McCarthy was after political gain, and he wasn't interested who suffered from it. As a consequence, he ruined the lives and careers of people in multiple industries and distorted what the meaning of "communism" was in such a way that it belied its original intention.
Trump is more about his own personal benefit. He has successfully conned many people into thinking he knows best when he doesn't, in such numbers that people assume his returning to power is a self-fulfilling prophecy. But deny him media attention and his threat will be reduced.
The media is at fault for taking these things seriously when they don't merit it and not having the institutional means to call it out anymore. We still need the Joseph Welch types to do that, but where to find them in the bowels of the Internet?
Thank you for so eloquently stating this monumental issue that breaks my heart and reduces me to hopelessness and tears. Thank you for the release I'm experiencing with your written words of shared
shock and overwhelm with the state of affairs. We are decent and cruelty can not and should not be tolerated. Thank you for the shot of strength to not give up.
Thank you, Ramona. “Decency needs the upper hand.” I love that and so true. As I was reading I was remembering the times I got called out for being “snarky” or unkind by teachers or my mom, growing up. It stopped the behavior. Made me accountable. And when I raised my kids, I hope I made an effort to do that for them, letting them know how their actions/words affected others, and describing how best to handle similar situations going forward. I don’t see a lot of that kind of discipline very regularly and it concerns me. And having had a selfish, cruel ex-president who modeled infinite cruelty, it seems as if any moral compass is a thing of the past... for some. I do think most people are truly decent, dare I say, moral. But so much damage has been done. It will take a long time, I’m afraid, to restore decency as the everyday standard. I think if each of us centered on the microcosm, our immediate environments, demanding accountability and decency, as you say, it will be our world eventually. The Tr*mps and Abbotts of the world will be called out as bullies more quickly and not tolerated and go back under the rocks they came from. Well, that’s the world I’m envisioning, dreaming of. We are the majority. We just need to move out of exhaustion and despair. I spend everyday visualizing that. It sustains me. Thank you for your beautiful piece. It needed to be said.
I love the idea of demanding decency, though I'm unsure what it looks like in practice. Demanding anything, even as a parent raising my own children, often seems to result in resentment and backlash. Maybe I'm not giving myself or my kids enough credit. For sure, I set boundaries and enacted consequences when lines were crossed, which I think is what you're calling for, on a national scale. I believe my kids are decent humans now. Do the two things have anything to do with each other? One would presume, but then I consider kids who go completely off the rails, despite careful, thoughtful parenting.
You know me, Mona (I think, anyway). I'm always standing in solidarity with anything rooted in kindness and more equitable distributions of power. But I'm also the one looking for the "how." If I already think of myself as decent, because I've determined that my actions are for the common good, what is there for me to do? (It's worth noting that many of those those we think of as INdecent probably believe they are doing it for the greater good.)
Time and again, I've visited the issue of our nation's division in my mind, feeling mostly disempowered to ever really change anything. The only tool I keep coming back to that I feel I can work with consistently and that I want to believe can have an impact in my own community is civil discourse. I'm not sure if we could substitute the word "civil" for "decency," but they are clearly related.
Where I live, we have a regular forum called "Conversations on Race" that I'm making an effort to attend. I think other organizations and agencies could launch those kinds of events (libraries often champion this kind of thing) to give people from all walks of life more likelihood of seeing each other as whole, complex individuals worthy of respect.
Your caption at the top of the page is an essay in itself. I think you’re right in answering Elizabeth Beggins: One thing decency means in practice is applying consequences. Like parents, judges with Trump in their courtrooms need to anticipate his behavior and have consequences he won’t like ready in advance. They’ll be needed.
Oh my God, Ramona! What an eloquent post and plea for dignity and kindness.
I know Australia is very far from perfect and I probably have no right at all to comment.
But I'm gobsmacked at Texas, at Iowa, at MAGA supporters. I read today of Trump's confusion at the NH rallies where he mistakenly, repeatedly, called Haley Pelosi and his mistake was accepted (and no doubt lauded).
I shudder every time he gains a step on the ladder. As I think does the rest of the western world. America has lost its fine international cachet. It's only its armoury other nations want, not its decent free-speech and valour. People outside of the States laugh at Trump and then shake their heads at the thought that an idiot will have his finger on the button. I would say they feel trepidation but that gives the bully power and we don't want to give Trump any more power.
My heart goes out to all decent, kind Americans of all persuasions and I hope they get out and vote with foresight for their nation when the time comes.
Mind you, I hoped the same here and whilst we had a change from conservative government, the Labour Party (read Democrat) has done little.
Up here, we have already accepted that, the Republican Party, in general, is operating under the guise of…”CRUELTY IS the OBJECTIVE”! The rhetoric and their actions prove there is NO longer ANY illusion! Decency seems to be old-fashioned and out-dated. We are completely disgusted by their behaviour and continue to hope that KARMA will visit them sooner, rather than later. Those who use religion as a prop, are particularly vile, while they totally and pointedly, ignore the teachings of Jesus Christ. We, too, keep hoping for a miracle…that the orange moron will just disappear from the face of the earth…and take his MAGA buddies with him! In the meantime, we are holding our breath…we are ultimately convinced that there are MORE good and decent people within the borders of the U.S.A., than there are followers, of the criminal former president! We are watching and hoping!
I am appalled at some of the cruel things I read and hear about these days. I sincerely hope you are right about decency winning. In my mind, it went out the door the day Donald Trump walked down that escalator to say he was running for president. All the things he has said and done that no one has called him on it - or if they do it is overridden. I wonder if he knows the meaning of the word decency.
Norms, rules, decency, even politeness, seems to have gone out the window. It's enraging. I'd love to be able to shame people (giving them consequences for terrible behavior) but how do you shame the shameless? When I tried to shame Ted Cruz during a "town hall" (long story), he just cut and run. It didn't change his behavior one bit. Now he's even joking about him taking his family to Cancun when the rest of us were freezing. No shame.
The problems here are myriad. Many have (rightfully) called out the media for highlighting awful behavior that brings in readers and the judicial system is too broken to make any meaningful headway. It's always about money. Texas has been so dreadfully gerrymandered that the people in power can do whatever they want without fear; the only people they need to please are the billionaires. Greg Abbott is playing to a very small group: the billionaires who fund him and his allies (which is why Ken Paxton wasn't convicted in the state senate) and I suspect Trump. Abbott knows he'd never be elected to higher office on his own, so he's getting it however he can. The cruelty at the border is to suck up to Trump. It's infuriating.
I wish I knew how to change things, especially in Texas, but I don't. God knows I've tried. But we can't stop trying. I appreciate your words, Ramona, and am glad you keep reminding us what we need to fight for.
When we talk about lack of decency perhaps we need to look at our total backslide on values,morality and yes decency. Decency wasn't policed by laws but by people's morals and values, most of which have been lost.
I’ve been watching some of the recent US political moves the US government has made, and I wonder how they get away with it. And how the people continue to support them. Closer home, I can see how -- the right-wing majoritarian government in India feeds on the fears of those who feel threatened and downtrodden. They dehumanise the people who they label ‘the others’. And cruelty takes root in the hearts of people who just want to feel ‘safe’. Who don’t realize that ‘the other’ is mostly doing the menial work they never would. It’s so disheartening to watch it unfold, and to know that this is the flavour of the day, that this government will most likely be back in power. We’re seeing, in real time, how decent people let Hitler come into power. By hiding their decency and ceding ground.
McCarthy was after political gain, and he wasn't interested who suffered from it. As a consequence, he ruined the lives and careers of people in multiple industries and distorted what the meaning of "communism" was in such a way that it belied its original intention.
Trump is more about his own personal benefit. He has successfully conned many people into thinking he knows best when he doesn't, in such numbers that people assume his returning to power is a self-fulfilling prophecy. But deny him media attention and his threat will be reduced.
The media is at fault for taking these things seriously when they don't merit it and not having the institutional means to call it out anymore. We still need the Joseph Welch types to do that, but where to find them in the bowels of the Internet?
Thank you for so eloquently stating this monumental issue that breaks my heart and reduces me to hopelessness and tears. Thank you for the release I'm experiencing with your written words of shared
shock and overwhelm with the state of affairs. We are decent and cruelty can not and should not be tolerated. Thank you for the shot of strength to not give up.
Well stated. So true. The azzholes are in the ascendency.
I could not love this more and Lisa has said how I feel in my heart too
Thank you, Ramona. “Decency needs the upper hand.” I love that and so true. As I was reading I was remembering the times I got called out for being “snarky” or unkind by teachers or my mom, growing up. It stopped the behavior. Made me accountable. And when I raised my kids, I hope I made an effort to do that for them, letting them know how their actions/words affected others, and describing how best to handle similar situations going forward. I don’t see a lot of that kind of discipline very regularly and it concerns me. And having had a selfish, cruel ex-president who modeled infinite cruelty, it seems as if any moral compass is a thing of the past... for some. I do think most people are truly decent, dare I say, moral. But so much damage has been done. It will take a long time, I’m afraid, to restore decency as the everyday standard. I think if each of us centered on the microcosm, our immediate environments, demanding accountability and decency, as you say, it will be our world eventually. The Tr*mps and Abbotts of the world will be called out as bullies more quickly and not tolerated and go back under the rocks they came from. Well, that’s the world I’m envisioning, dreaming of. We are the majority. We just need to move out of exhaustion and despair. I spend everyday visualizing that. It sustains me. Thank you for your beautiful piece. It needed to be said.
I live the title. You aren’t alone 🇺🇸💙
I love the idea of demanding decency, though I'm unsure what it looks like in practice. Demanding anything, even as a parent raising my own children, often seems to result in resentment and backlash. Maybe I'm not giving myself or my kids enough credit. For sure, I set boundaries and enacted consequences when lines were crossed, which I think is what you're calling for, on a national scale. I believe my kids are decent humans now. Do the two things have anything to do with each other? One would presume, but then I consider kids who go completely off the rails, despite careful, thoughtful parenting.
You know me, Mona (I think, anyway). I'm always standing in solidarity with anything rooted in kindness and more equitable distributions of power. But I'm also the one looking for the "how." If I already think of myself as decent, because I've determined that my actions are for the common good, what is there for me to do? (It's worth noting that many of those those we think of as INdecent probably believe they are doing it for the greater good.)
Time and again, I've visited the issue of our nation's division in my mind, feeling mostly disempowered to ever really change anything. The only tool I keep coming back to that I feel I can work with consistently and that I want to believe can have an impact in my own community is civil discourse. I'm not sure if we could substitute the word "civil" for "decency," but they are clearly related.
Where I live, we have a regular forum called "Conversations on Race" that I'm making an effort to attend. I think other organizations and agencies could launch those kinds of events (libraries often champion this kind of thing) to give people from all walks of life more likelihood of seeing each other as whole, complex individuals worthy of respect.
https://www.ala.org/tools/sites/ala.org.tools/files/content/LTC_ConvoGuide_final_062414.pdf
Your caption at the top of the page is an essay in itself. I think you’re right in answering Elizabeth Beggins: One thing decency means in practice is applying consequences. Like parents, judges with Trump in their courtrooms need to anticipate his behavior and have consequences he won’t like ready in advance. They’ll be needed.
Oh my God, Ramona! What an eloquent post and plea for dignity and kindness.
I know Australia is very far from perfect and I probably have no right at all to comment.
But I'm gobsmacked at Texas, at Iowa, at MAGA supporters. I read today of Trump's confusion at the NH rallies where he mistakenly, repeatedly, called Haley Pelosi and his mistake was accepted (and no doubt lauded).
I shudder every time he gains a step on the ladder. As I think does the rest of the western world. America has lost its fine international cachet. It's only its armoury other nations want, not its decent free-speech and valour. People outside of the States laugh at Trump and then shake their heads at the thought that an idiot will have his finger on the button. I would say they feel trepidation but that gives the bully power and we don't want to give Trump any more power.
My heart goes out to all decent, kind Americans of all persuasions and I hope they get out and vote with foresight for their nation when the time comes.
Mind you, I hoped the same here and whilst we had a change from conservative government, the Labour Party (read Democrat) has done little.
Hi Mona,
Loved this…you are always spot on!
Up here, we have already accepted that, the Republican Party, in general, is operating under the guise of…”CRUELTY IS the OBJECTIVE”! The rhetoric and their actions prove there is NO longer ANY illusion! Decency seems to be old-fashioned and out-dated. We are completely disgusted by their behaviour and continue to hope that KARMA will visit them sooner, rather than later. Those who use religion as a prop, are particularly vile, while they totally and pointedly, ignore the teachings of Jesus Christ. We, too, keep hoping for a miracle…that the orange moron will just disappear from the face of the earth…and take his MAGA buddies with him! In the meantime, we are holding our breath…we are ultimately convinced that there are MORE good and decent people within the borders of the U.S.A., than there are followers, of the criminal former president! We are watching and hoping!
❤️ ❤️🇨🇦🇨🇦
I am appalled at some of the cruel things I read and hear about these days. I sincerely hope you are right about decency winning. In my mind, it went out the door the day Donald Trump walked down that escalator to say he was running for president. All the things he has said and done that no one has called him on it - or if they do it is overridden. I wonder if he knows the meaning of the word decency.
Norms, rules, decency, even politeness, seems to have gone out the window. It's enraging. I'd love to be able to shame people (giving them consequences for terrible behavior) but how do you shame the shameless? When I tried to shame Ted Cruz during a "town hall" (long story), he just cut and run. It didn't change his behavior one bit. Now he's even joking about him taking his family to Cancun when the rest of us were freezing. No shame.
The problems here are myriad. Many have (rightfully) called out the media for highlighting awful behavior that brings in readers and the judicial system is too broken to make any meaningful headway. It's always about money. Texas has been so dreadfully gerrymandered that the people in power can do whatever they want without fear; the only people they need to please are the billionaires. Greg Abbott is playing to a very small group: the billionaires who fund him and his allies (which is why Ken Paxton wasn't convicted in the state senate) and I suspect Trump. Abbott knows he'd never be elected to higher office on his own, so he's getting it however he can. The cruelty at the border is to suck up to Trump. It's infuriating.
I wish I knew how to change things, especially in Texas, but I don't. God knows I've tried. But we can't stop trying. I appreciate your words, Ramona, and am glad you keep reminding us what we need to fight for.
I think we all wish we could do more. Something is so much better than nothing.......
When we talk about lack of decency perhaps we need to look at our total backslide on values,morality and yes decency. Decency wasn't policed by laws but by people's morals and values, most of which have been lost.
I’ve been watching some of the recent US political moves the US government has made, and I wonder how they get away with it. And how the people continue to support them. Closer home, I can see how -- the right-wing majoritarian government in India feeds on the fears of those who feel threatened and downtrodden. They dehumanise the people who they label ‘the others’. And cruelty takes root in the hearts of people who just want to feel ‘safe’. Who don’t realize that ‘the other’ is mostly doing the menial work they never would. It’s so disheartening to watch it unfold, and to know that this is the flavour of the day, that this government will most likely be back in power. We’re seeing, in real time, how decent people let Hitler come into power. By hiding their decency and ceding ground.
Your words are powerful, Ramona. Voices like yours are needed. Thank you for this.