Yesterday, after most of the pundits had concluded that any indictment against Donald Trump would be postponed until after the grand jury’s month-long April break, it was announced that there was, in fact, an indictment in the case of the Manhattan District Attorney against Donald Trump. One part of me cheered, while another part wished that the indictment was for one of the more heinous crimes he has committed, such as attempting to overthrow the 2020 election, or theft of hundreds of classified documents. And then another part of me realized that this opens new doors and that from this day forward, into the unforeseeable future, the name and ugly mug of Donald Trump will be front-and-center in the news to the exclusion of all else.
As I said in an earlier post, I see this case as something of a ‘trial balloon,’ testing the waters to see just how much reaction an indictment against a former president [sic] would bring, and whether the nation could/would withstand the pressure. I think we will all need to step back, take the day-to-day rhetoric with a grain of salt, and remember that there are other issues demanding our attention. We need to take care not to allow Trump, his antics, his daily blah-blah-blah to suck all the air out of the room. In short, Donald Trump is not the most important, or even the most interesting thing in the universe, contrary to what he believes.
Dan Rather reminds us that there are other things happening in the world and here in the U.S. that are as important, if not more so, than the Trump indictment and the response to it …
The News Of The Day
And a broader need for context
By Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner
31 March 2023
News of the day, and likely several days to come, is of an indictment. And a former president. And the political fallout of a historic development.
It is news, to be sure. But have we already moved beyond another mass shooting of children?
What about the attacks on public education?
The demonization of members of the LGBTQ community?
The health and safety of our communities?
Rising military challenges overseas?
The increasing threats of our climate crisis?
The man who has now become the first former president indicted in our nation’s history will likely always be in the spotlight. His legions of fervent fans and determined detractors will make sure of it. And so will the press.
Furthermore, he wants to be the center of attention. And he will try to use all the power of his perverse showmanship to shift his legal jeopardy to his benefit. He will use the news to try to wreak instability and division.
He could face other indictments for crimes surrounding his determination to wreck American democracy through his alleged actions around the 2020 presidential election.
In all of these cases he will have — should have — a presumption of innocence until proven otherwise in a court of law. These cases will have many twists and turns. They may be hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
But what we do know is that our world and our nation face many threats. And the former president played a role in fomenting or exacerbating many of our challenges. But he couldn’t have acted alone.
In the rush of coverage that is ensuing, we should not forget the larger contexts and perspectives.
His name will dominate the headlines. But the narratives are much broader and deeper.
To focus only on him is to risk missing seeing the other pieces come together for a more complete picture of our troubled times. And the resolve and resilience that will be needed to forge a brighter and more stable future.
No person should be above the law. The legal process should be allowed to proceed. But to focus too much on this is to let other dangerous actors off the hook. It puts in jeopardy too much of what we need to confront with clear-eyed determination.
This story should be covered. It is important. For sure. But not at the expense of everything else we need to know.
Filosofa's Word 