President Trump repeatedly tweets
and claims that he is not guilty of collusion. It may come as a surprise that I
absolutely concur, although it’s neither a compliment nor an endorsement; Donald
J. Trump is not capable of collusion (as far as I know, it is not even one of
the many words he has misspelled).
Collusion requires listening
skills; collusion requires the ability to work with others; collusion requires
discretion and self-discipline; collusion requires loyalty and commitment to a
common goal; collusion requires consistency. None of those attributes are
hallmarks of the current president. His minions, of course, are, perhaps,
another story.
Beyond that, I don’t think the
Russians really cared who won the 2016 election. (If you think HRC was in their
pocket but Trump is independent, or vice versa, your “stink test” detector might
need a new battery.) There were advantages and disadvantages for Vladimir Putin
to both candidates. No, what Putin wanted was exactly what he got, a divided
nation with citizens so busy fighting amongst ourselves that Russian objectives,
prime among them restoring Russia to global player and superpower status, could
be achieved with a minimum of American interference. Russian trolls continue
working to perpetuate those divisions.
“We have met the enemy and he is
us,” said Pogo, so far back in the day that few of you reading this even get the
reference.
Getting it, however, is less
important than its truth. Are you part of the problem that is our toxic, tribal
political atmosphere? If you’re posting or even sharing partisan memes, my
answer is, “Yes.” If you’re railing and ranting against either liberals or
conservatives, as if one group has a monopoly on truth or virtue, my answer is,
“Yes.” If you’re pointing fingers (not just the middle one) or shaking fists at
one group or another, religious or political or racial, if you’re generalizing
and stereotyping, my answer is, “Yes.” If you believe that your team is good or
that the “other” team is evil, my answer is, “Yes.” Political beliefs do not
qualify their adherents as either saintly or ungodly.
Rabid partisans, almost by
definition, are not prone to self-examination. Asking yourself, “What if I’m wrong?” before jumping in or sharing vitriol at least has the potential
of mitigating some of the anger so prevalent on social media, the anger that
continues to drive that wedge between us even deeper into our national soul. Of
course, that means we have to admit such a possibility. But I’m guessing
if you won’t, or can’t, admit that maybe, just maybe, you could be wrong (and
that an opposing point of view might have value), you probably never started
reading this in the first place.
