It is a sad day in the United States.
The President of the United States has been reduced to refereeing an open-air fist-fight, and has been sucked into a "who shot first" debate with equally crazed media.
Rather than bearing up the dignity of the office, or at least using a press availability to let off steam about the event, Trump insisted on making two categories of statements over and over again: one, that there were some 'good people' within the white nationalist/supremacist crowd. This in and of itself is at least extremely dubious, and would depend on Trump's ability to judge character from some apparent knowledge of the crowd he would claim to have. His second statement, that in essence, 'both sides were to blame', may have some degree of factual grounds, as "alt-left" groups such as Antifa and BLM are reputed to have violent track records as well. And yet, Trump bears a responsibility to know - and has a staggering lack of concern - for the fact of how his comments are going to be interpreted.
The Charlottesville event was marred by violent scuffles, many injuries, and the tragic death of a young woman, Heather Heyer. Those events have been reported elsewhere - indeed, the Internet is replete with reports, video and rhetoric, all of which are difficult to watch.
But regardless of the facts - which no doubt will continue to emerge - President Trump owes the nation a duty of clear communication and unambiguous condemnation of bigotry and hatred. In this he has unequivocally failed. Trump's words, approach, and timing were beyond poorly chosen, and it is very, very easy to take what he said - that "both sides are to blame" as an endorsement of white supremacist groups. Even
this full length exchange adds only a tiny bit of nuance to Trump's blundering, light-on-facts response to the terrifying events of Charlottesville, and depends on an interpretation of facts that is, to say the least, controversial.
Trump always seems to assume that everyone is reading the exact same news feed and has processed the exact same line of thought that he has; when, obviously, nothing could be further from the truth. Even if groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter were directly responsible for violence in Charlottesville, most Americans have never heard of one (Antifa) and associate the other, Black Lives Matter, with peaceful protests and advocacy. Trump failed, even in his full remarks, to name either group, and it takes David Horowitz, who at least writes in full sentences, to
air out the distinction.
Even
if 'alt-left' groups were responsible for some degree of violence at Charlottesville, it is still at the very least deeply bizarre, and at worst, a clear signal to white supremacists, to attempt to lay equal blame - especially in the context of a murder, alleged to have been committed by a white supremacist on the scene. Say what you will about the 'alt-left' - and
Antifa doesn't even have a website, I have yet to hear that the killed anyone at Charlottesville.
And in a greater context, a group focused on a racial minority like Black Lives Matters and
a nebulous anti-fascist network again, without so much as a website, operate in the context of a country where white people remain the majority. The American popular mind has stewed in the imagery of the swastika, the Confederate flag, and white horror robes of the Ku Klux Klan for generations. Antifa and Black Lives Matters are much less well known and evoke much less of a gut level response for most of us. If Trump's goal was to somehow raise awareness of these groups - and the sad part is, it's quite possible that, if they are using violence to advance their beliefs, they too could be dangerous - then his backhand attempt at doing so more than backfired, as Americans are now far more focused on Trump's seeming association with white supremacists than any purported threat from the 'alt-left'.
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This war has literally been fought before. It was called the Civil War and it claimed today's equivalent of millions of American lives. General Robert E. Lee, a statue of whom was the initial point of contention in the Charlottesville events, was defeated after four years of bloody struggle. His uniformed men surrendered in good order to General Ulysses S. Grant, signaling the end of that Civil War. The surrendering Confederate soldiers were paroled, and went in peace at that time. Grant even allowed them keep their horses, as he knew they would need them for spring plowing, and that the ravages of war had left the South more than impoverished enough.
Today we have great material prosperity as a society. Today horses are a tourist attraction. Today we scarcely remember Ulysses S. Grant at all, and we seem to have conflated Robert E. Lee with neo-fascism. I am no expert on Lee, but he seems, at least, far more dignified than the groups who would purport to act in his name. Lee, who was a slave owner, would offer no argument in the defense of slavery that we today would find persuasive, because
there is no persuasive argument for the enslavement of another human being. And yet there is at least some small tragedy in the fact that the legacy of the the South - a misbegotten, hate-filled debacle as it was - now seems to be stripped of its last veneer of respectability. For if nothing else, the South fought well militarily, and was sustained by camaraderie and military genius, however misdirected, for years, against an enemy - the Union - that should have destroyed it within months. Robert E. Lee created a close circle of fellow commanders, and inspired great loyalty amongst those he served with,
and respect from those he fought against. Although at least a century of struggle for black equality remained, the people Lee enslaved were liberated by the Union victory. And so. The white supremacists certainly have the wrong motivation for defending Robert E. Lee. But Lee's legacy is and must be more than as a slave owner. So too for Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, who's names Trump also bandied about.
It was once a hallmark of our society that we could recognize the good from the bad and appreciate a flawed person's virtues, recognizing flaws within ourselves and that we, too, are imperfect.
Today we commit every year hundreds of thousands of unborn children to death through a process of legally and medically sanctioned murder called abortion. Today those people who sanction this holocaust are Supreme Court Justices, Congresspeople, governors, and Senators. Even President Trump believes that abortion should be decided at the state level - as if universal moral truths change across state lines.
There may likely come a time when many of those who today - quite rightly - criticize the violence and hatred of white supremacists are themselves called to account for their very willing support of a regime that, since the implementation of
Roe v. Wade, has killed millions of children. As tragic as Heather Heyer's death is, there are millions of children who never got the chance to live, cherish life, and choose to advocate and risk their lives for a cause they came to believe in.
History brings changes in the ideologies we value. Yes, Robert E. Lee believed in something that we now know to be a bad cause. And yet - how many supporters of the current holocaust regime have his dignity, leadership ability, or courage? How many are even worth making into a statue to eventually be torn down?
There may come a day when this wrong is righted and the current holocaust regime comes to an end. On that day, I'd like to believe that I can and will be able to see the virtues of those who support the current regime. We should all be able see the virtues in those who believed and believe, however misguidedly, that they were and are doing the right thing.
I don't know what path America is going to take from here. There are calls on every side for Donald Trump to be impeached - in many respects, for nakedly and unabashed political reasons. I don't know if Mike Pence would survive well in the shark-tank media environment, or if he has nearly Trump's belly fire for causes like bringing back American jobs or deporting criminal aliens. But that's a question for a different day. Today can only bring somber reflection for the lives, past and present, born and unborn, that have been lost to failed ideologies, and that we must see the humanity in each other if we are ever to form 'a more perfect Union.'