I try to stay above the fray in these Musings—honestly I do—but sometimes I just can’t help myself. When I watch a public unraveling the likes of which none of us have seen before, I just can’t pretend that it’s business as usual. So (spoiler alert!) as much as I’d like to write about kinder, gentler subjects—two sweet kids in a sunny meadow, for example—I’m compelled to go down in that hollow and explore the cloudy world below.
The spectrum describing recent Presidential behavior runs the gamut from “childish and impulsive” (at best) to “insane and downright dangerous” (at worst). That leaves adjectives like “deranged” or “unhinged” somewhere in the middle. Subversion of legitimate foreign policy goals to serve domestic political agenda: we got it! Corrupt practices in direct defiance of the Constitution: we got that, too. Impulsive and ill-informed decisions that betray our allies and cost innocent people their lives: check. Boorish, vulgar, petulant, and vindictive behavior that sets a new low bar with each passing day: so what else is new?
It’s clear to me: whether by impeachment and conviction or by ballot, this President must be removed from office. His gang of thieves, too. The stakes are too high, the risks too great to pretend otherwise. This is not about overturning the election of 2016; this is about saving our country from madness and ineptitude. As much as I wish it were otherwise, it’s simply not possible to stay above this fray.
When a fabric frays, it unravels or becomes worn at the edges, usually as a result of constant rubbing or friction. Fraying ultimately leads to breakage and we’re now at that sorry point. And the fabric in question is not the stuff of clothing. It’s the very fabric of our society that’s at risk and when the tear finally comes—as it surely will—how will we hold ourselves together? We’ll need a seamstress or tailor of exceptional skill to repair this rupture. “Who?” you ask. I have no idea. I wish I did.
This much I do know: the sidelines are no longer an acceptable vantage point. Each one of us must choose a side and I’m under no illusion that many of us, some friends included, will choose the side of chaos. Their choice worries me as much, if not more, than the chaos itself. I can understand why some people feel disenfranchised or threatened by the profound changes happening within our society. What I cannot fathom, however, is why these same people are not dissuaded by blatant corruption and moral turpitude—actions or behavior that so clearly violate acceptable societal norms. There is something at work here that defies rational understanding. If someone can explain it to me, please do.
Down in the vale, the clouds hang low and heavy but up on top of the hill where it’s always sunny and bright, there is hope. I would rather be up there watching the little ones run about, not unconcerned or oblivious to real problems down below, but at least not drenched by this daily deluge of malfeasance and corruption. Believe me when I tell you that I would much rather remain above the fray, but for now we’re all lost down in the fog.
I’ll be right back.
Jamie Kirkpatrick is a writer and photographer with homes in Chestertown and Bethesda. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Washington College Alumni Magazine, and American Cowboy magazine. “A Place to Stand,” a book of photographs and essays about Landon School, was published by the Chester River Press in 2015. A collection of his essays titled “Musing Right Along” was published in May 2017; a second volume of Musings entitled “I’ll Be Right Back” was released in June 2018. Jamie’s website is www.musingjamie.com
Bob Moores says
Eloquent perspective, Jamie. Like you, I have had a hard time trying to understand why so many of my fellow citizens support this despicable man. In all my days I have never seen a president (or any other politician) so corrupt, so self-centered, so vulgar and immoral, such a con man, so antithetical to the values taught me by my parents and by my wife and me to our children. Has any other politician been constantly in the news defending his daily scandal and making childish attempts to turn all criticisms back to the critics? Has any other president claimed to be the smartest president ever, the healthiest president, the least racist person you have ever met, the best military strategist, the best deal-maker? Oh please – it hurts when I laugh so hard.
It would seem that he holds contempt for our Constitution, but that could only be true if he knew what it says, which doesn’t appear to be the case.
Are we Americans so shallow that we can’t see through this flag-hugging charlatan, this modern-day rebirth of P.T. Barnum? I was so proud to be represented by Barack Obama. Are we proud that our current president is the face of America? I am not. He does not represent me.
Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin says
From the deepest of my heart, thank you for saying what needs to be said outloud in such a clear voice. With the loss of Congress as a co-equal part of our government at this point, and the decisions in the White House being made alone or with cronies as by a dictator or a king, means we have already lost so much of ourselves and what we have stood for. We now roll seemingly headlong down a path towards loss of all that men especially from this part of Maryland fought for on the battlefield in New York and all the battles thereafter. We betray all those deaths on all those battlefields from then until this very day by men and women who believed in democracy, not dictatorship or kingship. We are now at the point of dismissing totally our American values and what it means to be an American.
kathryn Day says
kathryn Day says
October 22, 2019 at 10:11 AM
The content of Jamie’s essay is a frequent conversation between my husband and myself. What can we do that has any positive impact on climate, politics, race, poverty? It seems that most of the effort for improvement is just a band-aid on a mortal wound. And I ask myself, what was it that finally helped the Jewish people in Europe when they were being slaughtered and their treasures stolen? Was it The Resistance–that group that quietly and secretly went to work, or the people who showed public outrage? This debate is making us think beyond protests of marches and signs. What will really work and have an impact? Voting in this day and age might only be a part of the solution.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Thank you Jamie for this wonderfully thoughtful piece.
Our Federal Government is now just one huge criminal organization under a lunatic…like a two-bit banana republic lead by a paint-eating President. Didn’t we know how unfit he was four years ago? Decent people did and still do. How one can be around anyone who supports this man is beyond me. Even the Nazis had defenders in early 1945. By Christmas nobody knew any Nazis. I find anyone who still supports Trump creepy, selfish and fearful. They are too dishonorable to admit they support a charlatan and too vile to speak out against caging children. Caging children, that is where we are. Are people really that horrible to support this just for tax cuts??!!
David LaMotte says
Spot on Jamie! Thank you for this, for speaking out about the insanity that has spun out of control in our White House with his band of thieves and in our nation with a bizarre sickness that has inexplicably infected those who still support this president or stay silent and look the other way.
Sara says
Well said, Jamie. And, thank you for articulating so clearly the position of all thinking people.
Best, Sara & Briggs Cunningham
Christina Stinchcomb says
Our nation, as well as other nations, are being collectively traumatized by this warped and demented man and his cohorts. It has been a slow and unbearable trajectory that will hopefully come to a head soon! And with it a shake up and a new moral compass. Keep the faith and speak your mind people. Not a time to be silent and avoid the difficult conversations.
Joyce Kim says
I am in agreement with everything you said. Thank you so much for saying it.
Susan De Simone says
Thank you for your passion for a decent society and anger at those who would destroy it with lies and power plays. What can an ordinary citizen do? Let me recommend that citizens read “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century” by the distinguished historian and professor at Yale University Timothy Snyder. It is a short, pithy affordable ($9) book that will fit into your pocket and give you twenty pieces of sound advice. (Example: Chapter 2, “Defend Institutions” whose summary is “It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of ‘our institutions’ unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. They fall one after the other unless each is defended from the beginning. So choose an institution you care about–a court, a newspaper, a law, a labor union–and take its side.”)