John, these are lovely sentiments, but the USA has been a problem child in the world for a very long time. The (neo)imperialist, neofascist, and christofascist tendencies that are embedded in the notion of Manifest Destiny, which has driven American foreign policy and policies of expansion since the early 1800s (yes: over 200 years), and which was supposedly inspired by the process of expansion of the Roman Empire (a malign institution, as most historians of the ancient world know) has to be weighed along with all the lovely ideals embedded in the Constitution and its amendment system, in FDR's Four Freedoms, and in other statements by the occasional (and I mean occasional) political leader who didn't try to export a toxic notion of American Exceptionalism to the rest of the world. Way back in 2004, when Bush II was re-elected, a chain email letter went around my particular international community of scholars with the simple statement "We are so sorry, world, that this dipsh*t excuse for a human was re-elected." And when I sent it to a large number of people I know all over the world, I got replies: "We know you are. We know you're not the problem." Twenty years later, we who are reasonable people have had to do this TWICE MORE. This is not about just one deranged, demented, medication-addled person who is about to become Felon in Chief. It is an American problem.
I agree. Those so called foundations we rest on are rotted through-we are not superior, sometimes, this nation isn't even equal to those who have chosen a different and better direction.
Our future in the USA shouldn't rest on bullying, but cooperating and creating a world of equals. It's an idealist's dream, but one I like to hope is possible...someday.
Sadly this malignant problem within our culture keeps rising up. Somehow it seems we can't get rid of it. Before DT I though the specter of the KKK was behind us in the dustbin. I believed in an America that was kind and valued everyone and that we were in the final stages if equality for all. Boy was I mistaken.
I'd was thinking about something along these line. I grew up in the U.S., then moved away in my 40s. Americans have been perceived as the "ugly Americans", and arrogance, especially when traveling, is well known. I have family members there, who are at risk with the new regime, and they feel the need to move. But, it won't be easy, not because of the reasons they're afraid. It's because they're Americans. I came to Canada, and Canadians are generally polite, I've had no trouble. But, friends have spoken candidly to me mentioning that reputation. I've been humbled having stepped into another world and viewing things from other's perspective.
I am in Britain and I echo what Philip has said. Thank you for not falling for Christian Nationalism and being the voice of reason and more closely following Jesus’ teachings.
#45’s takeover of our national conversation has given people permission to voice their hatreds out loud. I am sorry to disagree with you, John in this instance, but this ugliness is exactly who America is. Maybe not everyone, not those of us in this forum, but the collective history of America is very ugly. Racism has been a part of America since the days of exploration. The native populations were wiped out because they were “savages.” The Africans, who were kidnapped to become enslaved in America, were considered less than human and treated like animals. Expeditions were sent out to explore North America were expected to turn a profit. If anything, people, flora and fauna, got in the way of that profit, they were often wiped out.
We have idolized Jefferson’s words “that all men are created equal,” but collectively we have not acted like everyone was equal. Any time we have made forward progress toward that goal, a movement, like the tea party, usually fueled by the morbidly wealthy like Charles Koch, has risen up to knock that progress backwards HARD.
A plurality of people in this election voted for a criminal and a traitor, the absolute worst candidate any party has ever fielded. Plus, those who did not bother to vote have condemned all of us to a time when the rule of law is uncertain, and the morbidly rich rule. The veneer of civility is VERY THIN, and folks are about to find out how thin most people’s veneer really is. I believe that most people are a combination of good and bad. In this election, voters chose the bad. They will soon have to live with that choice.
We will all soon have to live with that choice - even those around the world, who had no opportunity for a vote in the matter. And, yes, we have never been a nation who actually enacted our stated ideals. We need to own that truth. And yet, I suggest that we stand with John and leaders like him, who continue to name our atrocities and call us to actualize our ideals. If not us, who? If not now, when?
I’m sure there’ll be pushback from this from those who think they ARE decent Americans who voted for this mess. They would deny they embrace any of the “qualities” you describe. I’ve read everything I can trying to explain this nasty phenomena but I’ll never ever be able to understand, much less accept, the willful ignorance of people putting party ahead of any common sense, and who appear, by their choices, to have deep seated hatreds that wouldn’t allow them to see underneath the disinformation and clownfuckery - or even if they did, couldn’t bring themselves to vote for the “other.”
Thank you, John, for writing such an eloquent, direct, and heartfelt piece. I am happy to be a part of your tribe and all the goodness you fiercely defend. Let's create a nationwide petition reaffirming our faith in your words and send it worldwide to show that democracy, decency, and love of country have not died in darkness.
I have felt so depressed lately over this. We warned people. We proved his lies had no substance. We’ve shown over and over what he and his evil money minions represent, and yet here we are. I’ve felt I was beating my head against a wall for nothing and had determined just to do what I can locally to counter this. But I can’t look away, and I can’t let others look away, so I’ll keep putting it out there. Joyce Vance intends to catalog these abominations, and I’ll put them out there. Every day. I can barely look at some of my friends and family, who seem to have been “decent,” caring, people, but who I know voted for this mess, which says something about them I didn’t see before. Thank you for continuing to be an anchor for those of us who know this is not how it can be.
We need a version of the bumper sticker that appeared in Montana in the early 200s when a simultaneous outbreak of Mad Cow Disease hit cattle and sheep in the UK and militia activity was at a high point in Idaho, Montana, and the Dakotas. In Montana people began sporting bumper stickers that said "Well, at least our cows are sane."
Thanks for speaking out for those of us who did not want, and who fought against this man being a "qualified candidate.," John. So many of us are angry and sick at heart that people actually voted for this despicable display of a man. I am embarrassed and ashamed of what America has become under the hate-filled rhetoric and outright lies that we and the rest of the world have been constantly subjected to over the past decade because a loud-mouthed, entitled, thin-skinned, petulant baby in an adult body has been left to get away with all his bs. And it has opened the way for hate to rule over love and good in this nation.
Some of us will never bow down to this, and I am grateful knowing none of us is really alone in the fight.
The spectacle of American goodness and true Christian beauty was demonstrated over and over again at President Carter’s funeral. If you didn’t watch it, I highly recommend doing so.
I look forward to reading “ my thoughts” 😉 so eloquently stated.
And, as most have responded with: action is the only answer. No bemoaning the past. But, the past will repeat ,as has been thoroughly noted,
only if we , the grown up thinking people discipline our government and our citizens with rules (law) that don’t just pretend to exist, but actually have meaning! No teenager ever took casual threats to heart…. they simply became empty undirected angry citizens.
Support your country as you would support your children: discipline, purpose, boundaries, example of kindness and caring, and in the process
this country can ,for once, experience all the platitudes of perfection we love to share. Only “order” can eliminate chaos. Not “order to eliminate someone’s’ freedom” but order that comes for all in the form of actual meaning and purpose. And equality….the big meaningless word we love to pander to, has to mean equal opportunity for a strong middle class to exist. It is actually a circle:⭕️ the better you do, the better I do!
May we get in the circle as a citizenry of purpose…. But only one purpose: to really be who we say we are.
John, Know that many outside the USA will embrace your hopes. We pray for you and other likeminded. May you endure. Philip (in Australia).
John, these are lovely sentiments, but the USA has been a problem child in the world for a very long time. The (neo)imperialist, neofascist, and christofascist tendencies that are embedded in the notion of Manifest Destiny, which has driven American foreign policy and policies of expansion since the early 1800s (yes: over 200 years), and which was supposedly inspired by the process of expansion of the Roman Empire (a malign institution, as most historians of the ancient world know) has to be weighed along with all the lovely ideals embedded in the Constitution and its amendment system, in FDR's Four Freedoms, and in other statements by the occasional (and I mean occasional) political leader who didn't try to export a toxic notion of American Exceptionalism to the rest of the world. Way back in 2004, when Bush II was re-elected, a chain email letter went around my particular international community of scholars with the simple statement "We are so sorry, world, that this dipsh*t excuse for a human was re-elected." And when I sent it to a large number of people I know all over the world, I got replies: "We know you are. We know you're not the problem." Twenty years later, we who are reasonable people have had to do this TWICE MORE. This is not about just one deranged, demented, medication-addled person who is about to become Felon in Chief. It is an American problem.
I agree. Those so called foundations we rest on are rotted through-we are not superior, sometimes, this nation isn't even equal to those who have chosen a different and better direction.
Our future in the USA shouldn't rest on bullying, but cooperating and creating a world of equals. It's an idealist's dream, but one I like to hope is possible...someday.
Sadly this malignant problem within our culture keeps rising up. Somehow it seems we can't get rid of it. Before DT I though the specter of the KKK was behind us in the dustbin. I believed in an America that was kind and valued everyone and that we were in the final stages if equality for all. Boy was I mistaken.
Yup, same! This is not an isolated incident. This is not new. This is saddening but not surprising to the rest of the world.
I'd was thinking about something along these line. I grew up in the U.S., then moved away in my 40s. Americans have been perceived as the "ugly Americans", and arrogance, especially when traveling, is well known. I have family members there, who are at risk with the new regime, and they feel the need to move. But, it won't be easy, not because of the reasons they're afraid. It's because they're Americans. I came to Canada, and Canadians are generally polite, I've had no trouble. But, friends have spoken candidly to me mentioning that reputation. I've been humbled having stepped into another world and viewing things from other's perspective.
I am in Britain and I echo what Philip has said. Thank you for not falling for Christian Nationalism and being the voice of reason and more closely following Jesus’ teachings.
#45’s takeover of our national conversation has given people permission to voice their hatreds out loud. I am sorry to disagree with you, John in this instance, but this ugliness is exactly who America is. Maybe not everyone, not those of us in this forum, but the collective history of America is very ugly. Racism has been a part of America since the days of exploration. The native populations were wiped out because they were “savages.” The Africans, who were kidnapped to become enslaved in America, were considered less than human and treated like animals. Expeditions were sent out to explore North America were expected to turn a profit. If anything, people, flora and fauna, got in the way of that profit, they were often wiped out.
We have idolized Jefferson’s words “that all men are created equal,” but collectively we have not acted like everyone was equal. Any time we have made forward progress toward that goal, a movement, like the tea party, usually fueled by the morbidly wealthy like Charles Koch, has risen up to knock that progress backwards HARD.
A plurality of people in this election voted for a criminal and a traitor, the absolute worst candidate any party has ever fielded. Plus, those who did not bother to vote have condemned all of us to a time when the rule of law is uncertain, and the morbidly rich rule. The veneer of civility is VERY THIN, and folks are about to find out how thin most people’s veneer really is. I believe that most people are a combination of good and bad. In this election, voters chose the bad. They will soon have to live with that choice.
We will all soon have to live with that choice - even those around the world, who had no opportunity for a vote in the matter. And, yes, we have never been a nation who actually enacted our stated ideals. We need to own that truth. And yet, I suggest that we stand with John and leaders like him, who continue to name our atrocities and call us to actualize our ideals. If not us, who? If not now, when?
Hear hear! Amen! 🥲🥹
I’m sure there’ll be pushback from this from those who think they ARE decent Americans who voted for this mess. They would deny they embrace any of the “qualities” you describe. I’ve read everything I can trying to explain this nasty phenomena but I’ll never ever be able to understand, much less accept, the willful ignorance of people putting party ahead of any common sense, and who appear, by their choices, to have deep seated hatreds that wouldn’t allow them to see underneath the disinformation and clownfuckery - or even if they did, couldn’t bring themselves to vote for the “other.”
Thanks for a new favorite, Lynn: Clownfuckery is eloquent & spot on!
Thank you, John, for writing such an eloquent, direct, and heartfelt piece. I am happy to be a part of your tribe and all the goodness you fiercely defend. Let's create a nationwide petition reaffirming our faith in your words and send it worldwide to show that democracy, decency, and love of country have not died in darkness.
I have felt so depressed lately over this. We warned people. We proved his lies had no substance. We’ve shown over and over what he and his evil money minions represent, and yet here we are. I’ve felt I was beating my head against a wall for nothing and had determined just to do what I can locally to counter this. But I can’t look away, and I can’t let others look away, so I’ll keep putting it out there. Joyce Vance intends to catalog these abominations, and I’ll put them out there. Every day. I can barely look at some of my friends and family, who seem to have been “decent,” caring, people, but who I know voted for this mess, which says something about them I didn’t see before. Thank you for continuing to be an anchor for those of us who know this is not how it can be.
I need to find a car bumper magnet that reads, "I am NOT with him."
We need a version of the bumper sticker that appeared in Montana in the early 200s when a simultaneous outbreak of Mad Cow Disease hit cattle and sheep in the UK and militia activity was at a high point in Idaho, Montana, and the Dakotas. In Montana people began sporting bumper stickers that said "Well, at least our cows are sane."
And/but, he has countless people above, around and below him that are shaping this awful time in history - may Heaven help us
Never forget the "POWER of the PEN"..........
Thanks for speaking out for those of us who did not want, and who fought against this man being a "qualified candidate.," John. So many of us are angry and sick at heart that people actually voted for this despicable display of a man. I am embarrassed and ashamed of what America has become under the hate-filled rhetoric and outright lies that we and the rest of the world have been constantly subjected to over the past decade because a loud-mouthed, entitled, thin-skinned, petulant baby in an adult body has been left to get away with all his bs. And it has opened the way for hate to rule over love and good in this nation.
Some of us will never bow down to this, and I am grateful knowing none of us is really alone in the fight.
The spectacle of American goodness and true Christian beauty was demonstrated over and over again at President Carter’s funeral. If you didn’t watch it, I highly recommend doing so.
I look forward to reading “ my thoughts” 😉 so eloquently stated.
And, as most have responded with: action is the only answer. No bemoaning the past. But, the past will repeat ,as has been thoroughly noted,
only if we , the grown up thinking people discipline our government and our citizens with rules (law) that don’t just pretend to exist, but actually have meaning! No teenager ever took casual threats to heart…. they simply became empty undirected angry citizens.
Support your country as you would support your children: discipline, purpose, boundaries, example of kindness and caring, and in the process
this country can ,for once, experience all the platitudes of perfection we love to share. Only “order” can eliminate chaos. Not “order to eliminate someone’s’ freedom” but order that comes for all in the form of actual meaning and purpose. And equality….the big meaningless word we love to pander to, has to mean equal opportunity for a strong middle class to exist. It is actually a circle:⭕️ the better you do, the better I do!
May we get in the circle as a citizenry of purpose…. But only one purpose: to really be who we say we are.
Wow John- that is an amazing reflection- thank you- I read that with emotion and I want to spread it widely. Keep up the wonderful work!!
No apology to Canadians?
I am sorry, sorry that we've inflicted this vermillion plague on you, Panama and the rest of the sane world.
I may not have voted for him, but he is who the crazed and fanatical have chosen, and we're stuck with him-the real question is: for how long?
And what horror can he bring about before we are rid of him?
Well I am horrified that he wants to annex you
I had planned to temporary live in Canada, coming from upstate NY, to escape another Trump presidency!
Apologies especially to Canadians and Mexicans
Again, beautifully written.