Tragedies of the Trump Age

When this international nightmare is over, we’ll have a lot of time to discuss the many types of punishment Trump inflicted on our civilization, and argue which ones caused the deepest and longest-lasting damage.

As an environmentalist, I tend to see the world through that lens, though I’m wondering if the single greatest tragedy isn’t what he’s done to the moral fabric of American society, especially our children.

I came close to tears when I came across this meme. To it we could add:  bullies are winners, greed is smart, people in power are unaccountable, name-calling is strength, laws don’t apply to the wealthy and well connected, keeping promises is for suckers, caring for the needs of others is dumb, and that sex abuse against women and cruelty to non-white children are both perfectly fine.

Speaking selfishly, I’m glad my wife and I aren’t trying to parent young kids, say, 5 – 18 years old, a period of time in their lives when they’re old enough to see the world around them independently from what they’re told by their moms and dads, but young enough to still be forming the moral character they will carry with them for the rest of their days.

It’s hard to read this and not feel very, very sorry.