One of the principles of counseling that I have written about before is to focus on what the client doesn’t tell you, as that can tell you more than what is said in a session.
During today which is a dark day in our history with Trump’s inauguration, I am struck by the absence of Dr. Martin Luther King in our daily discourse particularly because it is his day as well. It reminds me of a popular song of some years ago which was the theme song for the movie, The Graduate, whose theme was that we are at a lost in terms of what is important. It was a song for the sixties.
We all should be aware of a key lyric that the song contains that is very relevant for today. “Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio, our lonely nation turns its eyes to you…” Joe was a hero to many. He was an icon.
What I have noticed on this day of infamy with the inauguration of a felon is that we should sing this song and change the lyrics to, “Where have you gone, Martin Luther King, our lonely nation turns its eyes to you.”
It has not been that long ago that we remembered Dr. King’s call to bring forth our better angels and proclaim to our children and nation a call “to have a dream where all are treated equally.” He was a model for moral behavior. I can’t imagine that many people would say to their children, “Now when you grow up, I want you to be like Trump! Make fun of people with disabilities. Refer to our soldiers as suckers. Lie as much as you can. Might makes right. The ends justify your means. Treat women as objects. You should strive for power and money.”
We need to pay attention to what has not been said on this Martin Luther King National Holiday. I scoured the newspaper for the King events or at least an editorial about his legacy, and there were none to be found. He was barely mentioned in the service that I attended at my local parish yesterday. He wasn’t mentioned in the prayers. However, they did sing at the end what has become the black national anthem, “Lift every voice and sing!”
I am hard pressed to find something on the news including that liberal bastion, CNN. I hear no clarion calls for Dr. King’s words in his “I Have A Dream” speech which is what all sane parents would want their children to live out in their lives.
We have turned back to the belief that oligarchs, a small number of rich people, know best how to govern and have the key roles in Trump’s government should. We have seen this before in our history to have only a small group of smart, rich people who should govern. Trump’s cabinet looks nothing like the MAGA base who voted for him and was part of his people who put him in power.
My prediction is that after he goes about his policy paradoxes, we will be like the English people after they signed on to Brexit. Recall they wanted their former government back because they didn’t pay attention to what was said before the election. They wanted a do-over.
However, Elon’s days will be numbered as soon as he becomes more popular than Trump for everything must be about him. Trump won because he basically sold everyone contradictory messages. “I am for abortion.” Then “he indicated that he was against it and favored the states deciding. The best way that I have heard from the experts to describe Trump’s and our journey as Americans is that a description of him is someone who wants to be wet and dry at the same time. His policies can’t be done. Half of our nation will be for them, and the other half against them. The result will be more division.
So today hum that tune to “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Follow it with “Where Have You gone Martin Luther King, our lonely nation turns its eyes to you.”
That is the least we can do!
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