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Unprecedented Day
2019-Feb-18, Monday 02:15 pmSomeday soon I'll have to write about definitions for terms like democracy, republic, socialism, the various "archies", fascism, and anti-fascism. For now, though, on this President's Day holiday, it's enough to direct attention to the behavior of this president, his Republican political party, and their combined effect on our world influence.
It's expected that any political figure will be subject to criticism. This Republican president is very, very bad at it.
Criticism is usually more palatable when it's presented in humor. Satire is a form of critique that often employs humor during its ridicule.
It's assumed, of course, that any such criticism is based in reality, that it is justified by facts rather than ideologies. Substantiating facts therefore becomes a critical function. Journalism free from political retaliation is necessary. There are indeed standards that journalists should follow for verification of information, corrections to mistakes, and disclosure of conflicts of interest. But it's not the place of a President to decide what is true and what can be reported.
Back when the USA believed in facts and operated with integrity (before Bush lied about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, and before Trump lied about nearly everything), other world leaders accepted our word immediately.
Faced with opposition, it's the responsibility of the President, even more than other politicians, to act with civility since the office of the President is meant to represent and uphold the civil authority of the nation.
We can easily measure anyone's civility by observing how they react to those with no political power, who ask for their share of authority and good fortune.
His own Republican party has done nothing to change Trump's behavioral problems or bad policy positions. These substantive issues are certainly worthy of criticism. It seems fair also to mock Trump personally, like his "unpresidented" idiocy, since that's exactly how he treats others. That's the world he works to create, so it seems fair to give it to him. The Republican party continues to protect Trump, allowing him to corrode the values necessary to make any democracy function. I blame them all. So, let's take a moment to honor the 45th President on this special holiday meant for that purpose.
Congratulations to the USA on this historically remarkable president.
It's expected that any political figure will be subject to criticism. This Republican president is very, very bad at it.
| Doing it right | Doing it wrong |
| "To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else." - 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt | "Now that Russian collusion, after one year of intense study, has proven to be a total hoax on the American public, the Democrats and their lapdogs, the Fake News Mainstream Media, are taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence. Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart." - 45th President, Donald Trump |
Criticism is usually more palatable when it's presented in humor. Satire is a form of critique that often employs humor during its ridicule.
| Doing it right | Doing it wrong |
| "It is part of the price of leadership of this great and free nation to be the target of clever satirists. You have given the gift of laughter to our people. May we never grow so somber or self-important that we fail to appreciate the humor in our lives." - 36th President, Lyndon B Johnson | "Question is, how do the Networks get away with these total Republican hit jobs without retribution?" - 45th President, Donald Trump, regarding Saturday Night Live performance |
It's assumed, of course, that any such criticism is based in reality, that it is justified by facts rather than ideologies. Substantiating facts therefore becomes a critical function. Journalism free from political retaliation is necessary. There are indeed standards that journalists should follow for verification of information, corrections to mistakes, and disclosure of conflicts of interest. But it's not the place of a President to decide what is true and what can be reported.
| Doing it right | Doing it wrong |
| "The only security of all is in a free press." "Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press. It is, therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions." - 3rd President, Thomas Jefferson | “I would never kill them but I do hate them [reporters]. And some of them are such lying, disgusting people. It’s true.” "With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!" - 45th President, Donald Trump "It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!" - 45th President, Donald Trump |
Back when the USA believed in facts and operated with integrity (before Bush lied about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, and before Trump lied about nearly everything), other world leaders accepted our word immediately.
| Doing it right | Doing it wrong |
| "No, no, no, no. The word of the president of the United States is good enough for me." - French President Charles de Gaulle, regarding 35th president John F Kennedy during Cuban missile crisis | Pence: "I bring greetings from the 45th President of the United States of America, Donald Trump." Pence: [awkward pause amidst silence] Pence: "The time has come for our European partners to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal..." Pence: [visibly shaken amidst silence] - 48th Vice President, Mike Pence, at the 2019 Munich Security Conference |
Faced with opposition, it's the responsibility of the President, even more than other politicians, to act with civility since the office of the President is meant to represent and uphold the civil authority of the nation.
| Doing it right | Doing it wrong |
| “If we judge ourselves only by our aspirations and everyone else only their conduct we shall soon reach a very false conclusion.” - 30th President, Calvin Coolidge “Don’t criticize them; they are just what we would be under similar circumstances.” - 16th President, Abraham Lincoln | "What a stupid question. What a stupid question that is. But I watch you a lot. You ask a lot of stupid questions." - 45th President, Donald Trump |
We can easily measure anyone's civility by observing how they react to those with no political power, who ask for their share of authority and good fortune.
| Doing it right | Doing it wrong |
| "To ignore the refugees in their hour of need would be to repudiate the values we cherish as a nation of immigrants, and I was not about to let Congress do that." - 38th President, Gerald Ford | "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" - 45th President, Donald Trump |
His own Republican party has done nothing to change Trump's behavioral problems or bad policy positions. These substantive issues are certainly worthy of criticism. It seems fair also to mock Trump personally, like his "unpresidented" idiocy, since that's exactly how he treats others. That's the world he works to create, so it seems fair to give it to him. The Republican party continues to protect Trump, allowing him to corrode the values necessary to make any democracy function. I blame them all. So, let's take a moment to honor the 45th President on this special holiday meant for that purpose.
Congratulations to the USA on this historically remarkable president.