Beads June 14 to June 20, 2020

I read twenty five or thirty articles a week. In the season of Covid social distancing I have begun a discipline of capturing their essence, creating a “bead” with a pull quote and then stringing these beads together.

Nita Lelyveld wrote about “this moment, when there’s so much positive energy hovering, searching for places to land.” I read so many stories this week of people who had found just such a place to turn their energy into remarkable, wholesome things, some on the national stage...others all but unseen until someone went and paid attention. What is the secret? Listening or speaking out? Being young or old? Making yourself a spectacle on social media or getting off it altogether?

“This is not the case for cutting corners,” wrote chief justice John Roberts in his opinion denying Donald Trump the power to abandon DACA. By rights it could have been overturned. It was an executive order, Donald Trump is now the Chief Executive. But Roberts reasoned/insisted that the impact of overturning DACA would have such widespread impact that it demanded more justification than essentially “I feel like it” from Donald Trump. (1) John Bolton made a show of standing up to Trump’s whims. “It’s a shame he didn’t do so while he still had a chance to preserve his honor, but it isn’t a surprise. Only the truly gullible can act totally cynically and imagine they can escape history’s damning verdict.” (2) Janet Napolitano, former Director of Homeland Security upon retiring as President of the University of California does what Bolton doesn’t (and really few people ever do) she ‘fesses up. “When you make a mistake, you have to acknowledge it; you have to fix it and own it,” (3)

That is what Clemens A. Landau, the presiding judge of Utah’s Salt Lake City Justice Court did writing, “We are painfully aware that municipal courts like ours have historically been situated on, or at least very near, the tip of systemic racism’s spear.” (4)

“If the trend toward political and moral chaos is going to be reversed,” people in office will not be enough. “.... it will be because ordinary citizens understand the cost of it and push back against it; because they grow weary of the manipulation; because they decide that living within the truth is better than living within a lie.” (5)

Teenagers seemed to be taking the lead pushing back. “These young people are passionate about their causes and unwavering in their commitment to change.” (6) But then residents of a retirement community got out on the street to protest the George Floyd murder. “It’s hard to be out here. A lot of us are hesitant to go out right now. We’ve all been so good in staying home. But we all felt to show our support for this cause was essential.” (7)

Is it best to go public? When Los Angeles’ sportswriter, Arash Markazi decided to lose more than 100 lbs the first thing he did was post a “before” photo of himself at his heaviest on instagram. “I wanted to make myself publicly accountable…” he says. (8) He continued to post a photo after every photo and work out and has become an inspiration for hundreds of people he has never met. Madison Fischer, a professional sport climber left social media after posting her efforts for years. “It was then that Madison’s athletic career moved to the next level. Without the need to document and promote her daily activities, Madison regained a sense of self-motivation.” (9)

Does the race crisis demand speaking out or listening? Craig Taubman who had done well in the entertainment industry and wanted to move in to the Pico Union neighborhood in LA and despite his good intentions his initial offering did not connect with the community. “He was just at the beginning of a long and likely neverending process of asking, listening, learning, proving his commitment and, inch by inch, earning the neighborhood’s trust.” (10) And then Mary McNamara writes, “If you are a person with a public platform, or even if you are not, you need to speak out. Thoughtfully and without fear of failure, because the only real failure at this point is silence.” (11)

Whether speaking out or listening is best likely has much to do with how aware one is of their shadow. Maeve Higgins admits that she can get worked up with righteous indignation. “However, when I pause for a second I get a sneaking feeling that my ego is involved. I catch myself wanting to be “one of the good ones,” (12) A county social worker and an activist with White People 4 Black Lives, said she thinks there are a lot of people out there at the moment with “white savior complex,” who need to spend more time in self-reflection before they venture out with their plans to remake the world.” (13)

And speaking up will take a toll. Chris Thomas, a young pastor of a Baptist Church in Williams Alabama dared to say, on the Sunday after newly installed President Trump announced a travel ban, Blessed are those who see refuge. Though not completely surprised that Trump supporters in the congregation took offense he did he not “know how the Trump presidency would continue to fracture the congregation for the next three years — a rift which would widen and threaten his own stewardship of Williams Church as the culture wars spilled into its pews in ways he could not control.” (14)

Ryan Rapier a Republican, on the city council of deep red Thatcher AZ announced that he would be voting for Joe Biden in November. He realizes the apostasy will make it hard for him to get reelected. ““But I felt I couldn’t be someone who sits back with my mouth shut and shake my head in wonder,” “I had to say something,” (15) May his tribe increase.

(1) Linda Greenhouse in the New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/opinion/supreme-court-daca-lgbtq.html?searchResultPosition=1

(2) Brett Stephens in the New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/opinion/bolton-book.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

(3) Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times

http://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=59ca2582-31fb-4138-806b-f429db7aad28

(4) Jesse Wegman in the New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/16/opinion/state-supreme-courts-racial-justice.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

(5) Peter Wehner in the New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/13/opinion/trump-has-made-alternative-facts-a-way-of-life.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

(6) Margaret Renkl in the New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/opinion/nashville-teens-protests.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage