I'm reusing a title from an essay I wrote about four and a half years ago. That essay was about our collective response, or I should say, lack of response to Rush Limbaugh insulting and verbally assaulting a young female college student who testified before Congress on the importance of including Birth Control as part of women's health care packages. If you recall that ugly incident, then you recall that Limbaugh literally called her a promiscuous slut and whore, and suggested the public should be able to view videotape of her having sex since there might be some taxpayer money involved in this form of "recreational sex". Unbelievably disgusting comment - made by a disgusting human being. My point in the essay was that none of the Republicans in Congress or on the campaign trail (2012 Presidential Race) dared to speak out against this vile content. By not speaking out they "Permit" this kind of sentiment- and by permitting it we are in fact "Promoting" it.
I didn't make up the phrase. I believe it came from some management guru who used this simple axiom to explain how bad workplace behavior can become the norm. If you accept it- then you are in effect promoting more of it. It seems a fairly sensible way of explaining some level of human behavior.
Version 2.0 is about applying that axiom to our current state of national politics. Never before have we elected a president like Trump. It is not just that he doesn't have any governing experience- it is that he possesses a character that represents the worst in public and private behavior, and has values that fly in the face of our American values. Like you, I read the news and the fake news that comes out everyday indicating that the latest revelation or crazy tweet will "destroy him" or whatever. None of that will happen. He will be sworn in on January 20th and he will be the lawfully elected president. Part of our peculiar American cultural psyche is that we revere a winner- no matter how they win or what they did to achieve "winner" status. Trump surely knows the value of being a winner. He brags constantly on his win and even claims he could have won the popular vote if he wanted to. Considering that over 3 million more people voted for someone else makes that a highly unlikely claim- but he has the sensibilities of a pre-adolescent schoolyard bully, and bragging oneself up is part of that profile. Sadly we Americans always seem to follow the winner in spite of any real values that may violate.
I don't believe I'm being unfair or partisan to claim that his values are really that bad. He has given us ample words right from his own mouth to illustrate what lies beneath the surface of this despicable person. He has made his life an open book and has, on many occasions proudly displayed his lack of moral character, and the shallowness of his thinking. We Americans also have tendency to believe that rich guys are smart guys. It is true that many highly successful folks got that way on their own talents or innovations. Those are the Bill Gates' -the Warren Buffets' of the world- folks who don't brag about bankruptcy's and "leveraging" debt (i.e. screwing people over). Trump got that way because he was born into it- and when he grew up his daddy gave the rest to him. This is history - not opinion. The one thing that Trump has always done better that other successful people is cheat on his debts and bully people he owed money to, or insulted his childlike ego. Money gives you some power- but not brains. How many of us have wondered how smart other people might think we are if we were just millionaires? We just love to love rich people and end up stroking their egos to the point they become monsters and actually believe they really are that smart. In Mr. Trump's case he can't finish a sentence or hold a consistent thought from one day to the next. Watching him over the last year I had to conclude he really just isn't that bright- but he knows how to say a few phrases that incite the crowd- and there are enough people out there who love that kind of crap- so they bow down to this spoiled egomaniac like he is the messiah of our times.
So the thing we need to watch out for now is our own tendency to permit the outrageousness of this man once he assumes office- to allow his outrageous thoughts and behaviors to be seen as normal because he won. He has already sent loud and clear signals of his view of government. Not even in office yet, he has cozied up to the Russians- defending them against the findings of every American Intelligence Service who say Putin tampered with our election; appointed would-be Cabinet members who have either been adversaries with the Departments they will now run, or outright said they would eliminate them; put bigots and billionaires in his inner circle; foolishly chided foreign governments with his middle-of-the night twitter rants; and relentlessly insults and pursues his critics (large and small) like a thin-skinned spoiled child. It's is not "refreshing" or "a bold leadership style" or any of the mindless superlatives meant to make us think he is a "new kind of leader". It's nuts! It proves he doesn't think before he speaks; he's generally uninformed; and it also proves he has no intellectual curiosity to learn because he believes he already knows everything- a dangerous personality trait.
Our obligation is to not Permit it. Obviously a President can do just about anything he (or She- someday) wants to do. So when we say we won't permit it, that means that we have to heed a call to action. When we hear the racist comments or misogynistic sentiments we must speak out. When he and some Republicans in Congress seek to remove the civil rights and protections that were won by the bloodshed of our ancestors we have an obligation to stand against it. When he begins to destroy the fabric of our society in favor of the rich and the privileged we must say no and support the lawful institutions in our country put there to safeguard us from tyrants and ego driven zealots. Answering that call may be difficult. It is not enough to oppose these things he stands for "in spirit". It is not enough to retweet or post something that reflects our objections from the comforts of our home. If we are determined not to permit it then we must be ready to stand in public- to seek out our Representatives in person and tell them to their face that we won't permit it. We must be prepared to march in the street if necessary and let ourselves be seen to defend our values against his outrages. In other words the time for passivity is over. We need to be watchful and vigilant and ready. Tyrants and fools ascend to power when we let them. They count on our passivity and our willingness to simply permit them to act as they will. And if we are permitting it- we have promoted it.
At the risk of this sounding like a crazy rant, I simply urge us all to not take our rights and sense of justice for granted. Every great American leader has reminded us, from our founding, that the things we cherish, can be taken away from us quickly and permanently unless we use our will and our voices to protect them. This country has never been so close to that ominous fate as it now. Let's not permit it.
Thanks for looking in.
