By Joni Halpern
It is helpful growing old. The piling of decades of lived history and knowledge obtained over time gives a person a more holistic view of our national character. It becomes easier to see in today’s tapestry of American life the threads of earlier inclinations that resemble what we are now.
Today we are “cavalier,” a word that describes someone haughty or arrogant, someone with a careless disregard for serious matters.
We might have been described that way in our past as we annihilated the Native Americans; enslaved and brutalized Africans and their American-born descendants; exploited the Asian, European and Latin American immigrants who lived in poverty while staffing our factories and farms, or when we engaged in certain wars against nations not out of necessity but out of our own hubris.
The Americans that supported the decision-makers in each of those cases were cavalier about the suffering caused by our actions. After all, the victims weren’t really “us.” Instead, they were “not us” – not white, not Christian, not born here — possessed, in other words, of characteristics that made them outsiders in the privileged circle of Americans who consider themselves as sole beneficiaries of the freedoms promised in our beloved Constitution.
Today, we have other words for the outsiders: They are from “shit-hole” countries. They are members of drug cartels, however unverified. They are “woke,” “leftists,” “antifa,” paid radicals. They are illegal. They follow terrorist faiths. They are criminals, even if unproven. They are greedy, ambitious, and focused on replacing “us” by invasion and incessant reproduction.
Our leadership proudly officiates over the killing, imprisonment, torture, and deprivation of these outsiders, as if these crude and brutal actions are as insignificant as flicking a gnat off our sleeve. After all, we have not yet been touched personally by our nation’s utter disregard for human rights. The despised groups are “not us,” as we have established in the silos of rhetoric to which so many of us turn for approval.
With tears in our eyes, we sniffle through “God Bless America” and the Pledge of Allegiance at sporting and other events, as American leadership tattoos the old label of
“not us” on all whom we are encouraged by our leaders to dislike, miscomprehend, hate or fear. It is a ritual that has been part of our country’s most shameful heritage
since our earliest days as a nation.
Today, our cavalier disregard for the human rights of others is blessed by a cowardly Congress, a purposely misinformed electorate, and a Supreme Court majority that regards itself as elite and charged with the obligation to enforce against the unwealthy masses the domination of a “unitary President.”
In the tapestry we are now weaving that depicts how this moment in American life will be viewed in history, the bright golden threads of inalienable human rights will be
obscured by the rough-hewn, ragged yarns of suffering our country has willingly inflicted on human beings of whom we have permitted our leaders to dispose without so much as a shrug.
The tattoos will confirm, however, that the victims of our country’s savagery were “not us.”
Ultimately, Trump wins (?) no matter what. His actions have guaranteed him a Supervisory position/ Preferential Treatment for when he arrives in HELL.
Another beautifully written, thoughtful piece, Ms. Halpern.
And, I agree, about perspective from having lived a while. But, it’s hard not to let the dark side win after witnessing so much for so long. Perhaps is is a progression. I never though anyone would eclipse Nixon and along came Junior Bush. The slide continues with the idiot in what is left of the White House. It is not a good trend.
Thank you for stating my thoughts so much more artfully than I could. I am shocked and devastated about what our country has become.
We must not forget, LKBruce. People like you are still part of our country, and you are still strong. You will help us find our way.
We simply must fight to the end. Perhaps you saw the magnificent final interview of Jane Goodall in Famous Last Words on Netflix. The interview could only be released after her death and she told us to have hope and to fight to the very end. I will.
I am heartened by the the willingness of people like you, Geoff, and Jan Michael Sauer to give voice to the precious hope, even if it presently resides amid disappointment, that decency, fairness and inalienable human rights are still American values — if only in the hearts and minds of people like you.
Once again you’ve stated so eloquently what I’ve been feeling the past few months.
I fear this will change us forever, and not in a good way. The lesson America will learn is this type of behavior is unacceptable, did we forget what we stand for? Or is that a convenience statement. I fear for all Americans, all Immigrants, all of us.
I will continue my fight over on this side even on the days that I can’t find the right words.
Thank you Joni, your words mean so much.
Love,
Sami-Sam
Sami-Sam, there never was a better warrior for good than you.
Love,
Joni
For most of the world, the United States used to symbolize a beacon of hope. A place where people could start over, escape repression and live with full human rights. That is not how the world sees this country any more because that is not how this country is, any more. But the thing is- as we take away the basic human rights of the “not us” we also chip away at the basic human rights of the “us”. In the end, you can’t have freedom just for some. It’s an all or nothing proposition.
Well-spoken, Rutea. I remember visiting the remains of the concentration camp at Dachau, noticing how close it was to the villagers who lived there. I thought “How could they not have seen what was happening?” I think they did see but by then were cowed and did not speak. Now is our only chance to speak.
Brava Joni Halpern – for reminding “us” of the lessons of history – that today’s news will become our history. Can we clean up our act in time to save democracy for “all of us” ? I hope so.
It is my fervent hope as well, Alison. Thanks for reading.