We are at one of those unique moments in American history where the road ahead has become divided in such a way that we can accurately gauge the moral caliber of our fellow travelers based on which path they choose.
This presidential election is unlike any other that we have faced - including the previous two.
The fact that Donald Trump is still the GOP candidate after all the indictments, impeachments and the blatant treason of January 6th shows us there are those among us who have no standards or ethics in their political choices.
I speak not just of the Republican support he still maintains in the House and Senate. Most of those scoundrels long ago traded any sense of duty or honor to cash in on the sugar high and cheap bombast of Trumpism.
No one would expect a Ron Johnson, a Ted Cruz or a grizzled Mitch McConnell to do the right thing - and certainly not the lower rung of bottom feeders like MTG or Speaker Johnson who behave like tadpoles in a brackish MAGA pond, chewing the dead skin from the soles of Trump’s feet for their meager sustenance.
How far we have fallen is sight to behold.
This week we have plunged to new depths with the awful rhetoric of JD Vance, Trump and his sons towards Haitian immigrants.
The proud and exceptional Haitian people revolted against their French enslavers in the 18th and 19th century when the rest of this hemisphere was still in the dark ages morally - and the GOP cannot even break free of a 78 year-old drug addict in a diaper.
Ironically, the Haitian revolution inspired fear in our founding fathers that such a thing may soon happen here.
Men like Patrick Henry and George Mason came to desire a 2nd Amendment and a ‘well regulated militia’ to mollify their concerns of a similar rebellion occurring in places like Virginia.
It was not a tyrannical government they feared, it was the people they enslaved and on whose backs they built their fortunes.
You can trace a direct line to that sort of fear and the modern scapegoating of the country of Haiti, who have been blamed by Republicans for everything from the AIDS crisis back in the early 1980s to the sort of racist excrement that flowed from Trump’s thin, puckered lips on Tuesday night concerning Springfield, Ohio.
It’s worth noting that the insane and awful lie about Haitian immigrants ‘eating people’s pets’ came at the precise moment Trump knew he was being bested in the debate by a smart and vastly superior opponent who herself can trace part of her ancestry to the Caribbean.
Trump’s lie was of course subterfuge and xenophobic absurdity but it achieved his objective of diverting from the question that was being asked in that moment, ‘why did you instruct your party to kill the border bill if immigration is such a problem?’.
For that he had no answer, as he knows it was only to not give the Biden Administration a ‘win’ on a legitimate national security issue that was dealt with in a true bipartisan fashion.
That bill would have strengthened our borders and protected both migrants, their children and American citizens - and had a lot of Republican support until Trump stepped in to stop it.
As low a legislative moment as I have ever witnessed; alas, there are no more John McCains left in the GOP to ride in at the eleventh hour and save the day.
It’s a party of cowards and sycophants now.
JD Vance all but admitted today on a Sunday morning talk show that he made up the tall tale.
The racist story was filtered through the right-wing ecosphere and appeals to the dark hearts of ignorance the way much of MAGA rhetoric has been engineered to; it has also had the effect of unleashing chaos and danger on the streets of Springfield, Ohio, a district Vance incompetently and disingenuously represents as a U.S. Senator (thanks to Peter Thiel buying him the seat for 15 million bucks).
The Haitians that call that community home are every bit as American as a man like JD Vance or Donald Trump - I would rather live next door to them than anyone who supports MAGA any day of the week.
If you find yourself lucky enough to live and work amongst Haitian Americans or recent immigrants, you will know what I know - proximity to a vibrant, proud and poetic people will only enrich your life.
From my years living in early 90s Park Slope, Brooklyn - full of amazing Haitian restaurants and shops - to my grandparents’ decades-long ties to Haiti where they traveled frequently to help build schools and made lifelong friendships, my family and I have benefited.
My grandma was sneaking past armed soldiers well into her seventies to deliver relief supplies post-Hurricane Matthew.
She saw the beautiful Haitian people as family.
We should too.
Of all the shows I have been fortunate to be a part of over decades in live television, perhaps the 2010 ‘Hope for Haiti Earthquake Benefit’ was the most emotionally resonant.
Lots of big names, simultaneously broadcast from NYC and Los Angeles.
Sting and The Roots playing ‘Driven to Tears’ still warmly echoes in my ears.
But it was the choir of school children from Haiti that I assisted that left an indelible imprint upon my heart.
While most of the crew and performers were stressed with getting a live broadcast out they came in and lifted us up. Way up.
Their eyes beamed and their smiles were infectious.
How could one smile given all they had endured? Those children had a spirit I had not seen before.
There was gratitude mixed with fierce pride, a feeling of we will all get through this together. It was deeply profound - being in their presence. And when they sang the heavens seemed to open up.
‘Driven to Tears’ indeed.
The good kind.
I learned a deep lesson that day thanks to those beautiful kids who sang like angels and moved gracefully through unspeakable sorrow.
Show up for others, show up for for love.
The alternative is not a life.
It’s just more darkness.
Vote Blue.
Noel, this is just such a lovely piece of writing of a profoundly heavenly experience you've had with the Haitian community.😇❤️ I'm so hoping that this great evil we have now running the narrative daily will be buried 6 ft under by a resounding victory at the polls November 5 so we can start the healing process. We can hope...💙🌊🙏🏼
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