Day 127 of Nat'l Emergency: Acting American

Making the rounds of Facebook is a tableau of four pictures of the American flag: 

A woman caresses a flag draped coffin. The caption reads: “This is why you don’t step on the flag;” 

A wheelchaired black veteran sits before a flag. The caption: “This is why you stand for the national anthem;”

A military tombstone with a small American flag in the grass beside it. The caption: “This is why we don’t erase history;” 

An American flag with the following saying: “You’re not a Black, White, Yellow, Brown. You’re an American. Start acting like it.”

The tableau is an unmistakeable call for patriotism and respect for the flag. It challenges the idea that protest for racial equality and against police brutality is justified. Protest is unAmerican. All that is required to be a good person is to “act American.”

What the tableau does not address is the everyday actions people of color confront in our country.

When Mr. Black applies for a job he is qualified for, does Mr. White look past his skin color to his qualifications? History tells us, not likely.

When Mr. and Mrs. Yellow apply for a lease on an apartment in an upper middle class neighborhood, does Landlord White rent them the unit? History tells us, not likely.

When Mr. Brown walks down a street at night wearing a hoodie, will he be safe from police? History tells us, not likely.

When Mr. White walks down a street at night wearing a hoodie, or applies for a job or an apartment rental, will he be safe from police harassment, be evaluated for the new job and be considered for a lease? History tells us, most probably.

Ignoring these realities is not in itself a sign of bigotry any more than not standing for the national anthem is a sign of disrespect for the country or a lack of patriotism. 

This country was founded on the belief that protest by speech, writing and peaceful assembly is lawful. In other words, it is patriotic, it is American, to seek redress of grievances and inequality.

It is unAmerican to deny a qualified applicant a job or housing because of race, religion, national creed or sexual orientation. Yet, for hundreds of years, even to this day, White Americans discriminate against people of color and because of their sex.

Systemic racism permeates police departments. 

The question is, when will all of White America realize their past and present so that All Americans may have an equal future?

Impeachment, Even Acquittal Are Good Outcomes

I have a confession. Political junkie though I may be, I stopped watching the impeachment inquiry marathon after the initial testimonies during the hearings conducted by the House Intelligence Committee. No need to listen further to each side drone on. They were not deliberating. They were not changing any minds. They were posing for sound bites to flash back home and, in the case of Republicans, to beam into the White House where the TV-fanatic-in-chief monitored each presentation and tweeted accordingly.

Passage of impeachment charges by the House Judiciary Committee, and next week by the full House, along straight party lines was a foregone conclusion. As is, barring revelations from Mount Sinai, acquittal by the Republican controlled Senate.

No one should expect anything different. It is, as God found at the time of creation, “good.”

I reach that conclusion for the good of the country. House Democrats had to expose Trump’s violation of his oath of office and the Constitution. They needed to reassert the equality of the legislative branch in our tricameral system of government, even knowing that it would be a pyrrhic, incomplete victory given the outcome in the Senate.

Exposure of another kind is the “good” legacy awaiting Republicans.

Trump has challenged the limits of presidential power and propriety. His behavior and policies, while often repulsive and abhorrent, are not in themselves impeachable offenses. But soliciting foreign government involvement in our elections is. As is thwarting constitutionally empowered congressional oversight of the executive branch by refusing to respond to subpoenas and by ordering his aides not to appear before Congress or to provide requested documents.

I have heard Trump defenders say he has done nothing his predecessors did not do. Putting the veracity of that claim aside, it matters not that Congress previously gave a pass to impeachable behavior. Two, or more, wrongs do not make a right.

By condoning Trump’s actions Republicans have chosen power over principle, partisanship over patriotism. They are repudiating 230 years of constitutional government in favor of opening up our nation to abuses never before tolerated and, once Trump is found not guilty by the Senate, potentially more egregious and damaging to the republic.

It is a shame that courage and putting country over self have virtually no quarter among our political class. If there is any silver lining in this exercise of impeachment it will come from an invigorated electorate that chooses to reward honesty and bravery in government and in so doing will flush the offenders down the drain, thereby cleaning the swamp of its greatest miscreant.