This Is Not My Beautiful Country

This election has made me physically ill.

Throughout my life I’ve always hated injustice. (Who wouldn’t take that position?) There is a feeling in my gut that rips at me when I encounter it. It has been central to my development as an adult and a citizen.

The most compelling aspects of Christianity to me were always the mistreatement of early Christians and the depiction of Christ being led like a lamb to the slaughter. An innocent being killed at the hands of evil men.

In junior high I heard a survivor of Dachau tell his story of persecution for being a German Jew. Living proof in my midst of a human that an entire empire wanted dead simply for their family history and belief. There was no question the horror of the Holocaust or the honor of the Allies in ending it.

Later in high school, I became familiar with the works of Arthur Miller. My senior year we performed his play After the Fall. One of the characters commits suicide after being called on to name names by Senator McCarthy. I couldn’t believe that our own Congress had so recenlty used its power to intimidate those with views it called “Un-American.”

This natural inclination was further reinforced in college by the views of John Rawls whose Theory of Social Justice was illuminating for me. To think not of my position in society but rather what if I were to describe a society but didn’t know where I would end up. How would I want that society to function? This continues to be a challenge for me daily. An exercise in empathy I regularly fail.

I cannot describe values that are more central to the way that I view the world or help inform my moral framework. For me, personally, Donald Trump is an affront to everything I believe about the best in humanity but also the potential for greatness in America.

I am adding my voice to a chorus that is already deafening and I do not believe that I’ll be able to change anyone’s mind. However, I feel that it is moments like these that require making one’s beliefs clear. In this case, I will think less of people who select this man to be President. I will think of them as moral cowards and as abandoning the principles this nation was founded on.

There’s simply too much to cover and for me each of the following are disqualifying on their own:

1. The Other. Donald Trump since the beginning of his campaign has painted marginal groups as something to be feared. Our nation is not “E Pluribus Unum,” but something that I don’t recognize. Any group that is not “in” does not deserve consideration and further should be despised. I have friends whose lives are being put into danger by this rhetoric. Friends born and raised in America and who proudly practice their Islamic faith. Donald Trump proclaims their status to be suspect and that they are undermining the fabric of our society.
2. Women. Donald Trump hates women. How much more can this be belabored? He speaks with the language of entitlement to the bodies which he’s deemed acceptable. “Grab them by the pussy.” This is not the way that any man speaks about anyone. Women are not objects available to satisfy sexual desire alone. To speak of any other person this way is to deny their agency and humanity. It’s vile and grotesque.
3. Our Democracy. He will use the executive branch to punish his enemies. He has made threats against Jeff Bezos because of the writing of the Washington Post. He has openly complimented dictators including: Saddam Hussein, Vladimir Putin, and Bashar al-Asaad. He has threatened to contest the election because the only way he can lose is because it is rigged.

Words and ideas matter. Donald Trump’s words and ideas go against our social and democratic norms and represent a country I do not recognize.

I spend a great deal of time wondering how our democracy can be more representative and responsive. How we as citizens can feel that if we don’t get our way on a particular issue at least our voice was heard and considered. I know that millions feel disenfranchised and like their voice is meaningless and that Donald Trump will be a solution.

Outsider status is not a panacea and ignorance should not be valorized.

I do not believe that Hillary Clinton is perfect, but I also do not believe she is the lesser of two evils. Her preperation on policy borders on micromanagement and her experience in all areas of governance is astounding.

I do not believe the task before her is clear or easy, but I do know that she will consider those whose voice is softest in the room and work to build a more inclusive democracy for all Americans. Even those she disagrees with.