So, is it OK to laugh at Trump’s news that he has the Coronavirus?
My recommendation: Nope, not OK.
Come on, get a grip. Even in a raucously irreverent age, the acids of modern politics haven’t corroded decency entirely.
Surely you aren’t that far gone?
An even better reason is prudential. The morning did offer new evidence that the gods have a sense of humor.
But mortals err if we think we know who the real target of their humor is.
Perhaps they haven’t yet decided themselves, and want to judge the reactions before writing the next act in the comedy.
In fact, it was a common theme of Trump foes I heard from this morning that they weren’t sure the coronavirus announcement was on the level.
Might this be some kind of cynical election gambit?
He’s faking it to divert attention from his wifes comments about the children, or the debate to help craft a comeback narrative.
The people spinning these scenarios were not entirely serious, but also not entirely not serious. That’s how disoriented and disbelieving many Americans have become when outlandish assertions are regularly made from the White House podium by Trump and surrogates.
If taunting laughter is out of bounds, however, the moment doesn’t necessarily require the opposite reaction. If people aren’t feeling the gravity of this twist of fate there doesn’t seem to be any reason they should feign that they are. Yes, a sensitivity to basic good manners and an awareness that political adversaries and their families are human has been a norm of politics. Was Trump respecting that norm at Tuesday’s debate when he sneeringly mentioned, in an irrelevant aside, Hunter Biden’s drug problems?
Can you only imagine what the president and his clan would say if Mr.Biden or Miss.Pelosi were infected with the coronavirus? ..imagine if you will.
It also seems entirely fair to ponder the nature of fairness and fate, as it applies both to political leaders and the country they aspire to lead. “Karma’s a bitch,” goes the cliché, a phrase which even produced its own reality television show in which victims seek revenge against bullies, ex-lovers, and con artists who have done them wrong.
My recommendation: Nope, not OK.
Come on, get a grip. Even in a raucously irreverent age, the acids of modern politics haven’t corroded decency entirely.
Surely you aren’t that far gone?
An even better reason is prudential. The morning did offer new evidence that the gods have a sense of humor.
But mortals err if we think we know who the real target of their humor is.
Perhaps they haven’t yet decided themselves, and want to judge the reactions before writing the next act in the comedy.
In fact, it was a common theme of Trump foes I heard from this morning that they weren’t sure the coronavirus announcement was on the level.
Might this be some kind of cynical election gambit?
He’s faking it to divert attention from his wifes comments about the children, or the debate to help craft a comeback narrative.
The people spinning these scenarios were not entirely serious, but also not entirely not serious. That’s how disoriented and disbelieving many Americans have become when outlandish assertions are regularly made from the White House podium by Trump and surrogates.
If taunting laughter is out of bounds, however, the moment doesn’t necessarily require the opposite reaction. If people aren’t feeling the gravity of this twist of fate there doesn’t seem to be any reason they should feign that they are. Yes, a sensitivity to basic good manners and an awareness that political adversaries and their families are human has been a norm of politics. Was Trump respecting that norm at Tuesday’s debate when he sneeringly mentioned, in an irrelevant aside, Hunter Biden’s drug problems?
Can you only imagine what the president and his clan would say if Mr.Biden or Miss.Pelosi were infected with the coronavirus? ..imagine if you will.
It also seems entirely fair to ponder the nature of fairness and fate, as it applies both to political leaders and the country they aspire to lead. “Karma’s a bitch,” goes the cliché, a phrase which even produced its own reality television show in which victims seek revenge against bullies, ex-lovers, and con artists who have done them wrong.
I find it hard not to consider it, seeing that dirty, politics and corruption seem to be the way now... but I have to hope that the "powers that be" have more scruples that something like that.
