Yeah, I realize the discussion has moved on. The DNC is last week’s news. Little donald’s constant barrage of vileness makes it hard to stay focused for very long on any one act of MAGA depravity for very long. It’s hard to even REMEMBER the disgusting thing he did last week, because he’s done half a dozen even more disgusting things since then. And our attention wanes. We get distracted by the outrage we feel by something like him telling Sheldon Adelson’s wife Miriam that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is “actually much better“ than the Congressional Medal of Honor (the nation’s highest military award) “because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead. She gets it and she’s healthy, beautiful woman.” Trump awarded Miriam Adelson the Medal of Freedom because she was the wife of a Casino tycoon who used his billions of dollars to get republicans elected.
And before we can focus on that piece of filth, he does something like going into Arlington National Cemetery to get some creepy, smiling thumbs-up photo ops next to soldiers’ graves, so his campaign can make a neat TikTok video ad.
And just when you think he can’t sink any lower, he posts this repulsive sexist garbage to his “Truth Social.”
It’s hard to stay focused in the midst of such a vile shitstorm… But I’m going to draw your attention back a week or so to one of the grossest displays of political ugliness I’ve ever seen.
At the Democratic National Convention, Tim Walz’s kids sat with their mother as their father spoke to the crowd. During his speech, Tim looked at his family and said, “Hope, Gus, and Gwen: You are my entire world, and I love you.” And in a beautiful and uncharacteristic moment of emotion, his 17 year old son Gus stood up. His eyes filled up with tears. He put his hand on his chest. He clapped, and encouraged those around him to applaud as well. And then—through the tears and cheers—he proudly yelled, “THAT’S MY DAD!” I honestly can’t even type those words without crying, it’s so beautiful.
When I was in college, my roommate was one of my best friends. He played basketball for Calvin our freshman year. Because of injuries to other players, he was put into the game against a pretty big rival. The Fieldhouse was packed, and I was cheering from the stands. He got hot shooting that day, and I watched in amazement as he hit 6—SIX—three pointers in a row. The place went wild. After he made the sixth shot, the other team called a time out, and right as the cheering started dying down, I yelled, “THAT’S MY ROOMMATE!” at the top of my lungs. Everyone heard me yell those words, and the cheering started back up… I was so proud. But the pride I felt that day watching my friend catch fire in a basketball game doesn’t even come close to the pride a kid must feel watching his dad—the teacher and coach—stand up and accept the nomination for Vice President of the United States of America, and then look at you and tell you you’re his entire world. Just look at this picture:
Clik here to view.
But there were many people on the political right who did not see this moment as something beautiful. They saw it as an opportunity to ridicule.
Conservative talk show host and republican talking head Jay Weber referred to Gus as a “blubbering bitch boy.”
Gus is neurodivergent and grew up with a non-verbal leaning disorder, and after getting ratioed into oblivion, Jay deleted his post, apologizing about not knowing that “the kid was disabled.”
And I guess this is what I wanted to talk about: The seemingly insurmountable chasm between the political left and the political right in this country. People talk about wanting us to “come together” as a country… But is there any hope of “coming together” when we see a kid getting emotional about being proud of & loving his dad, and one side sees it as heartbreakingly beautiful, while the other side sees it as something to make fun of? How do you “come together” when you see healthy male emotion, and one side sees it as strength while the other side sees it as weakness?
And what’s even MORE bewildering and disheartening (to me, at least) is this: How are there enough broken people in this country that this election is even close? Who looks at the side calling a kid a “blubbering bitch boy” for being so proud of his dad that he cries, and says, “I’m voting with THOSE people.” I hesitate to put this in terms of “good & evil,” but it’s difficult NOT to. If ridiculing a kid for loving and being proud of his dad is not evil, then what is? The list of disgusting, disgraceful, repugnant things donald trump does gets longer every day. The evidence of his vileness is simply overwhelming. If you tried to compile a list, no one would have the time or the stomach to read it… And somehow the race is still close. One side is like, “He’s a felon and an adjudicated sexual assaulter who bragged about grabbing women by the pussy, fanboys over dictators, lies hundreds of times every day, and literally sent his minions to storm the Capitol in an attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power,” and the other side is like, “She laughs too much.” We are not the same.
But listen: Even though it’s hard to not focus on all the depravity coming from the political right these days, if you look, there’s so much to be encouraged by. The reaction to the people mocking Gus Walz was swift and severe. Sure, it sucks when a few assholes bully a kid. But how cool is it when your whole community comes together to defend that kid, you know? I’m not really that discouraged about the wickedness we see coming from trump and his MAGA minions… I’m pretty used to that by now. I’m more discouraged at what seems like a widening chasm between those who can see it for the evil it is, and those who somehow have talked themselves into embracing being “deplorable.” But I’m hopeful today. Someday in the future, there may be a legitimate reason for voting republican again, but there is no moral case for it right now. This election is not a matter of right & left… It’s a matter of right & wrong. Do the right thing, America.
Thank you for reading. Thank you to my friends who encourage me to keep writing… It really does means a lot to me. If you’d like to support me & this blog, you can BECOME A PATRON. Or you can leave a tip on PayPal or by Venmo at chris-boeskool. You can also follow me ON FACEBOOK and ON TWITTER. Stay hopeful. Look for the helpers. Take care of each other. And for God’s sake, VOTE! This election needs to be an absolute ass kicking.