The Casualties Of Our Current President

First, and of least importance here, an announcement of a change in policy.  Namely, mine.  This is the last time TRH will use the name of Donald Trump in discussing the issues of the day, even as it relates to him.  Henceforce, I will only refer to him here as "the current President."

Why?

For the simple reason that, past and present, he has always lived for self-promotion.  That's why is name is always the most prominent feature of every building he has ever built.  Of every product or service he has attempted to promote.  Of just about every aspect of his public life that you--or rather, he--can name.  It's all he really cares about.  Not his family, his "projects," or even his Presidency.  Everything with him is all about getting and seeing his name out there.  And that is a process in which I will no longer participate.  If promotion is truly the air that he breathes, then I am willing to do my part to suffocate his Presidency.  His Presidency, mind you, and not him personally.  I have no wish to turn him into a martyr.  (So, any FBI agents looking at this, shoo.  Nothing to see here.)

Now, on to a discussion of his casualties.

My current work as an attorney takes me back and forth between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. on a routine basis.  Because of the limited nature of public transportation in Maryland, which has a lot to do with racial issues*, I'm forced to do a large portion of that by car, rather that by taking advantage of the forms of public transit that other large metropolitan areas can take for granted.  I don't like having to do that, because the resulting four-hour commute daily is exhausting, even using the Washington Metro for part of it.  But I do it.

It does, however, give me the opportunity to see how people drive on a regular basis.  And I can tell you that how people drive has changed a lot over the past two years.  It's gotten much, much worse.

Not a day goes by that I don't see an accident, and frequently more than one, along my route.  Many of them appear to be little more than fender-benders, fortunately.  But I can tell you that their number has increased dramatically.  And sometimes, they are much more than fender-benders.  Not long ago, I saw two instances of cars that had caught fire--one on my trip to D.C., and one on the way back.  I have no idea if anyone was hurt in either instance, or how badly they may have been hurt.  But the possibilities in that regard are as tragic as they are obvious.

Frankly, I view this increase in stressed-out driving as a consequence of living under the current President.  It's difficult to know what else it can be related to successfully.  Even if his policies aren't always directly affecting people, his behavior and conduct generally have left many people wondering, from day to day, whether or now the United States is truly a safe, stable place in which to live.  Whether he's selling (or giving away) our domestic resources to Republican donors or foreign businesses, or helping Vladimir Putin turn the nation into a new Soviet republic, more and more people are beginning to wonder about their future.  As in, whether or not they will have one.

Stressed-out driving is bad enough but, when even one life is lost, it's a tragedy with ripple effects that are not always easy to measure.  Sometimes, they can even radiate around the world.

Here is one recent, especially tragic example.

Amy Meselson, an immigration attorney who devoted her life to saving refugees, and who did in fact help save many of them, committed suicide last week at the relatively young age of 46.  You can read about her life and her work here.  Whatever your feelings about immigrants and immigration may be, especially refugees, it cannot be doubted that she saved many lives to an extent that will have long-lasting benefits for the refugees and everyone whose paths they cross.  Nor can it be doubted that her loss is a savage and tragic loss for all of us, especially for immigration attorneys and advocates such as my wife (and me, for that matter).

Ms. Meselson suffered from depression, and it will no doubt be tempting for some--especially immigation-haters--to blame her death on herself.  But that is why it is important to read the entire obituary, and not become mesmerized for political reasons by that one fact.  She worked for a long time on behalf of the world's most vulnerable people, accomplishing more than most people do in a longer lifetime.  Consider the following paragraph:

Ms. Meselson had dedicated her career to defending hundreds of vulnerable immigrants from deportation and helping them navigate the gaps between the child welfare and national security bureaucracies. She recruited volunteers from corporate law firms to represent foster children in immigration cases, and she successfully lobbied for a special juvenile section in immigration court.

That's not the life of a person defined by depression.  But I believe that the end of her life came about at the intersection of her illness and the current "policy" on immigration in the U.S. (if one can dignify it by an increasingly abused word).  And let's be clear, as Laura Ingraham made clear this past week on the Fox Network:  that policy can be reduced down to the phrase "Get rid of 'em all."  It's no longer just about the undocumented anymore; it's about those who, in Ms. Ingraham's words, make our country no longer "look" like it used to.

We don't need more Laura Ingrahams; we need more Amy Meselsons.  We can't afford the loss of even a single one.  The loss of her life is a casualty that can and should be laid at the feet, publicly, of the current Administration and its selfish, racist pursuit of the interests of rich white men.  Along with the stressed-out motorists I see every day.

And when you read a piece like this, that chronicles the current President's dereliction of duty to the people of the entire nation, whether they voted for him or not, whether they have white, black, red, yellow or brown skin, you should know that you are looking at the tragedy of an Amy Meselson or a stressed-out motorist times thousands.  Give our current President enough of a chance, and it can easily become millions.

The casualties of this President are real.  They mount on a daily basis.  How many of them will have to mount before the current crisis ends?

Well, as always, that depends on you.

*A subject I will be discussing more extensively in future blog posts, especially as the current gubernatorial campaign here in Maryland heats up this fall.