Of late, I’ve been thinking lots about where the country is, and what we’re fighting for. There are lots of ways people can be denied their dignity: There’s racism, sexism, religious intolerance, ageism, jingoism/hyper-nationalism, discrimination based on income, discrimination against the sick, or even just emotional and physical abuse by one other individual.
The most basic right of all of humanity is dignity. Dignity is the thing that all of this behavior takes away. Denial of dignity is embodied in the term “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
We see the struggle for dignity in the biggest of life and death issues, like dealing with the pandemic, or the importance of Black Lives Matter. We see dignity in issues protecting the democracy itself, like fighting voter suppression or the right to protest peacefully. Dignity is the cutting edge between harm and respect, between love and hate and — yes — between good and evil.
Do we defend human dignity or attack it? Moments make us — as a society and as individuals — answer that question. Heroes are those who take action to defend and support human dignity. More than doing the right thing or agreeing with that, they are — at least at one time or another — on the front line leading that charge. Villains are also real. They take intentional action to deny people their dignity.
John Lewis is a real life hero. His physical sacrifice, his tireless efforts, his decades of public service alone make him such. He was a hero in the bit moments, yes, but But if you listen to his friends, his allies, the historians, and even his political competitors, his heroism was steeped in the recognition of the basic dignity of human beings. Every conversation mattered. Every statement mattered. Even when the cameras were off him.
Donald J. Trump is a super-villain. I never thought we would have a truly villainous President, but there he is. Yes, he’s corrupt, he ignores the law, and he’s probably viscerally stupid. But what really makes him a villain is his political sociopathy. Donald Trump is willing to use the levers of power (and break the law while he’s at it) over and over again to deny people their basic dignity. He has taken a side: Black lives don’t matter, Jewish lives don’t matter, immigrant lives don’t matter, Muslim lives don’t matter, Latino lives don’t matter, women don’t matter, gay and trans lives don’t matter, lives with COVID don’t. Cross him politically and you don’t matter. Refuse to break the law, defend the democracy, you don’t matter.
NOBODY MATTERS BUT DONALD TRUMP. How much more of a villain could you possibly be?
Steeped in the evil of self-preservation and self-aggrandizement, he soldiers on, building Trump’s temple to Trump on a foundation of revenge, lies, abuse of power, corruption, and denial of personal dignities large and small: True villainy while the fabric of our nation and the structure of our democratic society hang in the balance.
John Lewis most certainly stood on these front lines heroically for as long as he was able. He defended our rights, our democracy, and — most especially — human dignity. Now is the time for new heroes to stand in his stead. I hope this moment has made millions of them.