For all who are discouraged by President Trump’s seeming lack of humanity as displayed mightily by his mindless, continued implementation of a zero-tolerance policy at the U.S./Mexico border and his new call for just bypassing due process and sending persons back to where they came from, and for all of us who are bewildered by the continued existence of people who can morally and ethically continue to support President Trump, I suggest reading Jon Meacham’s new book, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels.
In the book, Meacham pulls no punches and states clearly his belief that the Trump presidency is a dark moment for the United States. Meacham, as the subtitle of the book reveals, then steals a sentiment spoken by President Abraham Lincoln in his first inaugural address—that a dark moment can be overcome as we look for “the better angels of our nature.” And while it can be discouraging to read in the book about the darkest moments of our collective history—including but not limited to slavery, Jim Crow, the Ku Klux Klan, McCarthyism and Japanese internment camps—Meacham helps the reader understand how these dark moments have been overcome, oftentimes as the result of the leadership of a caring, committed and courageous president.
Sorrowfully, the darkness of Trump’s presidency seems overwhelming at present. I believe Meacham: The country will survive the darkness of President Trump. But only if we who are discouraged, we who are bewildered, continue to speak out, to stand up against the darkness and, of course, vote our way out of this damn mess.
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