Say Something Nice

Well, sir, your Grandma probably told you, too, "If you can't say something nice about somebody, don't say anything at all."

I want to talk about Donald Trump.

That's not exactly right. I look forward to forgetting all about Donald Trump. Meantime, though, that's not possible.

Of course I know about ignorance. I understand that it is the basic foundation for bigotry and xenophobia. Sadly I know about meanness, too. The scale of ignorance in our culture has surprised me. The level of meanness overwhelms me.

Donald Trump has, singlehandedly, directed a searchlight on gender inequality in American society brighter than anything we have seen since Gloria Steinem was thirty five years old and I was a twenty two year old yahoo who lusted after her. One of many, I should add.

Will we rush to fix it? I doubt it. Barak Obama's inauguration showed us where we stood with racial equality. Did it surprise you? It did me. It broke my heart.

The glass is half full, though. It always is. Nobody's gonna get those genies back in those bottles. As long as I have to remind myself I might as well remind you, too: evolution's not fast.

Thanks, Mr. Trump. Thanks a lot.

Give us peace on earth and end this dreadful, dreadful war. Grandma taught me that, too.