In The View of Distilled Harmony

If you have been reading the Wall for any significant portion of its 20-something year history you are well aware that it often deals with the exploration of the four major tenets of the world view I define as Distilled Harmony: Foster Harmony, Enable Beauty, Distill Complexity and Oppose Harm.  My own inclinations spin those essays most often towards the concerns of Foster Harmony and Enable Beauty; but last night’s violent protests in Washington, DC, and other scattered locales demand that I turn my attention to the the fourth tenet: Oppose Harm.

When Donald Trump was elected President I foolishly thought, “OK, he is a narcissistic, looney, game show host, but how much damage can he do in four years?” Never have my reflections been more off the mark.  We all tend to vote in our own best interests, and I will admit that mine follow traditional progressive issues; voting rights, social equality, etc. But my biggies have always been education, the environment and the arts. It soon became clear that where the current administration was concerned, I just needed to hunker down and try to tough it out. And true to my fears, the Trump presidency has cut a destructive swath through all my major concerns.

But now, I thought, we made it through. It is time to start repairing the damage. Again, foolishly, I assumed that Trump’s early bluster about not recognizing any election results that did not declare him the winner was just that - bluster. His recent behavior indicates that he was quite serious, and that he places his own personal successes above the Constitution, the will of the people, and the law. His refusal to accept the results of the election and the related pitiful legal actions attempting to overturn the election give tacit permission for his fanatic base to take violent protests to the street.

I do not know what, if anything, will convince him to acknowledge the damage his shameful behavior is doing to our nation. Hopefully he will soon realize that only he can put an end to the lawlessness his childish, selfish, behavior has called into the streets of the nation we, perhaps erroneously, assumed he loves. He must cease his divisive legal actions, concede that he lost the election, and tell his followers, in the streets and in Congress, to do same and allow the country some degree of healing. Perhaps then he can finally live up to what until now has been an empty slogan, and help Make America Great Again.

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