It's the morning after you were elected president of the United States. Just before I started writing this, NPR was reporting that Secretary Clinton had conceded.
I have deep respect for people who exemplify the spirit of uppercase-C Conservatism. These are people who are deeply rooted in the lessons of the past. They are very effective at recognizing and continuing (conserving) what worked before. They also repair or replace practices, policies, and ideas that did not work in the past. They look outside of their immediate sphere of influence to learn from others' histories. They look ahead and move towards something, always remembering where they started and how they have progressed so far.
I identify myself as a capital-L Liberal. That word comes from a Latin word meaning free man. Over time, Liberal has come to mean giving generously or free from restraint. I hold all of those definitions as meaningful and true. True Liberals are free from restraint, free to share money, goods, attention or the benefit of the doubt. They associate with free people, so they treat everyone as free people who deserve basic human dignity and respect.
From my perspective, it is possible to be a Conservative Liberal--someone who gives liberally to others and assumes the best, while looking to the past to learn the best way to share what they have. Our president needs to have both characteristics, at least to some degree. Some may be stricter in their giving and some may be more future-oriented, but without some measure of Conservatism and Liberalism, our elected officials cannot do what is best for their constituents. I am a little sad that we as a nation have lost sight of that fact.
I am also very worried and more than a little sad about your victory in the presidential race. Based on your behavior in the campaign season and prior, I see almost no evidence that you are either Conservative or Liberal. On the contrary, most of the evidence I see shows that you make the same mistakes over and over again, without learning from them, and you do not learn from others' examples or advice. It shows that your attempts at expressions of charity and human service are ultimately--and often directly--aimed at increasing your own profits, not at improving the quality of human life.
I recognize that Secretary Clinton did some things--okay, a lot of things--that were ethically and morally questionable. She still needs to answer for those. But her behavior has shown at least a little of both true Conservatism and true Liberalism. She has publicly reflected on the past and its lessons. She has shared plans to give, even if that is just giving consideration and attention without any material gifts.
You accused a whole country--and our neighbors at that--of being drug dealers and rapists. You continually pandered to the man who seems to want to bring back Soviet imperialism and oppression. You encouraged violence at your campaign events (double meaning! At your events you encouraged your supporters to go forth and be violent, and you told them to act violently during the events). You cheered when your supporters assaulted and literally took the coat from the back of a peaceful dissenter. You encouraged large-scale religious discrimination because of a handful of terrorists who really haven't done anything to us, and whose main mission does not directly involve us. You put down the parents of a war hero who died to protect his friends. You said "coward" of an older man who was a combat veteran, POW, and elected official (whose morals and experiences I respect, even while I strongly disagree with his politics). You bragged about getting away with sexual assault and relationship infidelity. When your accusers came forward, your (non-)defense was to insult them based on their looks. You bragged about cheating on your taxes. You threatened multiple times to flout our traditions of graceful democratic sportsmanship, either by refusing to accept defeat or by incarcerating your opponent without criminal charges.
That's not to mention the many, many specific policies that you proposed that have great potential to harm our nation's people.
I respect the democratic process that puts you in office. I will abide by its results. I respect the voice of the people, and I will honor it. I respect the office that you will assume in January. I will try my best to show my respect for it.
POTUS is always one of the most powerful people in the world, and in January you will be especially powerful, even for POTUS. You have a legislature united, at least in name, behind you and your party. You also have the power to appoint jurists who share your views to the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Use that power to bring us back together. Do right by your people, not just your party--or, worse, your profits.
Please prove me wrong. Show us, your country, that you have an ounce of Liberalism in you, or even the faintest glimpse of true Conservative perspective. Please, please walk back the rhetoric of exclusion and fear. Those messages will not make us great. Make it easier for everyone to afford healthcare for physical and mental problems. Make it easier for skilled, intelligent people from all over the world to come to the US legally and share their gifts. Work on increasing access to high-quality education, whether that is basic skills in grade school, research at a university, or a practical, specialized vocational program in the field. Help neighbors of all religious traditions, nationalities, and races to be just that--neighbors.
If you do that, then we'll be on the road to greatness.
That's a big if. For now, I'll have to sit with my fear and wait.
Reluctantly,
Erik
I am also very worried and more than a little sad about your victory in the presidential race. Based on your behavior in the campaign season and prior, I see almost no evidence that you are either Conservative or Liberal. On the contrary, most of the evidence I see shows that you make the same mistakes over and over again, without learning from them, and you do not learn from others' examples or advice. It shows that your attempts at expressions of charity and human service are ultimately--and often directly--aimed at increasing your own profits, not at improving the quality of human life.
I recognize that Secretary Clinton did some things--okay, a lot of things--that were ethically and morally questionable. She still needs to answer for those. But her behavior has shown at least a little of both true Conservatism and true Liberalism. She has publicly reflected on the past and its lessons. She has shared plans to give, even if that is just giving consideration and attention without any material gifts.
You accused a whole country--and our neighbors at that--of being drug dealers and rapists. You continually pandered to the man who seems to want to bring back Soviet imperialism and oppression. You encouraged violence at your campaign events (double meaning! At your events you encouraged your supporters to go forth and be violent, and you told them to act violently during the events). You cheered when your supporters assaulted and literally took the coat from the back of a peaceful dissenter. You encouraged large-scale religious discrimination because of a handful of terrorists who really haven't done anything to us, and whose main mission does not directly involve us. You put down the parents of a war hero who died to protect his friends. You said "coward" of an older man who was a combat veteran, POW, and elected official (whose morals and experiences I respect, even while I strongly disagree with his politics). You bragged about getting away with sexual assault and relationship infidelity. When your accusers came forward, your (non-)defense was to insult them based on their looks. You bragged about cheating on your taxes. You threatened multiple times to flout our traditions of graceful democratic sportsmanship, either by refusing to accept defeat or by incarcerating your opponent without criminal charges.
That's not to mention the many, many specific policies that you proposed that have great potential to harm our nation's people.
I respect the democratic process that puts you in office. I will abide by its results. I respect the voice of the people, and I will honor it. I respect the office that you will assume in January. I will try my best to show my respect for it.
POTUS is always one of the most powerful people in the world, and in January you will be especially powerful, even for POTUS. You have a legislature united, at least in name, behind you and your party. You also have the power to appoint jurists who share your views to the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Use that power to bring us back together. Do right by your people, not just your party--or, worse, your profits.
Please prove me wrong. Show us, your country, that you have an ounce of Liberalism in you, or even the faintest glimpse of true Conservative perspective. Please, please walk back the rhetoric of exclusion and fear. Those messages will not make us great. Make it easier for everyone to afford healthcare for physical and mental problems. Make it easier for skilled, intelligent people from all over the world to come to the US legally and share their gifts. Work on increasing access to high-quality education, whether that is basic skills in grade school, research at a university, or a practical, specialized vocational program in the field. Help neighbors of all religious traditions, nationalities, and races to be just that--neighbors.
If you do that, then we'll be on the road to greatness.
That's a big if. For now, I'll have to sit with my fear and wait.
Reluctantly,
Erik
No comments:
Post a Comment