You can twist this any way you want, but this is NOT a defense of President Trump. This is in defense of something more important. Something which has been battered in countless ways. That battery embitters millions of folks.
Trump recently ended the security clearance of a former intelligence director. He threatened to end the clearances of several others. He caught merry hell for this from the press and various public figures.
Yet President Obama scrubbed a bunch of security clearances. The media and brigade of public figures barely noticed.
President Trump’s attorney says candidate Trump told him to pay hush money. He says this was “for the principal purpose of influencing the election.” Big media roasted Trump. As did politicians galore. They threaten impeachment. Some news channels cried “impeachment” hundreds of times in 24 hours.
Yet candidate Barrack Obama offered hush money to the infamous Rev. Jeremiah Wright. To shut his mouth. Hush money. He offered it via a close friend. The good reverend says it was $150,000. He says Obama tried to silence him in person.
The candidate asked to meet Wright in a secret place. When they met, Obama said “I wish you wouldn’t speak. It’s gonna hurt the campaign if you do that.” So sayeth Rev. Wright.
Big media pretty much ignored this. As did the righteous politicians and public figures of the day.
Meanwhile, the election commission fined Obama’s campaign $375,000 for concealing $1 million in donations. Do you recall a national beating of chests and bleatings of outrage over this? Never happened.
What is the “So what?” in this? It is unequal treatment. We have countless examples of how our justice system punishes some Americans. Yet it ignores other Americans for the same crimes.
We see that media and public figures – Hollywood stars included – maul some Americans for their behavior. And mollycoddle others for the same behavior.
In George Orwell’s Animal Farm some animals were more equal than others. Orwell wrote that because he knew readers grow angry at such unequal treatment. Most people resent it when people get punished differently for the same crimes.
Our pundits search for the reasons many Americans are resentful today. They need to look under their noses. Our FBI obviously mollycoddled Hillary. While it hounded Trump. Our IRS mistreated conservative groups. While it opened doors for progressive groups. I could fill this newspaper with examples of such double standards.
This rouses resentment in folks. It is the resentment they feel when the boss treats his favorite differently at work. It is the resentment they feel when the teacher coddles her pet. It is the resentment they feel when the trooper looks the other way for a local politician he catches driving drunk. While he nails you for crawling through a stop sign.
People expect some degree of fairness. They expect the law should treat people equally. Regardless of their position, color, sex, wealth and political party. They believe media should treat people equally as well.
Many folks see so much unfairness in our media and our justice system that they have grown cynical. The unfairness has corroded the trust many of us had in media and had in justice. Many of us now expect, expect, both will be unfair in how they treat crimes and unsavory behavior.
Such cynicism is not healthy for a nation. The old communist regimes seethed with it. The people they oppressed knew the governing elite were more equal than they were. They resented the elite. They mistrusted, nay, scoffed at the media.
Pollsters tell us we host similar feelings toward our politicians and big media. Such attitudes did not do any good for those regimes. They do little good for our country, more is the pity.
PS: If you happen to be in the Cooperstown, NY area in September, come see Tales From The Empire. These are four moving plays about my family’s adventures in a rural hotel/saloon. I play the parts of many characters. One play each Friday night in September. Fenimore House Art Museum. Info at FenimoreArt.org. Tickets at Eventbrite.com.
From Tom…as in Morgan.Find Tom on Facebook. You can write to Tom at tomasinmorgan@yahoo.com.