(To my family and friends: \u00a0What follows is not my normal post, nor does it represent my intent for this trip. \u00a0But this extraordinary time and unprecedented election has not left room for norms or\u00a0my intentions)<\/p>\n
I think I was about 12 years old when I saw the original ‘Jackie Robinson Story’. \u00a0You might remember that Jackie Robinson played himself and even though it was filmed in 1950, it represented a significant attempt to record\u00a0the bigotry and challenges he faced as\u00a0first black major league baseball player. \u00a0It would have been a Sunday. \u00a0We only had over-air TV and the Sunday Matinee Movie started at two\u00a0o’clock.<\/p>\n
What I remember was what you would expect. \u00a0The scenes when this\u00a0dignified and stoic man\u00a0was verbally accosted from the stands. \u00a0But as I recall, my 12 year old reaction was not directed at the bullies. \u00a0I understood bullies. \u00a0I had recently moved from California to Michigan and was a particularly awkward adolescent, who, if my new classmates were to be believed, resembled something of a primate. \u00a0No, what I remember wondering about were the other grown ups. \u00a0The ones who stood in the stands with the bullies. \u00a0Weren’t they just as bad? \u00a0Wasn’t their silence an indictment of the whole stadium?<\/p>\n
So today I received two emails from two family members. \u00a0One explained, along with\u00a0poignant photos of soldiers embracing their families, that the ACLU had filed suit to eliminate prayer from the military. Involuntary eye roll, debunk<\/a> on Snopes, copy, paste, send. \u00a0Then came another one explaining that, when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, ‘little Shakiel’ answered, a ‘welfare recipient’. \u00a0The email went on to present reams of data, by state, of welfare benefits\u00a0to be had (you can make over $60,000 a year in Hawaii and not work a day). \u00a0For an added kicker, it listed all the pension money and benefits that Nancy Pelosi and others will be enjoying ‘for life’, \u00a0It took a little more than Snopes on this one (suffice it to say, the Cato Institute featured heavily), but debunk1<\/a>, debunk2<\/a>, copy, paste, send.<\/p>\n Ah, technology. \u00a0It is the final irony that the easier it is to research information, the more people cling to concepts and beliefs that validate their worse instincts. \u00a0I used to think that the correct response was simply to supply data, apply logic and engage in discourse. \u00a0It may not be that simple. \u00a0For three national elections in a row, I have travelled across this country and recorded the fears that brought me these two emails. \u00a0Christians convinced that their religion is under attack. \u00a0People tired of their tax money supporting immigrants and lazy people who simply want not to work. \u00a0Feelings so deep that facts cannot and do not impede.<\/p>\n Yesterday I wrote about the lifelong\u00a0pattern of cruelty that defines Donald Trump for me. \u00a0Applying the same measure to Hillary reveals a lifetime\u00a0of unrelenting public service. \u00a0Imperfect. \u00a0Flawed. \u00a0But consistent and dogged.<\/p>\n So I ask you this. \u00a0When do we stop sitting quietly in the stands? We have watched\u00a0Hillary for over 30 years in this game of politics. \u00a0We have watched as\u00a0investigation after investigation have revealed little or no wrong doing. \u00a0It is clear the scrutiny has resulted in a defensiveness that we all might agree is understandable, if not prudent. \u00a0The\u00a0emails reveal that Hillary has behaved like a politician and we collectively clutch our pearls. \u00a0When do we give full voice to what we see in front of us?<\/p>\n Our silence risks giving this election to a bully who has shown a willingness to not only destroy his competitors, but the game itself. \u00a0Stand up. \u00a0Stand up for Hillary, the ACLU and little Shakiel’s everywhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (To my family and friends: \u00a0What follows is not my normal post, nor does it represent my intent for this trip. \u00a0But this extraordinary time and unprecedented election has not left room for norms or\u00a0my intentions) I think I was about 12 years old when I saw the original ‘Jackie Robinson Story’. \u00a0You might remember … Continue reading “Time to stand”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[39,45],"class_list":["post-234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-disgusted","tag-sad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hwireroad.org\/2016\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hwireroad.org\/2016\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hwireroad.org\/2016\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hwireroad.org\/2016\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hwireroad.org\/2016\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=234"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.hwireroad.org\/2016\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":260,"href":"https:\/\/www.hwireroad.org\/2016\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions\/260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hwireroad.org\/2016\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hwireroad.org\/2016\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hwireroad.org\/2016\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}