It felt like we had a false choice from our mainstream parties – either a Goldwater Hawk suddenly converted into an Anti-Globalist champion or a boorish Anti-Globalist allegedly sending subliminal messages within a patriotic nationalist battle cry. That said, America did make a choice, and like the lyrics of the Rolling Stones playing in the background of his campaigns, we may not have got what we want, but we just may have got what we need. Maybe behind the boorish antics and distractive communications is somebody who knows how to create and apply pressure points. Maybe President Donald Trump is laying down a challenge for entrenched “do-nothing” political leaders here and around the world to either “put up or shut up.”
Consider the so-called “Muslim travel ban.” Suppose that statistics showed that most travelers out of LaGuardia were Catholic. If there were multiple security breaches there and Homeland Security closed the airport, nobody would call it a “Catholic travel ban.” If taken simply, the executive order would serve to move travelers to other countries that are deemed to have more rigorous security protocols.
The North Carolina governor was voted out for signing the birth certificate bathroom access law, and yet, here, some of our legislators in Olympia seem to want such a law. New York candidate Trump seemed unbothered by the prior administration’s bathroom access order, but now as President Trump, he rescinded the order citing state’s rights. I imagine state governors, legislatures and local governments now feel the pressure to take a stand and be counted in or out by voters.
I look forward to our legislators explaining their TSA (toilet sex alignment) “birth certificate pre-check” process. Will ardent supporters of their law establish citizen’s arrest patrols? What would they deem legal “probable cause” for “pantsing” somebody who dared to leave the house without a birth certificate? That dialog would reveal just how much hate underlies their law. As this plays out in the states, I might wonder if it really was “fake news” that Donald Trump is some kind of covert anti-party operative.
Before progressives fail out of joy and hubris, it should be clear that this debate can cut both ways. Consider the media coverage related to locker room use. There is a notion that a person is less likely to be bullied if they get undressed and shower with people who are not anatomically the same and would be bullied more if they were to do so with people who are anatomically the same. That seems like a counter-intuitive argument to make. It also defies the statistics on bullying and violence being faced by anybody deemed “different” (skin color, language, underweight, overweight, shoes of the wrong brand, late to puberty, etc., etc.).
It certainly will not help to call people deplorable or irredeemable for having questions in the quest for good public policy. Taken simply, our president won’t be using his New Yorker voice to tell folks they’re “not in Checotah anymore.” Rather he has created a time for politicians to put up, shut-up or get voted out. At a minimum, I hope people in Federal Way will allow others to talk about their opinions without being vilified.
Hiroshi Eto, Federal Way
