I was absolutely fascinated by the responses I got to the general theme of last week’s musing. I was especially interested in learning what or who were the individual readers’ devil or devils. No one responded to that inquiry. Still, I loved the responses.
Sandy from Maryland rightly corrected me. She said:
“In your column on Devil’s Due, you said:
‘....I have a number of “Devils.” One is institutional racial and gender injustice. The thing I must remember, however, is that such injustice has yet to be the absolute goal of any society…’ Methinks you have misremembered, or simply not remembered.”
My mistake was the word injustice. I should have said that justice has never been the absolute goal of any society. Sandy pointed out the institutional injustice written into the laws and social structure of South Africa beginning in 1948. Thanks, Sandy!
Then there was the observation of Bruce from Philadelphia. Bruce said:
“You wrote: ‘In the case of President Trump, one of my current Devils.’ When I think of evil, I think of persons like Richard Speck, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gasy, and Gary Heidnik, to name a few. Do you suggest that Donald Trump, with all of his faults, rises, or sinks as the case may be, to the level of these people? I’m not even sure that Donald Trump sinks to the level of Adolf Hitler, at least not yet. I suggest that time will tell if Trump is truly a devil.”
Ah, Bruce, you’re assuming that murder is the only deviled evil. Remember, the commission of murder is far from the only human act condemned by the Ten Commandments. Mr. Trump has clearly violated God’s Commandments regarding marriage, pride, treatment of one’s neighbors. No, he has yet to sink to Hitler’s evils and I don’t guess he will. Still, he is one of my devils. He shouldn’t be where he is and I hope we’ll remove him from “the high temple” of our government in 2020.
The most staggering set of objections came from Erie Pennsylvania’s adopted son, Chesterton. (That’s almost his real name but not quite.) He really takes me to task and I love it. He said:
“You wrote: ‘The unvarnished reality remains that the world is such that in order to keep our sanity, we must give the Devil his due in the form of a healthy tolerance.’
Why? Why should I tolerate a liar; one who exploits women; One who accused his opponent of being a criminal and riled up his supporters to a frenzy during which they would yell: "lock her up!"
One who engaged in at least two extra-marital affairs while his third wife was experiencing the birth of a baby;
One who is taking credit for a lousy tax plan;
One who claimed that Mexico would pay for his ridiculous wall, a wall which will never be built, of course!
No Ed, Donald Trump is someone I will never be able to tolerate; and were I to try to, I would lose my sanity not to mention any self respect I may possess.”
Well, my dear Chesterton, in the first place I didn’t say you should think, do, or feel anything. I’ve learned the hard way that “you shoulds” are seldom effective communication. My point is that if we join President Trump in what we regard as the destruction of the legitimacy and power of his office, there’ll be little institutional respectability left for his successors. A better question is: how is it to my advantage to tolerate and do what I can to support the institution of the presidency?
In the first place, President Trump is a reality and reality must always be handled rationally. Second, President Trump, like a broken clock (although he may not ever be right twice a day), possesses more gravity when he’s right, than you or I.
Remember the delightful story of the little boy who saw former president and, by then, Chief Justice William Howard Taft coming down the steps of the Supreme Court saying: “Oh, I know who you are. You used to be President Coolidge!”
Next, here’s the short but reassuring response from Bob, a gentleman from South Jersey:
“Finally, a more tempered and objective view of DJT.”
Thanks, Bob! Unfortunately, too many of us prefer to read commentary that reinforces our views rather than commentary with tempered objectivity.
What’s interesting about most of the above responses (with the exception of Sandy’s) is how they reflect the defenses of the individual advocates or conclusions. Bruce, who wants at least to support President Trump, hears only the worst of all evils in a so-called devil. Chesterton, on the other hand, winces at the slightest call for tolerance or forbearance of the president.
Finally, I offer the reaction of a good clergyman from Florida, Reverend Paul:
“Edwin must be careful not to bite down too hard. His tongue in cheek comments are, in my opinion, right on. He skewered the feminist, the religious right, atheists, liberals, and the rest of us in general. Is evil in the eyes of the beholder??? Thanks Ed for your very appropriate observations.”
My response to the good Reverend is, unfortunately and to our disadvantage, yes. All quoted here, myself included, to a large degree, find it exceedingly difficult to adjust to any truth but our own. Hence, the devil, like the innocent and beautiful princess, mostly resides in the eye of the beholder.
Therein, or should I say herein, we find the real devil. The devil is both you and me and each and every one of us devils have one thing in common: we always demand our due!
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
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