Seeking unity in a time of strife
Although it does sometimes feel as though tempers in this United States — the divisions of class, race and politics — are at an all-time high, we must put the current rancid national atmosphere in historical context. Yes, partisan bitterness seems unending. Witness the rush to rewrite national health reform in the Senate, with legislation being put together in secret and the GOP leaders refusing to allow discussion or debate, much less amendments or true participation from the Democratic minority. Last week, there was horrific violence at GOP baseball practice, when a man identified as a Trump-hating liberal shot at members of Congress and their staff; only brave Capitol police officers prevented more damage.
On Facebook and Twitter, people of different political persuasions spat. Both sides, though, watch as President Donald Trump seems to spin out of control as the investigations into his ties with the Russians (and his attempts to block investigations of said ties) continue. It is most unsettling to have a president — a commander-in-chief — who appears more interested in his personal fortunes than in the fate of the nation. Most unsettling.
In life, family members have quit speaking because the political bridge is too hard to cross. Neighbors ignore each other — the Trump sign in the yard or the fading Hillary sticker on the car, signs of differences that people don’t even want to address. A high school yearbook goes to the absurdity of airbrushing Trump slogans off the T-shirts of students, and students on college campuses rise up in protest when speakers they loathe are invited to speak. Civility, it appears, is becoming a lost art. And yet, we have not actually fired upon one another, except as individual actors. There has been no gathering of states in an attempt to secede, no shots fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina to start a true civil war. Unlike the 1960s, when Vietnam War protesters took to the streets repeatedly, and police officers clashed violently with the young people trying to halt the violence, protests in this Age of Trump have been relatively calm.
Even rocker Ted Nugent, whose rhetoric is angry and loud, seems to be having a change of heart. This is a man who called President Barack Obama a “subhuman mongrel” and Hillary Clinton a “worthless bitch.” After the shootings at the baseball practice in Alexandria, Va., last week, he said he is “re-evaluating his approach.”
In an interview with ABC radio, the conservative said, “And I encourage even my friends [and] enemies on the left in the Democrat and liberal world that we have got to be civil to each other, that the whole world is watching America, where you have the God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and we have got to be more respectful to the other side.”
The point he makes — “we have got to be civil to each other” — cannot be emphasized enough right now. Trump, during his campaign, with his comments about Mexicans, Muslims, the disabled, women and other groups, has lowered the bar for civil discourse. His enemies (and there are many now, considering the president’s approval rating is an abysmal 35 percent of the nation) followed suit, matching outrageous statement with outrageous statement.
We have a professional chattering class, the Ann Coulters, Bill Mahers, Kathy Griffins and others, who speak to gather headlines and gain notoriety. Their rhetoric turns up the heat. Where the country once could have debates about issues, people trade insults and accusations, none of which lends itself to solutions and consensus-building.
Now, just a few months into a presidency, the nation has learned that Trump truly is being investigated — for obstruction of justice, the president said in a tweet, in connection with the first probe into his campaign’s ties with Russia. The climate is likely to grow even more bitter. These are uncomfortable times.
Take heart, then, that the nation is not in an actual civil war, just a verbal one. The divisions, we must remember, aren’t worse than in the past, just exacerbated by instant communications and social media. Reading Twitter for hours a day is enough to raise anyone’s blood pressure.
Yet, the answer is not to disengage from our world. It is to engage in positive ways, looking for solutions and common ground.
All citizens should keep in mind the actions of two heroes, Officers Crystal Griner and David Bailey, special agents on Rep. Steve Scalise’s security detail. Scalise, the Republican majority whip from Louisiana, was at second base when the bullets began flying. The two agents took down the shooter, even while injured themselves, risking their lives to save others.
These cops showed the kind of selflessness and sacrifice that Americans rightly value. They risked their lives — these two African-American agents — for a white man from Louisiana who once described himself as “David Duke without the baggage,” referring to a white supremacist (Scalise later did apologize and disavow the sentiment). He also is a defender of so-called traditional marriage, and if his views prevailed, Griner and her wife would not be legally wed. None of that mattered when the two officers moved into action. They did their jobs with courage and commitment.
They are examples to look to, not to purveyors of hate and division. Citizens can seek to be like Crystal and David, not Donald or Anne or the old Ted. These United States of America are navigating rough waters, but the actions of these heroes show us a better way. Let’s take it.