Commentary

PHILIP MARTIN: That's a wrap for 2016

It was a pretty lousy year. Prince and David Bowie and Leon Russell and Leonard Cohen died. Whether we wanted it or not, we all became participants in one of those surreal reality shows, and I'm not sure even the guy who won the thing is happy with how it turned out. Most of us are probably happy to see the year go.

But I have to admit it hasn't been such a bad year.

I don't worry much about politics--it doesn't (or heretofore it hasn't) impinge on my private life. I vote, and in this space I argue, for what I think is best for my country, but understand the smallest of any effect I can have. I accept that I'm going to lose a lot of the time, at least in the short run. I am cautiously optimistic that progress will be made, that we'll not devolve into authoritarianism, that the rights of the vulnerable will be respected and protected.

I don't know that that will happen; I don't think there's anything in Americans that makes us inherently smarter or less susceptible to the promises and threats of demagogues than Europeans were in the 1920s, but there's only a small minority of us who genuinely believe that our president-elect actually endorses the ideas espoused by his most deplorable supporters. I think he's fooled them as surely as he's fooled the middle and working-class folks who expect him to be an empathetic champion of their cause, whatever that cause happens to be.

In the end the alt-right will end up as disillusioned with Mr. Trump as everyone else, and the real damage the president-elect will inflict will be on the careers of those who enabled and abetted him, especially those Republicans who put party before country and reversed themselves when it became apparent that Trump was going to be the nominee. There are some people who are not going to let them forget that.

Let's wait and see. Let's see how many of the president-elect's cabinet nominees get approved. Let's see how he intends to govern. Let's see how he assures the American people that he's not just using the highest office as a way to further extend his brand. He's got a lot to prove. Let's give him a chance to prove it.

We have to push back on any un-American proposals. But I'm not convinced the president-elect isn't really a moderate Democrat. I'm not convinced that--deep in his heart--he isn't slightly to the left of the positively Nixonian Hillary Clinton. I'm not especially opposed to Trump on a policy basis, especially not since he's admitted what a lot of people alleged during the campaign, that he has no intention on trying to follow through on some of his more outlandish promises, but on the grounds of simple human decency.

Trump behaves badly. He mocks the weak. He boasts. He doesn't respect anything, especially not the English language. He's a bully and a vulgarian. If he is who he presents himself as being--and it is perfectly possible that it's all an act, and that if you could ever strip away all the armor you'd find a human being under all that bluster and hair spray--he's simply not a good person. My objection to him is ultimately on moral grounds, not politics, and I stand by every word I've written about him this year.

But the truth is, he's probably not going to matter much in my life. I'm not reliant on the stock market, I'm not especially afraid he's going to lock me away in some camp that FEMA has already prepared. I don't think he'll be especially good for the country, but he might lower my taxes. He might even make newspapers more relevant.

And he's not a good symptom. His election has caused some boorish types to feel empowered. And some people who oppose him have acted disgracefully. No "side" has a patent on bad behavior. There's no need to be rude. Not even when you're engaging in civil disobedience. It's one thing to call a powerful bully out; it's another thing to scream at fellow citizens. Like I tell my email correspondents, argue like an adult or shut up.

But otherwise, things are pretty good. I've got a new project I'm excited about. I'm healthy. We don't want for much. I've got a stack of books I want to read. I've got a couple of really nice guitars. I've got good friends and a groovy little family. I can walk anywhere I need to go.

On top of that, I like the work, though politics seems to me ever more and more the province of salesmen and spin artists, of silly self-important men who imagine themselves serious because they've sucked at the sump of power.

I hope that in the next year I will not take my old friends for granted and will scrupulously answer my mail. (The odd thing is that the more thoughtful a letter, the longer it takes for me to compose an appropriate response. So if I haven't answered yours, it's probably that I find your point extremely well made.) I get lots of letters and emails, and sometimes I miss a few. I'll try to do better.

I will try not complain so much in 2017; to be more tolerant with those who do not share my enthusiasms. I will eat fewer cheeseburgers and enjoy them more. I will keep my car's interior clean. I will try to file (or throw away) all the stray paper that lands on my desk. I will not pout. I will forgive those I can. I will not give up.

I wish you all the best and hope we can all meet here again next year as better, less fearful, more loving people. Peace.

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Philip Martin is a columnist and critic for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at pmartin@arkansasonline.com and read his blog at blooddirtandangels.com.

Editorial on 12/27/2016

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