Ironic
by Kenneth J. Uva
When Alanis Morissette wrote the song "Ironic" she didn't have President Trump in mind. But after seeing him with the Russian ambassador and the Russian foreign minister the day after he fired F.B.I. director James Comey, I couldn't get that song's lyric out of my head. "Isn't it ironic, don't you think?"
For decades after World War II, the cold war enemy was the Soviet Union, with, of course, Russia as its dominant force. The United States was engaged in a geopolitical struggle all over the world in a series of alliances, proxy wars, the overthrow of governments, etc., that consumed our politics and society for decades.
While cold warriors were from both parties, the most vehement anticommunism came from the right in the form of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, McCarthyism, Senate committees, and the push for loyalty oaths and other practices designed to root out subversives who might support Russia's agenda. The Catholic Church, personified by Cardinal Spellman, was a major player in the effort to root out alleged subversives. I remember my Catholic church calling for prayers for the conversion of Russia. Veterans groups were on board, and there was the John Birch Society that took the position that Communists had infiltrated the highest levels of our government. To show that the U.S. was the opponent of godless communism, "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance. While much has been written about the cold war in the U.S. there is no question that the Russian enemy was the prime focus of the right-wing agenda.
So, then, what is ironic about today? The U.S. now has a president and an administration with a clearly right-wing agenda. Trump's campaign pushed some of the buttons that had brought the Nazi's to power: harking to a mythical past ("Make America Great Again"), scapegoating the other, whether Muslims, or undocumented persons, and pandering to the most conservative religious elements. Trump has attacked the free press ("fake news") and the courts when they rule against him ("so-called judge"). Yet, he has fired the director of the F.B.I. which under J. Edgar Hoover, was the leading force to root out Russian influence in this country. His associates have had connections with Russia, including receiving money. His son bragged about the Russian money in the Trump family businesses, and there are further investigations about all of this. Trump, himself, has not said a critical word about Putin, despite his turning Russia into a kleptocracy, and his penchant for causing opponents to disappear.
"Isn't it ironic, don't you think?
