Lincoln Has Another Lesson for Trump
The essence of the American idea is unity under the law, through and despite difference.
By Roger Cohen, Opinion Columnist
“With malice toward none; with charity for all.”
President Trump, who has tested positive for the coronavirus, might dwell on Lincoln’s words in his second inaugural address. [...] Trump has some time for reflection now. [...]
Might the president now feel some remorse? To know that a virus that could kill you has a grip on your body prompts unlikely reflections. I had a moderate case of Covid-19. I speak from experience of extreme discomfort and utter exhaustion.
Remorse, say, for waving away the virus. “One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.” Remorse for dismissing the wearing of masks — “I don’t see it for myself” — and turning them into America’s tribal identifiers. Remorse for his contempt for science. Disinfectant “does a tremendous number on the lungs” and knocks out the virus “in a minute.”
Remorse for making a mockery of truth. For dismissing climate change. Those California fires are just poor forest management. For the more than 200,000 dead Americans, some of whom may have lived if Trump had led with seriousness instead of playing down the coronavirus.
I doubt such a change of heart will occur. Even if it can do nothing to stop a pathogen, narcissism is an impregnable shield against self-awareness. Still, the lesson of this year is to be prepared for the improbable. The notion that he has finally met his nemesis may surely cross Trump’s mind. [...]
Everybody, infected or not, has been looking at life anew, contemplating other, more sustainable ways of working and consuming.
Perhaps they have mused on how fragile life is and our civilization is. How our planet burns. How there may be more to discover in just being still than in running. How less may be more. How much a loved one may be missed. How hollow the temples of consumption are; and how, one morning through the mist, the towers of Manhattan may look like the medieval towers of San Gimignano, relics from another era.
Trump, now at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, is alone battling the virus within him. Alone with his thoughts and a tenacious, unpredictable thing that he belittled.
It was an angry, barking, surly, rude, defiant Trump who showed up for the first debate with Joe Biden and made no secret of his contempt for American democracy. He said of the balloting that has already begun, “It’s a fraud, and it’s a shame.”
Perhaps his supporters saw in him a muscular American self-reliance [during the debate]. I saw a parody of that — a relentless aggression as veneer over desperation — and a clear and present danger to the Republic. [...]
He is mortal, and truth, like science, is relentless. Perhaps there will be a sympathy vote for him. Perhaps he will recover quickly with a redoubled conviction that the virus is an exaggerated threat, or declaring that his enduring through the illness means that God wants him to be president. But what I feel is the curtain coming down and closing a chapter of American derangement.
The virus is Trump’s deus ex machina. Not his retribution but his salvation, because the road he has trodden can only lead to disaster. I wish him a good recovery, and Americans the desperately needed renaissance whose name is Joe Biden.
via {ny times}
Remorse, say, for waving away the virus. “One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.” Remorse for dismissing the wearing of masks — “I don’t see it for myself” — and turning them into America’s tribal identifiers. Remorse for his contempt for science. Disinfectant “does a tremendous number on the lungs” and knocks out the virus “in a minute.”
Remorse for making a mockery of truth. For dismissing climate change. Those California fires are just poor forest management. For the more than 200,000 dead Americans, some of whom may have lived if Trump had led with seriousness instead of playing down the coronavirus.
I doubt such a change of heart will occur. Even if it can do nothing to stop a pathogen, narcissism is an impregnable shield against self-awareness. Still, the lesson of this year is to be prepared for the improbable. The notion that he has finally met his nemesis may surely cross Trump’s mind. [...]
Everybody, infected or not, has been looking at life anew, contemplating other, more sustainable ways of working and consuming.
Perhaps they have mused on how fragile life is and our civilization is. How our planet burns. How there may be more to discover in just being still than in running. How less may be more. How much a loved one may be missed. How hollow the temples of consumption are; and how, one morning through the mist, the towers of Manhattan may look like the medieval towers of San Gimignano, relics from another era.
Trump, now at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, is alone battling the virus within him. Alone with his thoughts and a tenacious, unpredictable thing that he belittled.
It was an angry, barking, surly, rude, defiant Trump who showed up for the first debate with Joe Biden and made no secret of his contempt for American democracy. He said of the balloting that has already begun, “It’s a fraud, and it’s a shame.”
Perhaps his supporters saw in him a muscular American self-reliance [during the debate]. I saw a parody of that — a relentless aggression as veneer over desperation — and a clear and present danger to the Republic. [...]
Chris Wallace now feels the pain of women in meetings.
— Clare Malone (@ClareMalone) September 30, 2020
He is mortal, and truth, like science, is relentless. Perhaps there will be a sympathy vote for him. Perhaps he will recover quickly with a redoubled conviction that the virus is an exaggerated threat, or declaring that his enduring through the illness means that God wants him to be president. But what I feel is the curtain coming down and closing a chapter of American derangement.
The virus is Trump’s deus ex machina. Not his retribution but his salvation, because the road he has trodden can only lead to disaster. I wish him a good recovery, and Americans the desperately needed renaissance whose name is Joe Biden.
via {ny times}
photo via {IG}
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