Never forget the Republicans in public life—in DC and media—who showed us during the course of this presidency that their commitment to self-interest had no bottom. Even 140,000 dead Americans left them unfazed. They should be shunned from polite society the rest of their lives.
I admit I'm one of those who believed all my life that Republicans in the public sphere frequently harmed the country out of an interest in lowering their own taxes but that their greed—while dangerous—had an upper limit. I believed they loved America. I now think few of them do.
The "dean" of Fox News, @BritHume, whose hangdog face somehow always reminded me of the "respectable" media scions of yore, is at this moment on Twitter trying to convince millions that COVID-19 data is being deliberately overstated—in other words, that it's a hoax. This is evil.
Hume is just one example of a man about whom I honestly don't understand the following: how America allows him in polite society once the historic threat Trump poses has passed. I don't understand what sort of person invites him over for dinner after this. Or returns his calls.
Hume could've spent all day every day—for years—arguing for immigration policies I personally don't favor, and I would have considered it the mundanity of politics. I'd find him distasteful and move on. But Americans are being killed by the people Hume's lies are intended to aid.
I don't think Americans have had the time yet to reckon with this new reality: that members of our society didn't just take political positions some of us oppose—which is fine—but actively worked to destroy the very fabric of our culture and rule of law. What do we do with that?
There are people who do things that wound us and we forgive and forget. There are people who do things that wound us and we forgive but don't forget. And there are those who do unforgivable things we can never forget because they threatened the core of our being—and our homeland.
I've been watching the History Channel show "Vikings," and it occurs to me that what I'm speaking of here isn't something many people—for most of history—would've had difficulty understanding. Many times in history certain people in a community have worked publicly to destroy it.
Again, I'm not talking about elements within a society working to amend it through free speech or dissent or voting or having different policy views than their peers. I'm talking about people living in a democracy openly trying to destroy that democracy to make it an *autocracy*.
Hume wants Trump to control all COVID-19 data, and wants this despite knowing Trump is a liar—20,000 lies to America and counting—and despite knowing Trump's actions have killed tens of thousands. That's not dissent; that's wanting our rule of law and system of government to die.
I've never been much bothered if people I meet in life have different values or policy views. I think that's just life. You choose who your friends are, and you choose who you trust and want to spend time with. But how do you deal with someone who wanted to burn down your house?
I don't have answers to these questions. But I agree with those who say the likelihood that we will need some sort of Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the Trump presidency is pretty high.
I don't think America can heal from this by just pretending it didn't happen. /end
I don't think America can heal from this by just pretending it didn't happen. /end
