The times are so strange, so confusing, so upside-down that it is easy to miss what counted most at the two national political conventions conducted under coronavirus conditions. Audiences were largely missing, Hamlet-like soliloquies were a new ingredient, show biz was at its political best and then there was this compelling attraction, at least in my book. The Republicans were defending civilization while reaching for the human heart.
Among the crises of the day are attitudes mowing down values, a distaste for who we are as a people and condemnatory views of even the best of our history.
Incredibly, there is now a sense that it is permissible to burn down homes, loot stores and restrain cops if the cause is a good one. The cause of ending racist-inspired police actions is certainly a good one, but it benefits no one when protesters burn up police stations, homes and small businesses or loot stores and injure hundreds of policemen.
Most are against this and the worst horror is the rise in murders, including the deaths of Black children, but the Democrats at their convention weren’t worried to the extent that it was noticeable. The Republicans on the other hand not only said violent protests were an outrage that can be brought to a halt, but that there is a vital, peaceful solution to improving the lives of Black people, of equality clapping its hands: Improve education.
