Last summer, Mick and I listened to the audiobook version of To Kill a Mockingbird and followed it up by watching the movie. There’s a lot to learn from Harper Lee’s story, but it’s the impact of words, particularly coming from a soft-spoken man like Atticus Finch, that lingers. Mick and I even considered making up T-shirts saying, “Atticus Finch for President.”
“As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat [degrade] black men [minorities] every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.” ~ Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird
When we read the news today, the day before we depart for South Africa – one country of an entire continent that President Trump has now labeled as a “shit-hole” – I wished we’d made up those T-shirts. Since August 1st, the day we started our world tour, we’ve been trying to dissociate ourselves from the racist, misogynistic, homophobic, anti-immigrant agenda of Donald Trump as each country we’ve visited has different, but justifiable reasons to dislike his policies and/or him personally. I love my country, even more so after our travels thus far, but I am embarrassed to be represented by someone I do not respect and whose actions and words I consider to be ignorant, unacceptable, and quintessentially un-American.
“If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” ~ Samuel Adams