The Obscenity

Here is the obscenity of last night’s offensive harangue from Trump. It was not the repulsive rhetoric punctuated with falsehoods, deceptions and shameless self-promotion. It was not in the verbal attack on Joe Biden who has served the nation for 47 years but who the pusillanimous Trump accused of wanting to destroy America. I would remark of his violent assault on Biden as an example of the kettle calling the pot black but Trump denies the reality of the color. The obscenity of last evening was not in Trump’s denigration of John McCain who suffered imprisonment as a POW, though Trump’s attack on McCain was obscene and immoral; the obscenity of last night was not reflective of Trump’s absence from the funeral of John Lewis, though certainly it was to be expected given Trump’s animus against anyone who disagrees with him. The obscenity of last night was not embedded in his praise of the kind neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, nor in his refusal to say the names of the too-many Black men and women who have been murdered by the police in the recent pasts. As of this writing Trump (oh, how I detest even writing his name!) has still not addressed the shooting of Jacob Blake though he has energetically condemned the protest demonstrations addressing it and then used the opportunity accompanying the violence to enjoy a theatrical photo opportunity flashing a Bible (!) before an historic house of worship. His performance required tear gassing peaceful protestors. Last night’s obscenity resides not in his collusion with the Russians to steal the 2016 election and the voter suppression he and his sycophantic party are orchestrating in their attempt to steal the 2020 election. Nor is the obscenity in the almost daily report of corruption and violations of the US Constitution committed by Trump and his henchmen. Oh, each of these incidents and more are evidence of the venality of this president and his gang of cowards and thieves. 

            But the real obscenity of last night’s event existed in the blatant and ignorant violation of all of the directions of the CDC and scientific experts and government advisors who have urged the populace to an adherence to social distancing guidelines and the wearing of masks. No one’s freedom under any circumstance should be allowed to endanger mine! Last night Trump and his party closely packed over a thousand mostly unmasked people onto the White House lawn to hear his speech. And what is obscene about this crowding is that it is evidence that this president ignored the upwards of 180,000 people who have died from the virus and the upwards of 5 million who have been infected with it. He ignored the recent closing of colleges and universities that he has urged, even demanded to reopen, and he has disregarded the threat to the children and teachers and administrators and support workers that reopening the public schools will inflict. The public schools will not be able to contain the spread of the virus. In the orchestration of last evening’s fiasco Trump spat in the faces of those who daily put themselves in danger by caring for the sick, who must go to their essential jobs, and of those who attempt to stay healthy despite the chaos in which the White House has fostered and with which it has been embroiled. The obscenity of last night’s fiasco lay in the absolute denial of social responsibility and leadership and the self-aggrandizement and deceptions perpetrated by a man who truly doesn’t care for the United States or the people who live here.