A Morning for Reflection

Six years ago I wrote a story called The Morning After. No, it was not about The Poseidon Adventure, that kitschy movie when Red Buttons and Shelly Winters helping Gene Hackman redeem himself in an upside-down cruise ship. When I started to write this story with that title, my early warning system told me I had already used that title. It was a story about the loss of Kim’s soulmate pup, Cecil, who died during our first year out here on this hilltop. Kim had waited her whole adult life to get a dog. Her struggles as a musical theater actress did not afford her the ability to have a dog even though her heart yearned for one. Cecil was that one. He was her dog and she loved him dearly and still carries his image on her phone and emblazoned in her heart. The story was about how to move on.

Today we all have a similar problem, but with a very different orientation. We can define what we, as a country, as a people and even as a world have been through as a trauma of sorts and we can define the reference period of that trauma to be the last few weeks of this Midterm election cycle, the two years of Trump II, the decade of Trump’s power surge or even the past 46 years since the Reagan wave swept our country out of our post-WWII need to be more civilized and caring human beings. Trump likes to say that he has sparked a Golden Age for America, but most of us knew and the election blue wave confirms that we almost all now know that that was no more than a gilded Oval Office, a “whatever it takes” Trump Ballroom, a reckless and denialist Reflecting Pool, a wannabe triumphal arch to memorialize his bullying ego, and a national performing arts center that he needs to have his name on at all costs in a churlish display of arrogant narcissism. On the other hand, America’s most recent Golden Age was either the post-WWII mission for global peace and global shared prosperity, or perhaps the longer New Deal era of enlightened and broad social interest where prosperity was defined as what works for the entire, open-arms population of the country that welcomed and embraced humanity. Well, now we have yet another moment of truth for this country and the world when we can see the error of our self-indulgent, selfish and greedy billionaire oligarchical ways and find a way back to that belief in our core values of human decency and shared prosperity. This morning may be that moment.

During the heat of the partisan battles of the past few years, one of the catch-phrases that has generated a great deal of conversation was Michelle Obama’s comment in 2016 in her speech on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where she was speaking in support of Hillary Clinton. Talking about how she and Barack teach their daughters to deal with bullies, she said, “Our motto is, when they go low, we go high.” As far as anyone can tell, the thought as expressed originated with her, but she didn’t present it as a new invention. She called it the Obama family’s motto, something she and Barack had already lived by. She later wrote that she never imagined it would become so closely tied to her name. The general idea of taking the high road is old, but I couldn’t find any well-documented use of that exact phrasing before her 2016 speech. The line took off quickly. Hillary Clinton quoted it in the presidential debates that fall. Eric Holder later flipped it into “When they go low, we kick them,” and Michelle Obama publicly disagreed with that version. And therein lies the challenge we all face in this moment. How do we proceed with the empowerment afforded us collectively through the electorate in the landslide blue wave mandate delivered in this historic Midterm election? The Republicans and especially Trump have gone as low as anyone can imagine, but does that earn us the right or the need to kick them or to embrace them as the sinners they have been and help them repent as we strive for an inclusive next chapter in our national consciousness? We all know the right answer, but do we have the grace to see that through?

I think this is a question that will play out on both the national political level and in our everyday lives. I have neighbors who have been on a different side of many of the issues that were litigated and, I feel, resolved in this election. They have been “right” by virtue of public opinion on Biden’s presidency (indicators on things like the economy as displayed by the Economist headline “The Envy of the World” notwithstanding) and by virtue of the 2024 election results and have somewhat falsely taken that to be a mandate for their way of thinking and acting. And whether they were eager or just complicit in Trump’s taking that to the extreme, they have now been proven to be on the wrong side of history (I actually believe that history will consider this moment to be just the beginning of all the depiction of the wrongness of most of the last decade of political machinations). No amount of expression of concern over the latest transgressions or inconsistency of policy versus promise was enough to sway them from their belief that they were on the right side of the “Bigger Picture”, as they like to hide behind. Many long ago said they have little respect for the man (Trump), but still respected the policy directions and some have even started to suggest that the policies may have gone too far (they went too far long ago). But this morning, they are awakening to a new reality that they can no longer pass off as an illegal voter anomaly or a rigged election. This blue wave has been so pervasive that no amount of rigging could have created it and even Trump acknowledged as much, just like Orban was forced to do not so long ago, that he would accept the results of the election. That is as much an admission of fear of reprisal as it is Trump suddenly getting reasonable and democratic.

Should he fear reprisal? Yes, probably based on some of his most egregious moves. But not today. Not this morning. When they go low, we need to go high. We need to immediately fix the most broken parts of our national infrastructure, starting with healthcare and our social safety net. Then we need to get our global trade policy and national security overreach back into some semblance of common interest and respectability. Should his minions be running for cover? I believe they already are and most definitely should because that may be where the most empowered coattailing evil doers reside and need to be properly admonished as examples to deter future excesses. But there has to be due process. We cannot lynch the bastards. But what of our friends and family that were wrong-minded? I believe they mostly know they were wrong, whether they would ever admit it or not, and it never serves any purpose to force redemption on people. I say let them stew in their own juices and admit whatever they need to to themselves. I want no admissions and I will seek no apologies or expect no recantations. It’s time to move on to a better place and specifically NOT kick anyone when they are down.