Friday, January 12, 2018

A Cultural Sickness

A comment on statements by Trump. He has said many things, even before he was elected...Example - As a woman and a survivor of sexual assault, I was deeply affected by his "grab them by the pussy" comment. I was even more impacted by those that continued to support him in the wake of those remarks. Some were dear friends. They had NO IDEA what it feels like to be a woman realizing that a man could say such things and have it not even matter in the "greater scheme of things." Now we have MeToo. But that cannot change the thousands of years of men feeling entitled to women's bodies (which continues today).


Trump has made comments about many different groups at this point. The "shithole" comment is just the most recent in a long line of statements. It would be natural to want to lash out at Trump for what he continues to say - but I believe we should be careful about engaging in self-righteous responses that enhance the us vs them dynamic.


Our culture elected Trump. He is saying things that people have been thinking for a very long time. Is anyone really surprised that these beliefs exist in our society? Or are we surprised that he is actually saying it? While shocking to some, it is equally informative. The cultural sickness is being revealed. I believe in shining a light on it, rather than attempting to stuff it back down.


In my opinion, yelling at Trump and calling them all crazy will not heal the schism that is growing in this country. Attacking Trump and his supporters deepens the us vs them dynamic and causes even more violence...lest people do to others what they don't want done to them.


So what to do? This is my current contemplation, as we are only as loving as the love we have for our fiercest enemy.







"Forgive them Father, they know not what they do."

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