For decades I used this phrase to convey my heartfelt belief that despite our differences we Americans have one thing in common and that’s that we are all human beings–that there is a commonality to our experience and despite the fact that human nature is flawed everyone is deserving of respect because we are all human. I believed with Anne Frank that “in spite of everything…people are really good at heart” and with Martin Luther King that “ the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”
Those feelings were developed and encouraged by my middle-class Congregationalist parents and nurtured by a solid liberal arts education based on the teachings of great Enlightenment thinkers. My glass was always half-full though it tended toward short term pessimism but long term optimism.
Today I see the phrase “We are all human” differently. I see a continuum that runs from angelic to satanic with humans like Pope Francis and José Andrés at the high end and Elon Musk and Adolf Hitler at the other with the rest of us somewhere in the middle. And that perspective change has all happened in the last ten years.
I try never to trade in hyperbole, but I believe America (and the world) is in serious peril at the moment—a moment not unlike that in 1933 when Hitler was taking control in Germany and cleansing society of what he considered “undesireable elements.” This time the propulsive cleansing is being orchestrated by a profoundly, ignorant and cruel man-child with no interest in anyone’s welfare but his own—who is being manipulated by equally corrupt friends with selfish motiives.
His ignorance and dangerous lack of historical understanding was on stark display last week in the Oval Office where ABC’s Terry Moran, seeing a copy of the Declaration of Independence hanging next to the Resolute Desk, asked him to share his understanding of the meaning of the document. Without irony, his response was,
“Well, it means exactly what it says. It’s a declaration. It’s a declaration of unity and love and respect. And it means a lot. And it’s something very special to our country.”
I’ve always been tempted to make fun of his ignorance. I think of Jimmy Buffett’s Gypsies in the Palace as a metaphor for his cabinet choices and Mel Brooks’ Springtime for Hitler as his theme song, but that was before January 20, 2025. It’s clear from what we observe about him that he’s not smart enough to destroy the country on his own–he’s too busy lining his own pockets and exacting revenge for personal slights—but he is surrounded by a cadre of true believers, including Elon Musk, Stephen Miller and JD Vance who are ready and eager to implement Project 2025 in service to the autocrats in waiting.
Since January 20th, in less than 100 days, USAID has been dismantled and all foreign aid put on hold, and goon squads from ICE, the FBI, and a secret black-clad militia from Homeland Security are arresting and deporting non-citizens without honoring their due process guarantees, while the rendition and deportation of American citizens is under discussion and birthright citizenship, guaranteed by the Constitution is being challenged.
And domestically, universities are under siege on the pretense that the exercise of free speech i.e. criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza, is an expression of anti-semitism. At the same time, law firms are under attack if the administration can tie them to cases in the past where they opposed the president, represented an adversary or challenged his policies.
Funding for Head Start, Meals on Wheels, PBS and NPR are under attack. Health and Human Services is shredding the NIH, CDC and other disease control and medical services including foreign aid to treat AIDS, malaria, and polio. Funding for scientific research and anything related to climate change has been withheld. Science itself is under attack, and the Department of Education has been gutted.
And, perhaps most troubling is their abject concern with anything smacking of diversity, equity or inclusion and their attempt to erase and rewrite history the American experience by eliminating any reference to the horrors of the Holocaust and our African-American past that casts whites in an unflattering light at the two Smithsonian museums dedicated to their history.
The capper for me, however, is not any of the above. It is his demented attachment to the military—the military he lied and cheated to avoid—and now wants to have honor him with a big birthday parade with tanks and missiles like the one he observed in Paris or those in Moscow and Pyongyang. All this after eliminating Veterans Affairs programs, firing Veterans Affairs employees (including many veterans) and cutting benefits.
So many of us are asking what we can do to turn this anti-democratic tide around. Much of country, including the media, is threatened and intimidated by the tsunami of authoritarian acts and action. My wife is worried it may even extend to things like this blog. As a Marine veteran, former lawyer, and believer in free speech I can’t stay silent. I applaud all the Hands Off events, the courage of law firms like Perkins Coie, universities like Harvard, companies like Costco, and anyone else who fights the authoritarian push and attack on democratic (small d) principles. This is not about me or my wife. We’ll be fine. This is for our children, grandchildren, and all the poor, diverse, and unincluded Americans who are at risk. Don’t let this ignorant blowhard get away with it. Remember the humanity of Pope Francis not the inhumane acts of Elon and the autocrats.
Epilogue: This morning before I posted this I learned that today on Cinco de Mayo, the man-child emperor-to-be has exempted avocados/guacamole from his Mexican tariffs and will renovate Alcatraz for political prisoners. Viva!!!
