Here We Are Again

Oh, God, help us. Another election is coming on Tuesday.

Two years ago, I was thinking we were better than this. I thought for sure trump would not become president. I knew we had racism and misogynistic issues in our country, but I thought there were more of us who were fighting against our demons. Instead, we have invited them in, and in full force.

After the Access Hollywood tapes came out, I wrote a letter to my children sharing some of my thoughts. I wanted them to know what I was thinking, but I was over 7,000 miles away, so I wrote an email. A few snippets are reprinted below:

Hello, my wonderful daughters,

Good day on this Saturday when you should be thinking of all kinds of other things besides racism and sexism.

I’ve been thinking so much about you every single day while I watch the worst train wreck of my life, and I can’t take my eyes off the carnage. (I pray the Trump train is wrecking for good this week.)

I have been reminded daily of the philosophy of education I prepared in a class when I was working on my Master’s in Arizona. It said something to the effect of, “I need to teach children to be strong readers in order to save our democracy.”

I praise God that community, church, and family along the way taught you both to be critical thinkers and readers. Our democracy is in good hands with people like you! (Unfortunately, I’m afraid over the years I’ve taught some students who turned into obviously not critical thinkers or readers, who demonstrate they listen to only one-sided sources and share bogus and ridiculous nonsense on social media.)

Anyway, last week I was planning to write this letter to you about racism. I should have started it then because today I also need to write about sexism, given the happenings of this week.

I have hope, though. When I think of where I was as a child to where I am now, I am thankful and happy to have grown so much. I know that you two will also grow in your understanding of white privilege and how you can stand by people who don’t have the benefits of it. (Sometimes I just wish more white NFL players would join Kaepernick, so we could have a discussion instead of accusations. Sad, but true. We have a long way to go, don’t we?)

White privilege is very simple to understand for me. I don’t know why people don’t readily acknowledge it. It’s like some of us hang on to racism like clinging to the last shreds of a torn up Confederacy–we keep trying to put it back together.

If Trump is elected, we are not the country we think we are, and we’ll have to do some serious soul-searching.

Donald trump is the perfect spokesperson for this lewd, crude, sexist and abusive subset of our country. He is such an idiot that he is uniting women. I’m sure over the last week I seem to have been reminded of every single unwanted advance, leer, hoot, sexual innuendo, and the man jacking off in his car and calling me over to “show” me something on Grove Avenue as I rode my bike and 10-year-old self by him.

We try to fix things by legislation, like the 19th Amendment and the Civil Rights Acts, and it does amazingly good things. Unfortunately, we have to keep breaking down more and more walls and barriers and butt-ugly sin. Because there is no legislation against sin–we are all guilty. That’s what keeps me in the Church. Jesus is the only one who can save us from our selfish, power-, money-, and greed-hungry selves, and I mean Jesus–not trump’s screwed up “America First, God Second” surrogates–like Jerry Falwell, Jr., and James Dobson. We are all sinners. I like the Church that believes that over national borders. The Church made of a rainbow of beautiful colors and nationalities, including white-privileged males, too, like Phil Yancy, Jim Wallis, Pope Francis, and Dad.

By the way, have you heard of @MBGlenn (Marybeth Glenn), a conservative blogger, on a mission. She’s getting a lot of press lately, for a beautiful tweet storm she sent out.  I hope lots of people join her to send a message to Donald and his minions.

You are amazing women. I’m very proud of you.

Love,
Mom

OK, so fast forward two years, and I just thought of this email and looked it up in my sent folder. (Of course it was there. I never delete an email!)

So, Marybeth’s tweet storm didn’t change enough people’s minds. We aren’t the country I thought we were.

It now seems to have gotten worse these past two years. I thought trump might last 100 days.

I was so sure that Congress would attempt to find out about trump’s emoluments issues, would do a real investigation of his finances and ties to Russia, etc., etc. Man, was I wrong. And disappointed. Now, I’ve stopped holding my breath, but I have some hope, which is my one word for 2018.

Also, about that “White privilege is very simple to understand for me.” Yeah, I’ve learned that’s a little more complicated. I always knew I had white privilege–that part was simple to articulate to my children, but to do anything about it is harder. I have begun a lifelong journey to struggle against the systemic “white” societal framework in which our country was created. I hope every white person in our country joins the struggle–no matter how much or little opportunity, money, power, and status they feel they have. It’s not about that. It’s about white supremacy, and everyone with white skin is either unwittingly or blatantly in collusion with keeping it in tact. If you haven’t already read them, may I recommend two books to get you on the better side of history?

These books have helped me become more aware. That’s all I’m claiming now. I have a long way to go.

It’s two days before the election. Two years after this unfit administration took office. Two years of daily lying, racism, misogyny, corruption, division, fear-mongering. He never once tried to unite the country.

My word is HOPE, and I am hopeful that enough former trump supporters have seen through his bastardization of the presidency. No matter what one believes of Kavanaugh or Gorsuch or the wall or coal and steel or job creation or unrestricted gun rights or any of it, it’s not enough. It’s not worth it.

I have hope that a strong majority of our country’s voters will say yes to “checks and balances” and no to the desecration of civility.