Down the Trump Rabbit Hole 19 January 2017

[19 January 2017]

I will not be watching or in any way appearing to be OK with much less enthused about the inauguration of an individual who in my judgment contradicts every Beatitude, who attacks every one of my core values.  I cannot think of a single president in US history who could be nominated or elected by those who voted Trump into the presidency.  One way I try to counter the threatening erosion of my core values is to place symbols where I have to see/handle them every day.  I have inserted a slide below with four of these symbols – (1) a ‘Handala’ image I purchased a few years ago in Ramallah, (2) a ‘Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza’ image I purchased in Toledo, (3) a ‘Peace’ image I purchased recently in a neighborhood ‘Peace Store’, and (4) a safety pin (explanation below the slide) that is attached to the hat I wear all day every day. 

Re the safety pin – see the appeal spreading across the country (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/14/fashion/safety-pin-ally-activism.html?_r=0) to wear a safety pin as a welcoming signal to all those who are afraid and who feel threatened by President Trump and his supporters.  I am particularly challenged/encouraged by the following explanation of the safety pin symbol I recently found –

I am safe.  If you are Muslim, a woman, LGBQ, a person of color, Latino, trans, an immigrant, disabled, afraid, . . . I am here.  Speak.  I’ll listen, hold you, stand up for you, sit down for you, shut up for you, do what I can to let you know I love you.  This safety pin is how you’ll know me.

A friend asked me a few days ago – “How’s your work?”  I responded – “Much more difficult and dangerous than before the election.  Donald Trump emboldens everything – every single thing – I work against and resist in promoting a humane and respectful practice of medicine that is held accountable by/to a firm social conscience.” 

Down the Trump Rabbit Hole 7 December 2016

[7 December 2016]

A close friend who lives in Iowa sent me a news report that documents the vileness Trump has drawn into the open.  I had not seen or known about this letter.  But the revelations resulting from the recent election demonstrate how serious such views/threats truly are.  We – I specifically have those who voted for Hillary and/or supported Sanders in mind – must stand with those targeted.  Do we have the courage of the non-Jewish Danes who wore the star of David?  Since November 8, I have worn my Clinton campaign cap (navy blue with a white ‘H’ plus horizontal red arrow) every day and will continue to do so both as a reminder to myself and also as a statement of alignment with all those Trump et al are attacking.  Yes, the hat draws many looks and an encouraging number of supportive responses/comments.  When a conversation appears possible, my centering explanation is some variation on – “Trump stands against all my core values, every one of my core values”.  I joined ‘Democracy for America’ and have signed most of the petitions about which I have been notified by them.  Small gestures with far less risk (for now) than the risk the Danes faced, but gestures nonetheless.  Bottom line – we must be seen and heard. 

Down the Trump Rabbit Hole 15 November 2016

[15 November 2016]

I am struggling for balance.  I have to remember (1) I am among the majority that voted for Hillary and, therefore, I am not as alone as it can feel and (2) the values – e.g., civil discourse, truthfulness, decency toward others, civil rights for all minorities/marginalized, women’s health privacy, ethnic diversity, LGBT rights, basic healthcare coverage for all, environmental stewardship, Palestinian freedom from oppression, responsible international behavior, and more – are as core/centering after the election as they were before the election and, therefore, are still defining for who I am in the concrete encounters/experiences of each day.  I certainly have a clearer reading on the range and depth of those who oppose these values.  Perhaps that is a ‘silver lining’.  Bernie Sanders and others will surely still lead at the national level.