Every morning brings a new revelation in the seemingly endless stream of prominent men behaving badly. Whether arbiters of culture or pundits from across the political spectrum, prominent men seem incapable of refraining from assaulting or abusing women who have the temerity to be ambitious. Yet this dispiriting drumbeat seems like mere background noise in the face of many more daunting challenges to our collective sense of safety and security.
Tuesday, the tranquility of our fall afternoon was shattered by a truck wielding terrorist who murdered eight people by careening down a bike path in lower Manhattan. New Yorkers absorbed the shock with sober equanimity, refusing to be cowed into cancelling the annual Halloween Parade in the Village. Governor Cuomo and Mayor DeBlasio managed to condemn the terrorist and reassure us that our safety was their paramount concern, without descending to hateful rhetoric.
In contrast, the walking garbage fire in The White House could not resist the impulse to do exactly the opposite. Trump immediately called for an end to the Diversity Visa Lottery program that was responsible for Sayfullo Saipov’s entry into the United States, taking a swipe at New York Senator Chuck Schumer in the process. Trump chose to disregard the fact that Schumer co-sponsored legislation that would have ended the program in 2013 and the obvious fact that there is absolutely no logical link between the existence of the program and Saipov’s act of terror (Source: “Schumer and the Diversity Visa Lottery,” Factcheck.org, 11/1/17). Of course, Trump never lets facts or logic get in the way of an opportunity to demonize a Muslim immigrant.
Trump ratcheted up the demagoguery yesterday by calling the American judicial system a “joke” and a “laughingstock,” saying that Saipov should be sent to Guantanamo (Source: “Trump labels US justice system ‘laughingstock, ’” by Dan Merica, CNNPolitics, CNN.com 11/1/17). Although we’ve lost our capacity for surprise, we should be shocked that Trump so brazenly evinces his rejection of the judicial system at the foundation of our democracy. We should be unnerved by Trump’s palpable desire to make any person’s fate subject to the whims of a mercurial despot, rather than dependent on universally administered neutral legal principles.
Trump has made no secret of his desire to emulate fascistic strongmen, so his exhortation that the “animal” be sent to Guantanamo is entirely consistent with his autocratic ambitions. We should see his reckless effort to foment a desire for vengeance for what it is – the desperate attempt of a morally and intellectually bankrupt man to deflect attention from how Mueller is closing in on his confederates. It is only a matter of time before the Special Prosecutor turns up evidence that points definitively to a corrupt, treasonous effort at the highest levels of his campaign to undermine democracy. Trump and his accomplices know that their only hope is to derail the Special Counsel investigation and ultimately, the rule of law itself. They are counting on our fear and bigotry being stronger than our love for justice. It is up to us to prove them wrong.
Sing it, sister!