News of the day, and likely several days to come, is of an indictment. And a former president. And the political fallout of a historic development.
It is news, to be sure. But have we already moved beyond another mass shooting of children?
What about the attacks on public education?
The demonization of members of the LGBTQ community?
The health and safety of our communities?
Rising military challenges overseas?
The increasing threats of our climate crisis?
The man who has now become the first former president indicted in our nation’s history will likely always be in the spotlight. His legions of fervent fans and determined detractors will make sure of it. And so will the press.
Furthermore, he wants to be the center of attention. And he will try to use all the power of his perverse showmanship to shift his legal jeopardy to his benefit. He will use the news to try to wreak instability and division.
He could face other indictments for crimes surrounding his determination to wreck American democracy through his alleged actions around the 2020 presidential election.
In all of these cases he will have — should have — a presumption of innocence until proven otherwise in a court of law. These cases will have many twists and turns. They may be hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
But what we do know is that our world and our nation face many threats. And the former president played a role in fomenting or exacerbating many of our challenges. But he couldn’t have acted alone.
In the rush of coverage that is ensuing, we should not forget the larger contexts and perspectives.
His name will dominate the headlines. But the narratives are much broader and deeper.
To focus only on him is to risk missing seeing the other pieces come together for a more complete picture of our troubled times. And the resolve and resilience that will be needed to forge a brighter and more stable future.
No person should be above the law. The legal process should be allowed to proceed. But to focus too much on this is to let other dangerous actors off the hook. It puts in jeopardy too much of what we need to confront with clear-eyed determination.
This story should be covered. It is important. For sure. But not at the expense of everything else we need to know.
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Well I certainly agree with counselling people to throw some cool water on their hatred for Trump. He is, when it comes down to it, just another mouthy New York street brawler, who happens to know how to work the media (and YOU). The American Left’s elevation of him to Demi-God status is quite fascinating. And it’s JUST what he wants - don’t you know narcissists feed off hate just as much as love? It’s your indifference they cannot tolerate.
But I am curious, can someone explain to me how Trump is to blame for the current threats facing the world and America? Maybe the Iran nuclear situation? That’s the only thing I can think of... Yes, I was quite surprised to read that, because from my view in Australia it looks like it’s the Biden administration that’s fomenting much of the trouble. He’s taken us to the brink of nuclear war with Russia; committed eco and energy terrorism against an ally; goaded China; allowed the position of the dollar as the reserve currency to be put in jeopardy... oh, and he’s managed to piss off Israel by supporting protests against their gov AND lost the respect of the Saudis so much that they are now more friendly to China and IRAN (amazingly). Oh, and your border seems to be a bit of a mess... which will of course exacerbate all the domestic issues.
In Biden’s defence, just how much of this sort of this is done by deep state (ie gov and esp security-state employees that remain regardless of whether team Coke or Pepsi are in the Whitehouse) actors is unclear, and they may well be the same players as when Trump was in power. And indeed, as the author says, those people should examined for any wrong doing.
But though I have no love for Trump, I was confused to see hm blamed for the current threats facing America and the world. Can someone help me out?
This is a fair point, to be sure. It's easy to focus on Trump, I'm guilty of it myself to some degree...but we need to remember everything else that's going on as well.
We need to remember the hundreds of other causes that need to be fought for. There's the scapegoating of marginalized communities across the world, the irrevocable damage being done to the environment and the inevitable harm to human beings that it brings, not to mention poverty and inequality of justice across the board!
Trump is an easy, eye-catching figure. But there's a lot more to keep an eye on, too.