The events of the last week were disturbing to say the least. Some people expressed shock. What happened to the beacon on the hill, American Exceptionalism? Others saw this as a blow to democracy while some others convince us that this was a test of how well democracy held. Insurrection, sedition, treason, free speech, first amendment - words with specific meanings are bandied about. I am trying to make sense of the situation and political pundits and journalists are not helping. There is only one thing I know that I truly want, I want Trump out of the White House so that we can get some oxygen back to begin the process of dealing with other pressing issues. I wanted to take some time to think through some key questions that are being raised in the aftermath of the violence.
1) Should Twitter, Facebook etc ban Trump?
This is easy for me. My answer is NO! I don't think these for-profit companies should become arbiters of what is acceptable and not acceptable in society. We need to look to Europe and other countries which have government regulations concerning how such platforms operate. The Internet companies conveniently switch from being platforms to content producers as and when it suits them. I don't trust them to do the right thing as they have had ample opportunity to do it in the past and they've always put their bottom line ahead of everything else. I don't trust them to do right by our teens. So why will I suddenly trust them with our democracy?
2) Did Capitol police treat the rioters differently from BLM protestors?
Absolutely! They should've definitely been better prepared. I know it would have been a very different situation if the protestors wore hoodies instead of MAGA hats. However, the restraint shown by the police during the Capitol insurrection was admirable. I am not going to suddenly wish that the police show less restraint just because these were MAGA enthusiasts and not BLM protestors. I only wish they show the same admirable restraint when people of color engage in peaceful protests.
3) Should Trump be impeached, again? What about other Presidents who misled us?
I am torn on this one. On the one hand I want some kind of justice. Arresting the actual rioters and charging them is one thing, but this essentially gives a free pass to the enablers who instigated these riots not just by the speeches delivered on the day of, but for what they have been doing all along - peddling lies, fueling conspiracy theories, muddying the waters and preying on people.
Since the time of Clinton's impeachment we've seen leaders worried about starting off a cycle of retribution against the outgoing President. But this meant that we gave a free pass to W and his enablers who misled the country and took us into a protracted war that had implications all around the world. No one went to jail for Abu Ghraib, atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan, for torture. That was a mistake and maybe it is time to remind our Presidents that no one is above the law.
However, impeaching Trump means he will occupy news cycles and suck out
more oxygen from us. But is that a small price to pay for someone who
has ignored all decency and norms? I know that the only thing that will truly hurt Trump is when his brand is hurt financially. Like Al Capone maybe it is taxes and financial engineering that will finally be his downfall. But that means all the Presidential crimes are overlooked and future Presidents can expect to get a similar pass.
I know I am arguing with myself on this one and I would love to hear what others think. I am still on the fence as I don't know if it will do more harm than good.
4) What structural changes should we make to ensure we don't suffer another four years like this?
There are a number of things that need to be looked at
- Electoral college vs popular vote
- Abolishing filler buster
- News Vs Opinions in media
- Money in politics
- Length of a campaign season (can we please restrict campaigns to 2 months before an election as opposed to the 2 years!)
- Regulation of Big Tech
Other than the last one, I doubt any politician wants the others. They all benefit from it at different times. This list makes me less hopeful as I am not sure if we can get meaningful change anytime soon.
However, my daughter wanted to start with something basic and personal. How can we get better people (not just highly qualified) running for political offices? She was appalled that her graduation requirements from high school seemed more rigorous than the requirements placed on the person running for President.
That gave me an idea. How would it be if the requirements for running for President or any elected office included the following (some are based on high school graduation requirements):
- Release 5 years tax returns
- Insulate themselves from their private companies and financial interests
- Agree to not join a lobbying group/ financial institution for 3 to 5 years after they are out of office
- Undergo sexual harassment and diversity training before they file in their applications
- How about community service requirements? How about all candidates are required to contribute 100 hours every year for 5 years before they seek an elected office?
- Take a world history and US civics test and get at least a B
- Take a basic science and statistics test (SAT level is good enough) and get at least a B
- Should have studied one foreign language and culture for 4 consecutive years
I know it is wishful thinking but it is unfortunate that we place stricter guidelines on ethics, higher expectations on character, and tougher academic requirements on our teenagers than we do on our elected officials.
This past week just showed that democracy is hard work and the US has numerous skeletons in its closet, literally skeletons of Native Americans and Slaves on which it was built. It is time to come to terms with the legacy but it is also true that people will line up to come to the US in a heartbeat than any other country in the world because of the aspirational ideals of being an American. Do we let our aspirations or our failures define us? Maybe it is time to combine both as we take the next step towards a more perfect Union.
