[Sent 2 July 2020 to my wife and our daughters re Independence Day 2020]
Hi. I trust you are all well. I saw this man in a recent news clip. He is protesting against COVID-19 public health restrictions.
I keep thinking about this ‘Selfish and Proud!’ man – the sporty t-shirt, the wraparound sunglasses, the backward cap, the graying hair, the tan, the fine watch, the wedding ring, the cutely drawn exclamation point. He is affluent (in the etymological sense of ‘to flow to/ward’). He is not deprived or lacking. What is he like as a parent? a brother? a spouse? a neighbor? a teacher? a co-worker? a passenger in an adjacent seat on a long flight? a driver approaching an intersection? a customer in a checkout line? a partner on a risky assignment? Would he present himself as ‘Selfish and Proud!’ on a school or job application? For whom/what does he vote?
‘Selfish and Proud!’ – this interpretation of independence is the reason I will not celebrate on Saturday the ‘Fourth’. I will instead pause to search deeply and honestly for evidence of this revolting/embarrassing image of America in my attitudes, decisions, and actions with the resolve to renew my efforts to be otherwise. Am I engrossed in myself? Do I care only for myself? Am I satisfied with caring primarily for myself? Do I notice/regard others only to exploit them for my gain? Am I drawn to ‘enlightened self-interest’ reasoning? Was Hobbes right about us all?
The Trump administration – with federal government complicity – every day tramples any restraint against normalizing and championing a ‘Selfish and Proud!’ America. Two days ago, the Health and Human Services Secretary Azar cheered the Trump administration for outbidding and outmaneuvering all other countries to grab/corner the entire world supply of the COVID-19 medication remdesivir “to ensure that any American patient who needs remdesivir can get it”. How many heard this announcement as yet another example of a ‘Selfish and Proud!’ America?
The 30-40% of voting-age US citizens who are unwavering Trump supporters celebrate a ‘Selfish and Proud!’ America. They are complicit in and accountable for Trump’s ruinous opposition to integrity, decency, modesty, respect, empathy, peacemaking, standing with those at risk, sacrifice, caution, prioritizing an international social contract, unfettered education, . . . – all defining traits for a way of being that in my judgment remains worth living for, sacrificing for, and if necessary dying for. May we use Independence Day 2020 to reset/refresh these core values.
Doug/Dad