It’s clear that our household is among many that were shocked to see how many people, including huge numbers of millennials, wasted their votes on third-party candidates with no chance of winning, or who were snookered by Donald Trump into rejecting the most qualified person to ever run for president. While Hillary was far from a perfect candidate, and ran a less than perfect campaign, she was definitely more than “the lesser of two evils” as some portrayed her.
Like many, I have been commiserating via Facebook with friends who generally share my political positions and beliefs about this disastrous election. However, I also heard from friends who completely disagreed, and were proud Trump supporters. Over the course of numerous exchanges, it became clear that we must be living in parallel universes in terms of what these folks consider their fact base. Even one very old friend, a born-again evangelical, admitted overlooking Trump’s cheapening of the political discourse with his derogatory and demeaning names for opponents, his outright vulgarity and amazing number of lies. He described Trump as: “rough around the edges,” as if the hate-filled and threatening speech from Trump and so many of his supporters did not merit condemnation. Apparently, Trump’s supporters feel completely at ease morally and religiously with a man who appears to have no moral compass of his own.
At one point in the thread, the question came up of what it means to be “A Real American.” An obvious answer is that a real American is one who holds strong to this country’s core values, namely, that all are created equal and all are deserving of basic rights such as “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” A real American serves his country and his community in some way, whether it be military service or some other worthwhile means of giving back. A real American pays his fair share of taxes or otherwise contributes to the common good, including exercising the right (and duty) to vote. A real American cares for the downtrodden and less fortunate, what Jesus once called “the least of these.”
Pretty straightforward perhaps, but sometimes it’s also helpful to define a concept by what it is not. In my view, a real American does not demean or demonize the “others” and act like the playground bully. A real American, particularly one running for president, does not mock people with disabilities or objectify women. He/she doesn’t propose violating The Geneva Convention by allowing torture to be used as a specific U.S. policy or by imposing a religious test for entry into the country. A real American does not brag about his ability to sexually assault women or otherwise incite violence. A real American does not ask for (and apparently get) spying help from Russian dictators (and war criminals) nor threaten to jail his political opponent or suggest that “Second Amendment folks” might have some role to play if Hillary were elected.
A real American doesn’t refuse to disavow racists and white supremacist supporters or remain silent in the wake of a dramatic increase in racially- or religiously-related hate crimes. A real American does not discriminate against minorities in housing (twice) and get fined for doing so, nor use a charitable foundation to make illegal campaign contributions (and get fined by the IRS). A real American who portrays himself as the friend of the working class doesn’t appoint a cabinet of millionaires and billionaires. A real American doesn’t appoint a chief of staff and other Washington insiders as advisors, nor hand over the country to representatives of corporate interests vested in decreasing incentives for renewable energy — giving Big Oil and Big Coal free rein to roll back decades of progress in environmental protection. A real American doesn’t choose to remove millions of people from the roles of the insured — shifting the burden of uncompensated care to the hospitals and the states — nor threaten Medicare and Medicaid.
Be that as it may, we are stuck with Trump, but I for one have no plans to unite behind him. Why should I not take the approach Mitch McConnell took pledging to make Barack Obama “a one-term president,” especially given the incredible increase in threatening hate speech and actions that too many of his supporters have engaged in since Nov. 9?
My sincere hope is that more and more of Americans will realize the threat posed to our republic and not only shun Trump and all his businesses, but will form an organized and active opposition to the direction he is likely to pursue.
As a potent symbol of this opposition, I envision tens of thousands of peaceful citizens either boycotting the Inauguration entirely, or, better yet, lining Pennsylvania Ave. on Jan. 20 and literally turning their backs and walking silently away as his motorcade passes by.
Whatever happens on Jan. 20, real Americans, even those who may have voted for Trump, will pay close attention to what he and his abettors in Congress will try to do and will resist discrimination and injustice in any peaceful way possible. The world is watching to see if the United States remains a place where the “chimes of freedom” truly ring for all.
Bill Coli lives in Charlemont.