Americans, We’re So Nice …. Aren’t We?

Commentary by Kathy Lindberg of the IndivisibleNOCO Leadership Team

Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people.  A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough. 

-              Franklin Delano Roosevelt

I’ve always thought of Americans as friendly, and generous.  We’re known for being open, helpful, and making small talk with strangers.  And smiling – we smile at strangers.  We’re nice people, we’re kind. That’s part of what makes the last three weeks so jarring – the cruel actions of the new Administration, the celebration by some of that cruelty, and the silence of so many.  It’s wholly at odds with who I thought we were. 

Trump acts like a child, calling people names like a five-year-old.  He cares only about himself, his money, and attention.  He’s openly racist, and insults women, LGBTQ persons, immigrants, minorities, and the disabled on a regular basis.  His behavior is appalling and an embarrassment to America.  I thought these well-known facts alone would cause Americans not to re-elect him.  I thought we were better than that.  I thought we were smarter, and cared more about each other, and the world.

His behavior in his second term is as appalling as it’s ever been. And while he’s always been cruel, the first three weeks of this Administration have taken the cruelty to another level.  It’s not only the Executive Orders and the policies he’s trying to implement, but also the way he’s doing it. 

Trump consistently uses demonizing language when talking about immigrants, minorities, LGBTQ persons, and Democrats (“the radical left”).  This has the effect of unleashing hatred and mistreatment directed at the people he’s disparaged.  The hateful and slanderous language is even seen directly in his Executive Orders.  For example, the EO against transgender medical treatments and procedures is titled, “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” (emphasis added). 

Perhaps nothing in these first three weeks is so abjectly cruel as the freezing of USAID funds.  With no advance notice or grace period, employees were told to stop working, and all funding was frozen (thankfully, courts have temporarily blocked these actions).  USAID is a critical humanitarian agency, providing life-saving food, medicine, refugee assistance and many other critical services to the neediest in the world.  USAID is the type of program a nation as fortunate as America should have.  It’s not only morally right to provide these services, but it also has an auxiliary benefit of giving us influence in the world and builds goodwill with other nations and peoples.

I can’t understand how any American can tolerate the intentional cruelty of this President, and this Administration. There needs to be a bi-partisan, public outcry.  One of these horrific actions needs to be a bridge too far.  The preponderance of these intolerable words and deeds needs to become, finally, too much for the public and for our elected Republican representatives in Congress to remain silent.  Over the last week it seems the Democrats have awoken and are beginning to speak out.  But so far, nary a peep from Republicans.  This is alarming not only because it’s inhumane, but also because we’re going to need Republican help in this fight to save our American ideals, our standing in the world, and perhaps even our democracy.

So, what do we do?  We stay engaged, we bear witness, we protest.  And we remain friendly and generous.  We smile at strangers and make small talk, because we’re Americans – we’re nice … aren’t we?

The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.

-              Dr. Martin Luther King