Downstate Rush: State of Reality T.V.

Years ago, when I first moved to Chicago, I would often drive back to Kansas City, just the dog, me, and eight hours of farmland. Back before satellite radio and cell phones and any kind of high tech mobile entertainment there was FM radio and stations that catered to their surroundings. Driving downstate meant hours of country music as the CD's I meant to bring were often sitting on the kitchen table, forgotten in the race to get out the door. Once I got past Springfield there was little else but talk radio and in downstate Illinois that meant Rush Limbaugh.

I grew up in a Republican household. I was weaned on Nixon and Reagan. But this was new, what this man was saying was unlike anything I'd heard at home and it was horrible. Hours later my father assured me that this was not what he believed, Rush Limbaugh did not represent the vast majority of the Republican Party, and that his audience was small. Rush Limbaugh, dad assured me, was a footnote in the wide open spaces of the Midwest; he didn't speak for everyone.

Last week the president awarded Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In a speech that was more reality television than the constitutionally mandated informative update to Congress, Trump handed out scholarships, reunited families, and awarded the highest civilian honor to a man who has attacked every single segment of the population: women, minorities, children, anyone who disagreed with him (I refuse to quote him).

My dad was wrong. His audience was big, growing, and now, rewarded.

Recently, as part of a class, I reread The Federalist Papers. Interesting reading in the age of Trump, the first president in my memory to completely alter my interpretation of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay. For all the brilliance in their work they missed one important element: that one day we may elect a person so morally corrupt, so uninformed on the working of government, that all the checks and balances won't matter. The founders assumed that this country would choose educated, honest, and kind people to hold executive office (remember, they were modeling the position for George Washington, Mr. I Cannot Tell a Lie). Even with the tremendous foresight of the founders, Hamilton in particular, they did not establish safeguards to protect a democracy from a president who lies about things so easily verified. Rush Limbaugh, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, has spent years preparing Trump's base for this moment, and now it is our choice how to respond.

My father isn't here to see the Limbaugh enabled Trumping of the US. I'm confident he wouldn't like it, confident that he would, like Mitt Romney and John McCain, find a way to look beyond republican party platforms and cast a vote for country over self. There's hope in that, and we all could use a little more hope right now.

The Other Side? Hate, Anger, Contempt, Disdain, Hostility, Deceit

"Take each other's side", she said.

My mother, who generally abstained from political discussion, was suggesting, as she browned hamburger or drained pasta, that we do what?

"Stop arguing your own side and argue the other. It will help, especially if you want to go to law school". Did I want to go to law school?

My mother voted for George Bush because he was handsome. She grew up in Texas,  home to a preponderance of Republicans, and the best reasoning she could dream up in voting for George Bush was his boyish good looks. Politics were not, and have never been, of any interest to her but the woman can argue with a calendar as to what day it is.

My father, a Texas Aggie republican, and his daughter, a burgeoning democrat, were momentarily silenced from the conversation that had been going on for years.

Note both practical conservative and liberal crunchy footwear.

Dad drew me in to politics, bringing home his love of history and debate to dinner every night, at no time more heartily than the summer of 1980, when Jimmy Carter was poised to lose the White House to Ronald Reagan. Reagan was everything Dad wanted him to be, I felt tragically sorry for Carter and all the tragedies of his administration, and John Anderson was an interesting, albeit idealistic, option. My father spent hours explaining to me the insanity of an Anderson vote (twelve years later he quietly cast his vote for Ross Perot unable to take any more of the Bush years). That summer I had knee surgery and spent a week in the hospital, the same week as the Republican National Convention. I remember quite clearly the nurse apologizing when she realized that then, in the days of only three network stations, the only thing to watch on my hospital television, was the convention. My week of bed rest was spent arming myself political ammunition.

Weeks later Sharie shut us both down with this simple idea, "take the other side".

For all the madness that is my mother this idea, her own nod to Atticus Finch, has served me well, not only in political debate, but in the day to day interactions of an adult, a mother, a wife.

And so, in this election, I have tried very hard to argue the other side. I have read countless articles written by people in support of Donald Trump, or in support of those things he propounds to believe. In years past this approach has worked, and ultimately, while I may have not agreed ideologically with candidates, I could find a level of respect for them and their beliefs. Not so this year.

In fact I am challenged to find one piece of good in either the candidate or campaign. Beyond that, I am horrified as I watch the unearthing of hate and anger which, it seems, has been lying dormant for years in a country that extols acceptance and equality as it's virtues. The ongoing rebuttal of fact, the creation of new rules and the lowered standard of behavior is simply mind boggling. No matter how many times I try to argue the other side I find there is simply nothing there to argue. I am at a complete loss as to the dismissal of intelligent thought when faced with this childlike and temperamental behavior. This alone would, and should, disqualify a candidate. It seems in 2016 his lack of moral compass and ongoing disregard for standards of civil conduct seem to only propel him further along. People finding their voice in this candidate scare me far more than the candidate himself.

I question the intelligence and temperament of anyone willing to vote for a man so completely unqualified and unprepared for this job, and I do not understand those that chose to not vote out of disgust for both options. You may not like or agree with one, but you must exercise your precious right to vote. Maintain your politics at the state and legislative level but don't forgo your chance to keep this republican out of the White House.

Dear Mom, I have tried, really I have to argue the other side. The truth is I can't see the policy for the hyperbole. I can't find the truth for the misrepresentation of politics and process. I can't find the good for the abhorrent and repulsive behavior. I have tried.

In my heart I know my dad, the lifetime republican, would do the right thing. Never a democrat but decent and kind and passionately tied to education and truth my father would vote to keep this man and his contempt for women, minorities, and the disabled out of the White House.

Take this opportunity to do the right thing.

Rewarding Bad Behavior: Retrumplicans Finding Their Voice

When deciding where to go for dinner Tuesday our daughters' main criteria was finding a place with televisions so they could watch the election returns. They are, at eleven, actively engaged in the entire political process and eager to absorb as much of this election as possible. 

Name calling, bullying, lying; it's been quite educational thus far. 

Trump's behavior belies everything we teach our children about being good people. But that isn't the most concerning aspect of this campaign, it's the amazing amount of people who continue to support him.

What concerns me is not Trump's refusal to dismiss the endorsement of a KKK leader, or even his inability to accept responsibility for his misstep. What is truly concerning is that there is an entire population of people who have found their voice in this racist bully and that is much harder to explain to children.

Trump continues to offend. His debate behavior is patronizing and boorish. The list of people he has insulted, mocked or threatened is extensive. And yet, it doesn't matter. With each profanation his support grows, and that is what is most disturbing. At this point the truth doesn't matter and sadly Trump is correct; it seems he could fire a gun down Fifth Avenue and not lose any votes.

Trump wants to build a wall to keep out others; he may need to build a wall to keep in Americans. Living in a country where a majority of people support this kind of tyranny undermines the objectives of the founding fathers. Dismissing the behavior of one is much easier than accepting the racial, economic and social divide supported by the once silent majority of Trump supporters. Trump's unearthing of hatred is terrifying and in sharp contrast to the message of kindness and inclusion we are teaching our children.

Make certain there is always room at the lunch table for someone who hasn't anywhere else to sit. 

Cartoon, David Sipress, The New Yorker