Stories are, arguably, the most powerful medium for learning ever invented. Stories are constructed from narratives, which contain facts and causal relationships between the facts. The causal relationships are one of the key factors in judging a story – are they believable, to what state do they lead for each character, that is the meat of a story. That’s what makes the audience believe.
Today, on the national stage, we’re plagued with narratives.
FAR RIGHT WING
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR):
But the rioting has nothing to do with George Floyd, whose bereaved relatives have condemned violence. On the contrary, nihilist criminals are simply out for loot and the thrill of destruction, with cadres of left-wing radicals like antifa infiltrating protest marches to exploit Floyd’s death for their own anarchic purposes.
These rioters, if not subdued, not only will destroy the livelihoods of law-abiding citizens but will also take more innocent lives. Many poor communities that still bear scars from past upheavals will be set back still further.
One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers. But local law enforcement in some cities desperately needs backup, while delusional politicians in other cities refuse to do what’s necessary to uphold the rule of law. [The New York Times]
Cotton implicitly conflates the rioters with the protesters, two groups that are, by most reports, distinct and unrelated, as he calls for using overwhelming force to take away the rights of the protesters. He wants calm, peace, and people at work, regardless of their grievances, and he’s ready to use the US military to enforce his wishes against US citizens exercising their rights.
President Trump:
“It’s the greatest thing that can happen for race relations, for the African American community, for the Asian American, for the Hispanic American community, for women, for everything,” Trump said. “Because our country is so strong. And that’s what my plan is. We’re going to have the strongest economy in the world. We almost are there now.” [WaPo]
As if the issue were the economy. He fails to connect the failure of American society to treat all minorities justly as a causative to their relative depressed economic standing. Have you heard the slogan With no justice there will be no peace? It’s also true that With no justice there will be no economic prosperity for the oppressed. Trump continues to demonstrate why isn’t qualified to be President.
AG William Barr regarding the clearing of peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square:
Barr claimed that protesters outside the White House on Monday were becoming violent, justifying his authorization for police to remove them.
“I saw the projectiles on Monday when I went to Lafayette Park to look at the situation,” said Barr, who was seen in the park before protesters were forced out. [NBC News]
It’s worth remembering Barr has been called on twice to resign by former DoJ employees over incidents in which he meddled in prosecutorial decisions, one in sentencing recommendations and one in the notorious Flynn prosecution in which he’s trying to kill the prosecution which he’s responsible for running against a man who has freely confessed, twice, to his guilt. Barr, I think, doesn’t like the narrative that Trump’s associates are often criminals, and tries to indulge in the fantasy that they aren’t by changing the story over which he believes he has some dominion.
Unsurprisingly, the far right fringe wants to return back to some rosie bit of history where they are permanently ascendant and, well, supply your own views of what they want. Their view of how society should run – orderly, good economy, everyone at work – doesn’t include the resentment that comes from the racism that accompanies such history. They’re trying to sell this narrative to the Trump base, the moderate Republicans, and the independents.
RIGHT-MODERATES
Former Secretary of Defense for Trump and retired General Mattis:
“I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled,” Mattis writes. “The words ‘Equal Justice Under Law’ are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.” He goes on, “We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.” [The Atlantic]
Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen:
It sickened me yesterday to see security personnel—including members of the National Guard—forcibly and violently clear a path through Lafayette Square to accommodate the president’s visit outside St. John’s Church. I have to date been reticent to speak out on issues surrounding President Trump’s leadership, but we are at an inflection point, and the events of the past few weeks have made it impossible to remain silent.
Whatever Trump’s goal in conducting his visit, he laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this country, gave succor to the leaders of other countries who take comfort in our domestic strife, and risked further politicizing the men and women of our armed forces.
There was little good in the stunt.
While no one should ever condone the violence, vandalism, and looting that has exploded across our city streets, neither should anyone lose sight of the larger and deeper concerns about institutional racism that have ignited this rage.
As a white man, I cannot claim perfect understanding of the fear and anger that African Americans feel today. But as someone who has been around for a while, I know enough—and I’ve seen enough—to understand that those feelings are real and that they are all too painfully founded.
We must, as citizens, address head-on the issue of police brutality and sustained injustices against the African American community. We must, as citizens, support and defend the right—indeed, the solemn obligation—to peacefully assemble and to be heard. These are not mutually exclusive pursuits. [The Atlantic]
Senator Murkowsi (R-AK):
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska on Thursday praised former Defense Secretary James Mattis’ blistering critique of President Donald Trump as “true and honest and necessary and overdue.”
Murkowski said: “When I saw Gen. Mattis’ comments yesterday I felt like perhaps we are getting to a point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up. And so I’m working as one individual to form the right words, knowing that these words really matter so I appreciate General Mattis’ comments.” [NBC News]
The outrage felt and displayed by these conservatives – these true conservatives, to be precise – reflects and clarifies that principled conservatives, vs the current crop of extremists posing as conservatives, have, well, principles that they work off of. The second- and third- raters that make up the Republican Party don’t understand and thus react by lashing out, as we see above and in Trump’s reaction to Murkowski:
“Few people know where they’ll be in two years from now, but I do, in the Great State of Alaska (which I love) campaigning against Senator Lisa Murkowski,” he wrote in a pair of tweets. “Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I don’t care, I’m endorsing. If you have a pulse, I’m with you!”
And, of course, there is the super PAC formed by George W. Bush Administration officials I mentioned here.
But these folks are pushing the narrative that there are a set of conservative principles, enumerated or not, and Donald J. Trump does not act in accordance with them. These sorts of arguments should have a strong impact on those conservatives who look at Trump with some distaste, but still think the Democrats are worse. This is a signal to them that they need to reconsider their views as Donald J. Trump is revealed as one of the most damaging political figures to disgrace the national political stage.
CENTER AND LEFT
Perhaps the Portland Press-Herald of Maine says it best:
Our View: To President Trump: You should resign now
President Trump: We’re sorry that you decided to come to Maine, but since you are here, could you do us a favor? Resign.
You have never been a good president, but today your shortcomings are unleashing historic levels of suffering on the American people.
Your slow response to the coronavirus pandemic has spun a manageable crisis into the worst public health emergency since 1918.
We are also in the middle of the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. There is no national strategy to recover from the shock that is disproportionately affecting people who were already struggling to make it.
Competency is their first concern.
And in the face of the worst civic unrest since 1968, with millions of Americans in the streets protesting systemic racism, you fan the flames.
In just the last week you gleefully tweeted about shooting fellow citizens; you goaded governors into escalating violent situations so they don’t “look like jerks;” and you authorized the use of rubber bullets and tear gas to clear peaceful protesters out of a public space so you could pose for a Bible-waving photo-op.
These are just a few examples of why you lack the character, maturity and judgment to lead our country in this perilous time. You should resign.
And just about everything else as well. Recognizing he’s a pig with lipstick, they may be the first major news outlet to call for his resignation.
But the problem isn’t just Trump. Here’s the Minneapolis City Council:
The Minneapolis city council passed a restraining order against the city’s police department at an afternoon meeting.
The restraining order is temporary and will still need a judge’s approval before being enacted.
The order bans the use of chokeholds by police and also requires police to report and intervene if the banned practice is used.
Additionally, the Minneapolis police chief must authorize the use of crowd control weapons, such as rubber bullets and tear gas, according to the order.
The order also requires timely discipline decisions and allows for civilian audits of bodycam footage.
“This is a moment in time where we can totally change the way our police department operates,” Mayor Jacob Frey said.
Frey said there were difficulties in the past to make change like this and “now we can finally get this right.”
In the order, which was obtained by CNN, the city council said it hopes to build “toward systematic change.”
Velma Korbel, director of civil rights for Minneapolis, said she hopes “state legislature will be compelled to act, to change the laws that impede the city for making the deep systemic change required, and the community has the demanding for decades.”
Many people, including friends of mine, have called for defunding the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), and it may be necessary to defund, dissolve, and reform MPD from the ground up. This may be the start of that effort. I’ve often wondered if the misdeeds of police departments were systemic in origin, or the fault of deliberately introduced malcontent officers, whether by individuals or invidious organizations. It appears that the Council has decided it’s systemic and taking steps to deal with it.
SO there are competing story lines, and even as I type this Trump is insisting that he’s got another victory when it comes to the economy because the jobs report was better than expected. I will tiredly insist that celebrations are not in order for a month or more. He’s trying to build a story, in the face of a rhetorical hurricane, that somehow he’s a winner.
But even if the economy is in recovery mode, it doesn’t make him right for the job. The job now is to evaluate each story for its correspondence to reality, and kick out those who keep pushing stories that are destructive to the national health.
