During the Obama administration (and how much I long for those days!), there was a vociferous debate over “Obamacare”—the Affordable Care Act. One of my clients was absolutely and unequivocally opposed to such “socialism.” I pointed out that we already have “socialism” in some areas of our lives. I mean, it is called “Social” Security. We also have Medicare and Medicaid. But he said, “Social Security and Medicare are different. Medicaid is a socialist program that we need to scrap. But Obamacare is socialism through and through. And besides, we can’t afford it! All these losers who want Obamacare should get a job and pay for their own health insurance instead of depending on hardworking people like me to reward their laziness and lack of responsibility.”
This man had a good-paying job with the benefits of health insurance and a pension. But guess what? The company he worked for downsized, and he was one of the first in that company to lose his job along with his health insurance. All of a sudden—almost miraculously—he became a fervent supporter of “Obamacare.” “That’s what we need! A program that will help hardworking Americans who have lost their jobs and who need to provide medical coverage for their families.” Obama became the savior this nation desperately needed.
But after a few months, this man was hired by a company whose benefits included health insurance. And guess what? Once again, he became a vocal opponent of “Obamacare.” When he paused to catch his breath during his diatribe, I couldn’t help myself. I said, “Jeff, you are exactly what’s wrong with this country. All you care about is yourself. You don’t give a damn about the needs and sufferings of anyone else. As long as you have what you want, you are content for the rest of the country to do without the necessities of life. You are the posterchild for what’s wrong with America.” I lost him as a client, but I didn’t like him anyway. And I could not listen anymore to his ranting and hypocrisy.
At the beginning of this year, Trump’s chances of being reelected were very high. Even though many Americans were bothered by his vulgarity, incessant lying, and lack of interest or ability in actually doing his job and “protecting and defending the Constitution of the United States,” most people planned to vote for him to have a second term. The reasons were these: low unemployment rates, a booming economy, and a strong stock market (almost all of which were a product of President Obama’s rescue of the nation from Bush’s Great Recession). It didn’t matter that Trump spent most of his time watching TV, wearing out his little fingers on Twitter, playing golf at his resorts, and enriching himself, his family, and fellow crooks while spending virtually no time actually governing. It did not matter that immigrant families were being harassed, separated, caged, and tortured. It did not matter that Black lives were being sacrificed by racist police. It did not matter that he and his administration were implementing racist and homophobic policies. It did not matter that the poor were getting poorer while the rich were getting richer. It did not matter that the environment was being destroyed at a rate that would soon render it beyond salvaging. It did not matter that Trump’s heroes were thugs and dictators. It did not matter that America’s relations with historic allies were being trashed. It did not matter that Trump disparaged war heroes and the parents of soldiers who were killed in war serving their country. It did not matter that Trump made fun of people with physical challenges. It did not matter that Trump is a sexual predator. It did not matter that the American experiment in democracy was threatened by a clown who had no ability to empathize and was a stranger to human decency. It did not even matter that Trump was the lapdog of Putin, former official in the Communist KGB. All that mattered was that enough of us Whites had jobs, money to invest, health insurance, retirement, and our comfortable little lives. To hell with everyone and everything else.
All of a sudden, we Whites discover what people of color have known for three and a half years: the man in the White House—the “wizard behind the screen”–does not have a clue as to how to deal with a crisis or to muster one ounce of compassion.
And then it happened—the Coronavirus. Suddenly the economy is in shambles. Even White people with what they thought were secure jobs join the ranks of the unemployed. The stock market plummets. And people of all races and ages become sick and die. And all of a sudden, we whites discover what people of color have known for three and a half years: the man in the White House—the “wizard behind the screen”–does not have a clue as to how to deal with a crisis or to muster one ounce of compassion. The only note he knows and has ever known is “Mi.” Even with over 140,000 American deaths, he still thinks the world revolves around him. He blames everyone but himself for a pandemic which did not have to become so lethal. But this man who is smarter than generals, successful politicians like President Obama, and scientists and who boasted that the Coronavirus would affect only “fifteen people and would vanish like a miracle”—this man doesn’t know how to assume responsibility and apologize for the most tragic mistake any President has made in US history. He is incapable of reversing course and salvaging this national disaster. He is even willing to sacrifice children’s lives to rescue an economy which would grant him his only opportunity to be reelected. He only cares for himself. And it’s taken forty-two months for enough white people to realize we have a narcissistic, clueless, malevolent man as our leader.
All this is tragic enough, but what bothers me the most is even more telling. A lot of those whites who now “see the light” are as fickle and self-seeking as Jeff was in my opening comments. Should the economy take an upswing in the next couple of months, I fear many of these whites will reverse course again and reelect this demagogue to have four more years to destroy our democracy, bring untold suffering on people of color and the poor, trash our environment, and rob us blind. I seriously doubt if the economy will rebound as quickly as November 3. But that’s not the point. The point is that too many white Americans are as self-centered as their idol. They only care about themselves and their own. Like Trump, they worship at the altars of the almighty dollar and consumption. And they will return to their former idols with great alacrity without ever recognizing their hypocrisy and without ever going through the authentic repentance of their own complicity in allowing this national and international tragedy to transpire.
This pandemic provides a costly opportunity for White America to reject the selfish and unjust paths we have pursued to assure our own security at the cost of the poor, people of color, and our fragile planet.
This pandemic provides a costly opportunity for White America to reject the selfish and unjust paths we have pursued to assure our own security at the cost of the poor, people of color, and our fragile planet. We could preserve this American experiment in democracy which allows liberty, justice, and opportunity for all. We could reject the logical extension and consequences of the self-seeking politics and economics we have pursued for decades as we embrace a political and economic agenda that is committed to the inclusion of all in the American dream. We could, but I fear we won’t. Like Jeff, once we see an opportunity to return to our old ways, we will do so without learning a damn thing. And that’s what bothers me the most.
