A Commentary on the Passing Scene by Robert Paul Wolff rwolff@afroam.umass.edu
Sunday, November 20, 2016
THE PROSPECT OF A TRUMP PRESIDENCY
This is the first time in my life that I have been genuinely ashamed to be an American. Now, I am well aware that this statement will trigger a reflex reaction in Chris and Robert Shore and some others who will tell me just how awful Obama, or Bush, or Clinton, or Reagan was. Don't bother. I lived through those presidencies and I protested all the hideous things they did. I also protested the hideous things that Jack Kennedy did, long before it was the in thing to be against good Democrats. But this is different, at least for me. I am not saying I am angry. That goes without saying. I am saying that I am ashamed. Even though I have a getaway in Paris [and don't get me started on the politics in that country!], I am and have always been an American. For better or worse, this is my place, my identity. And right now, I am ashamed.
How about during the war in Viet Nam?
ReplyDeleteDidn't that make you ashamed or a least uncomfortable with being an American?
It certain made me and a lot of other students ashamed or at least very very uncomfortable.
And for those readers who are too young to have experienced that era, let me explain that until the Tet Offensive by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese army in 1968, when it became clear that "we" were going to lose the war, there was very little popular opposition to the war.
Being an American is a bit like being a human being. As Aslan puts it in Prince Caspian '“You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve," said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content.” Frankly I feel the same way about being a Brit though not about being a New Zealander (my other national identity) , as we (the New Zealanders) are not as a nation sufficiently powerful to have done anything really good or really bad. Given the opportunity we would be likely to do both.
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ReplyDeleteI do think this is uniquely shameful. The only comparison is the rise of other fascist governments throughout history. How sane Americans feel now is probably how sane Germans felt when Hitler won. Hopefully, though, Trump won't be able to do even a fraction of the harm his Nazi pals (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/us/alt-right-salutes-donald-trump.html) did, and hopefully he will be roundly sent back home to a deserted Trump Tower in 4 years.
ReplyDeleteProfessor Wolff,
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way. What bothers me the most is that so many of the people that I have known and respected for much of my life voted for Trump. The Germans thought they could control Hitler too.
Although, I have never been a big fan of David Bowie his song I'm afraid of Americans is becoming one of my favorites.