I could have titled this essay ‘Trump Being Trump,’ but that would imply that the my theme is limited to one phony reality television show acting as carnival barker, utterly unqualified and far too ignorant to have plausibly be considered for the position of the most powerful leader in America. Actually, I hope to never have to write another essay about him. Instead I decide to use the generic X (and a play on letters with Y being ‘why.’ First, let’s consider this tragic year.
Irony is the buzzword of 2020. So much has happened in this topsy-turvy year that it boggles the mind. The once Obama buoyed economy is now in the tank (except for the rich who hold their breath that the Stock Market does not explode). Unemployment was close to full employment, but now is a train wreck that has hit the poorest workers who are least likely to have a buffer of savings.
The new normal is abnormal.
Once thriving restaurants are trying to survive in parking lots until the winter frost makes for a no-win decision: close or face the specter of another Covid spike (happening in Europe now). The once saintly Dr. Anthony Fauci (and his family) has been viciously threatened for having the audacity to demand people wear masks. Science being scoffed (unless the Big Pharma can get a vaccine pronto). Sports without fans in the stands. Broadway gone permanently dark. Few heading to the office. Movie theaters empty. Okay, I’ll stop there. The new normal is abnormal.
However, the phrase used to excuse so much foolishness has become the excuse de jour: ‘Someone is just being himself or herself.’ Whoever has acted the fool should normally be embarrassment, but this year is now reduced to meh. (What’s the big deal?) We use it for a president ignoring science while he stuffs his own coffers, celebrities suffering because they are isolated in their opulent homes, athletes complaining they do not receive enough respect, husbands and wives cheating because, well, things are “so hard.” (Anyone who has to endure physical or mental abuse should leave the relationship.)
Rather than look to this behavior as abhorrently self-centered and unabashedly selfish, the ‘take’ on this behavior is a shrug of the shoulders. It is a rarity of epic proportions to have someone fess up to their errors. The most notable in this latest cycle of irony is the Republican Party’s nomination and insistence to confirm, before the election results, a new Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
How could it be more hypocritical? McConnell and Co. stopped President Obama’s nominee Merritt Garland because it was ‘an election year’ (over 250 days from the election). As of this writing Judge Barrett will be confirmed so close to Election Day that votes have been already cast for the next president. Why is it okay? McConnell is just being McConnell. Translation: I don’t need to be fair minded or consistent; I just get what I want. And America’s reaction — meh.
Meanwhile every agency of the Federal Government involved in investigation foreign interference has gone on record proclaiming that Putin and the Russians are already influencing this American election. The reaction from the current administration: it’s just Putin being Putin. Meh. Besides, they argue Iran and China are doing the same thing so it’s all fair in election …and cold war.
“The buck stops here.”
Harry Truman made no excuses. “The buck stops here.” Americans were told the reasons for an action. Responsibility was taken for those decisions. They could be debated, but we knew there were no such things as ‘alternative facts’ and no reputable news organization denying the fact that we dropped an atomic bomb…twice. Truman and Co. argued that thousands upon thousands of lives were saved if the Allied forces has boots in the ground in Tokyo.
America’s finest heroes are people who admit their mistakes and own up to it. They try to make reparations. Sometimes successfully, sometimes not. But the era of excuses and explaining failure by merely remarking that X Being X is no longer acceptable. Democracy depends on responsible governance — honest to a fault. The American people can accept when mistakes happen — even the tragic fire that engulfed Apollo 1 and killed its crew.
What Americans can no longer endure is a statement made on March 13th, 2020: “I don’t take responsibility at all.” — Donald J. Trump.
That is inexcusable.
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