Where We Are This Week 06/16/23

The rainbow coalition, Trump's second indictment, and Manchester is Blue - and so am I.

Much has been made about the virtue of representation in recent years, you know, the kind you find in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion seminars. It started out as a well-intentioned endeavor, and it’s not without its advantages, but it’s not without its pitfalls.

For instance, despite President Obama’s drone crusade against the Middle East writ large, I’m sure it was valuable for black Americans to see him in the Oval Office.

I don’t mean that as tongue-in-cheek as it sounds, I just wish I had a better, less war-criminal example.

But no good deed goes unpunished, as they say, and ‘representation’ has now gone the way of Affirmative Action. Affirmative Action was a brilliantly executed ploy by FDR in WWII to ensure the integration of American troops - and that black troops wouldn’t be misused or abused on the frontlines. By the Vietnam War, however, the elites had devised a workaround where it was the poor, uneducated, and working class that got shoved into the jungle.

Now, what the program does most effectively is arbitrarily limit the number of Asian and Indian Americans enrolling in Ivy League schools. Quite the fall from grace, I’d say.

Equal representation is a great ideal, but let’s not force phony diversity into the next Wes Anderson movie. Diversity is another estimable idea and is treated as the pinnacle of an enlightened society, but calls to diversify Atlanta might accompany a burning cross.

Ever more frequently, we’re playing this game of trying to separate the doctrine from its creator, the idea from the application, and the art from the artist. Some people with regrettable traits have had great ideas, and some great people have had disappointing missteps.

It’s futile to attempt to cling to a reductionist view of things and if we’re going to survive the next decade, it’s imperative we’re able to disentangle our principles from our political priors.

If the modern era and the deconstructionist movement have taught us anything - as few as those things may be - it’s that we must be constantly ready to adapt.

And that almost everything is up to interpretation.

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Proud Americans

And the Death of Symbolism

And thus, my friends, the color revolution is complete. On Saturday, the White House held a Pride Month celebration where the ‘progress pride’ flag flew front and center, supplanting the Stars and Stripes’ usual position of prominence.

Amid the twerking, vogueing, and flashing that occurred during the event, you might be wondering why it’s the flag I’m choosing to write about. While all of those other events are mesmerizing and fascinating in their own right, nothing quite captures the state of our national politick like our obsession with representation.

The Pride flag in its original iteration has been around since the late 70s, and though it experienced some alterations over time, it managed to stay about the same for forty-something years - but that was before the post-modernist movement of our current era.

In 2018, the Progress Pride flag was designed by Daniel Quasar - keep in mind, I’m using the term ‘designed’ liberally. Quasar inserted a chevron of five new colors into the preexisting rainbow. The additional pattern is positioned in such a way - from left to right - that engenders a sense of movement to the flag, one could assume that given a few more years - how many flag years is one human year? - the intrusion will be dominating the entire symbol.

The new colors added to the flag were meant to represent the transgender community, people of color within the LGBTQIA+ movement, and those living with, or deceased from, AIDS. As if the colors of the rainbow weren’t enough, it was somehow necessary to explicitly represent each and every identity by its own color.

It’s part and parcel of the need, the mandate that every conceivable identity, ethnicity, and world belief be represented on a national scale. If that’s the rules of the game we’re playing by, then a flag of infinitely small individual colors and designs is coming down the pipe.

This type of thinking ruins any and every art form, because, by virtue of inclusion, every decision, every piece of symbolism must be over-explained and reduced down to its literal meaning.

Goodbye poetry, goodbye metaphor.

So, what about it being hung at the White House in a position that prioritized it over the American flag? Well, first of all, would it not be strange to see the GOP or Democratic banner hang on the White House - and let’s not delude ourselves with the notion that the Pride phenomenon hasn’t become a political movement all of its own.

The very purpose of centralized power is to promote the interests of the polity writ large, not whatever sectarian movement is in vogue at any given moment.

I’m no patriot in the definitional sense of the word but give me a break; the moment the federal government lauds another political or cultural movement above its own is the moment it ceases to be useful as a country.

The very purpose of the United States’ flag is to represent every American in every state, no matter their identity. If that idea is no longer applicable and minority representations must be erected to supplement it, then the national identity itself is up for grabs.

That last part isn’t necessarily a criticism, it’s just an observation. During every patriotic holiday, I contend with what it means to be an American, and increasingly, whether it be through my own growth or nationwide change, that landscape is muddied. Our population has endured these growing pains since the late years of the Bush Administration. It’s just, now, the federal government seems to be giving up the charade.

Maybe I’m reading too much into this particular display of ‘solidarity’, but I would hazard a guess that when a nation begins to value an ideological movement above its own, it’s no longer really a nation. If no unifying stimulus comes along - not a war, not a war - then it’s only a matter of time until the constituent parts recognize there’s nothing binding them together anymore.

We’re a nation in flux, searching desperately for a new animating principle that will guide us into the future, and whoever tells the most compelling story will be in pole position to lead us into the fray. You can submit your personalized designs for the forthcoming national quilt here.

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Do not pass Go, do not collect $200, run for president.

I begged New York DA Alvin Bragg to not prosecute former president Donald Trump, but he did it anyways; no word as of yet if he’s just ignoring me or doesn’t read this newsletter. It really could be 50/50.

Undeterred, I offer my direct appeal to United States Attorney General Merrick Garland: please, stop. More than anything this election season, I - and the majority of Americans - don’t want to see Biden v. Trump 2, and like we discussed in recent weeks, any perceived ‘witch hunt’ aimed at the former president seems to only make him stronger amongst his base.

Trump’s latest indictment has had no affect on his upward trajectory in the polls, and I would think an actual conviction all but seals the deal for his nomination.

I especially don’t want to see Trump smugly pardon himself from inside his jail cell. You know as well as I do, Trump would still claim he had the highest attendance ever for an inauguration even if his was done inside a federal prison. But, let us depart from the fever dreams of the Democrat party and return to reality - if only for a moment.

“I’d like to thank you all for being here today.”

On Tuesday, former president Donald J. Trump was indicted on federal charges pertaining to his alleged possession of highly classified documents and his subsequent refusal to return them. This is the first time a former president has ever had federal charges pressed against them.

The 37 felony charges were unsealed on Friday, and boy, oh boy, does Trump’s legal team have their work cut out for them. Granted, Trump will have his day in court and we’ve yet to hear his defense, so anything is possible.

But, on the other hand, the prosecution has a recording of the former president essentially saying, regarding the documents, “I could have declassified them when I was president, but I didn’t.” On the tape, his aide commiserates with Trump admitting they have a problem. Whoops.

Regardless of the verdict of this barrage of charges, I do not want nor do I think Trump should be prosecuted - much less jailed. You may recall a particular Secretary of State who in 2016 was not prosecuted for a similar scandal.

Hillary Clinton infamously used a private email and server while she held one of the highest appointed offices in the land from 2009 to 2013.

When the cache of emails became public knowledge, the House Select Committee on Benghazi subpoenaed Clinton’s office for any Benghazi-related transmissions. In a moment of panic - or confidence that she wouldn’t be prosecuted - Clinton had her legal team destroy the relevant communications.

Clinton professed that the communications contained no classified material but - when they turned up on, of all people, Anthony Weiner’s computer - investigations found there was in fact a plethora of classified information in the emails the Clinton camp described as mostly about ‘yoga and beauty appointments.’

The FBI investigation, led by James Comey, concluded that while Clinton’s private server and messages likely broke the law, no charges were recommended as he said no ‘reasonable DA’ would prosecute a leading candidate in an ongoing presidential race. Later, Comey admitted that he expected Hillary would become the next president and that could have affected his referral.

Okay, so fast forward seven years. Trump finds himself in an almost identical situation to his political rival from the 2016 race. Those ‘lock her up!’ chants have a certain irony to them now, don’t they? Of course, Trump’s classified document scandal has his own personal flair attached to it - the images of boxes upon boxes in bathrooms, ballrooms, and the blithe way he shared confidential information with journalists - and possibly Kid Rock?

Even so, where Trump’s possession of the documents is equal to the gaffs committed by Pence and Biden - to be fair to Biden, corvettes are renowned to be the optimal depository for top secret papers - his obstruction of the investigation surpasses them, but is matched by good ol’ Hillary.

If you’re not buying that argument, fine. How about this? We cannot become a society where the current administration jails their political opponents. It’s the stuff of banana republics - and I should know, I’ve been to the mall. If there’s any hope in restoring the faith in the department of justice - there probably isn’t - they cannot seek a conviction regarding the former president.

No offense is intended to our Latin American brothers and sisters, but I thought these types of antics were reserved for places like Venezuela and Brazil, not here. Well, no longer!

I listened to an interview with the former cricket star and now-deposed Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan who was arrested on corruption charges last month. Khan is the leader of a populist movement in Pakistan, and perhaps could win a general election right now despite being on house arrest. Listening to him decry the military rule that has become the de facto leadership of the country, I couldn’t help but think how strange it would be to live in a nation during such tumult and division.

But from the outside looking in - or from the inside for that matter - America can’t look all that different from our disheveled peers anymore. Listening to Trump’s remarks after his indictment, they weren’t all that different from Khan’s comments. Trump described our nation as one that is thoroughly corrupt and one that is in decline. It’s shocking to hear a former president speak that way about a country he wants to lead, but regardless of how you feel about the man, he’s right.

Should Hillary have gone to jail or at least been tried? You could certainly make the case for it, but if she faced no consequences, we can’t hold Trump to a higher standard simply because he’s a moron. If you spent your entire first term as President fending off bogus Russia-gate accusations and politically motivated impeachments, how dumb do you have to be to be so nonchalant with classified material?

When he was arraigned in New York a couple of months ago, I said it was setting a dangerous precedent - one which will see each successive regime prosecute the former and Trump has already promised his revenge on the Biden administration - if not the entire Biden clan.

Surprisingly, half of the nation didn’t outburst in protest at the scenes of the GOP leader’s perp walk; one can only assume that’s given the green light to any ambitious federal DA in the future. But that’s quite the dangerous game to be playing. Sure, no revolt occurred in light of the indictment, but what happens after a conviction?

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A Manchester United

Well, the European football season is officially over. It was an unbelievably eventful season with a World Cup inserted smack dab in the middle of it - the first time ever the tournament hadn’t been played in the summer.

The juggernaut that is Manchester City walked home with just about every trophy imaginable. They sealed the deal on the Premier League title with just a few games left to play as Arsenal’s youth and inexperience finally caught up to them - it truly was a charmed run while it lasted. That was the first domino to fall.

Then, City convincingly dispatched my Manchester United in the FA Cup final; a result that never looked in doubt as Īlkay Gündogan scored one of the most impressive goals I’ve ever seen thirteen seconds after the match began. Thus, the second domino hit the ground.

One week later, in a tensely competitive contest, City pipped Inter Milan to the Champions League title, the tournament of Europe’s most elite clubs, by a slim margin of 1-0. The final domino kicked up dust as hit the earth with a thud.

Last Saturday, Pep Guardiola’s side won the Treble - what it’s called when a club achieves this particular trio of awards.

The Treble hadn’t been won by an English club since Manchester United accomplished the rare feat in 1999. Now, City has won five of the last six Premier League titles and this season’s additions to the trophy cabinet only usher in a new era of dominance. Alas, I have the next two and a half football-less months to sulk.

But don’t feel the need to check on me, dear reader, I have two points of consolation. The first is that this Manchester City team is possibly the best sports team that has ever existed. I’m talking about ‘95-’96 Chicago Bulls level of primacy - or any of the Tom Brady/Belichick led New England Patriots teams. If I hold one hand up, obscuring the view of the sportswashing Abu Dhabi based ownership group, I’ll allow myself to become entranced by the purest representation of collective expression and creativity ever to grace athletics.

And number two? Well, some people are glass half full, and others are glass half empty. Me, personally, I’m glass half Oasis-getting-back-together. The Mancunian brothers, Liam and Noel Gallagher, are possibly the most famous, most devoted Man City fans out there. The Gallaghers suffered through the doldrums of the ‘80s, ‘90s, and ‘00s to finally see their club come good in the last decade.

But ever since their last record, Dig Out Your Soul, they don’t speak, and there’s no sign of a reunion on the horizon. I refuse to believe that two brothers who wrote something as perfect as Champagne Supernova have a difference so irreconcilable they can’t patch things up.

As a fan of sports, Oasis, and kinship, it breaks my heart to see them both perform in their solo outfits with Man City banners draped over their amps knowing they haven’t celebrated together. Championships are fleeting, life is brief, and as far as I’m concerned, we’re a few Oasis records short. Surely, their love for their club can help them overcome whatever differences the may have.

So, if anything good can come of the misery Manchester City has foisted upon the footballing world, it’s that. But you know, if it never comes to pass, I won’t look back in anger, and as some might say, you’ve got to roll with it.

Forgive me.

To a better next week.

Cheers,

~FDA