I am not going to watch tonight.
Or tomorrow night.
Or Wednesday night.
Or Thursday night.
I am not going to watch the Republican National Convention.
I have heard it all before.
A thousand times before.
The false bravado.
The name calling.
The mockery.
The innuendos
And more than that the accusations.
The accusations that people like me who have a different understanding of family and community and country and world are somehow dangerous and not to be trusted. Yet, it is my experience that it is people like this who are the ones who volunteer at the food pantry or give a blanket to the homeless or help immigrants integrate in our communities. We even support our temples and mosques and churches, and take our faith seriously.
But what I don’t get is this.
When did it become okay to cheer on a lie?
When did it become okay to clap when someone calls someone else a derogatory name?
When did it become okay to laugh when another person is mocked?
I want to ask…
When and where did you learn that?
And, what if it was your son or daughter
Or your granddaughter or grandson
Who was being singled out that way.
Would it still be okay then?
Would you still laugh and clap and cheer?
Would you still walk by maybe saying something like “It is what it is.”
I don’t know about you, buy my parents taught me better.
And, my church taught me better.
And, the community in which I grew up taught me better.
And, the country I care about stands for something better.