Welcome to the Bitterly Petty States of America.
OK, I know everyone isn’t awful these days but there are times when it sure feels like it.
When former First Lady Barbara Bush recently passed, the majority of the public response was positive. She was almost universally respected as both a matriarch and a First Lady.
This is 2018, however, and somebody always has to be a (insert favorite expletive here).
One of the poignant, enduring traditions in the United States is watching former presidents and first ladies come together at funerals for others from their ranks. They put aside their political differences to not only pay respects, but show the American people that some things transcend politics.
Again, in 2018 that doesn’t sit well with some people.
Ambassador in-waiting (that’s another story) Richard Grenell posted this on Twitter Sunday:
This is beautiful. pic.twitter.com/5v4KhdzIqp
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) April 22, 2018
Yes it is beautiful. Even I think so, and there isn’t anyone other than my kid out there who will tell you I’m a big softy.
A rare bipartisan moment then happens in the response section to this tweet: there are ugly responses from both sides of the aisle. True, more of it is coming from the left but we expect that from them. It would be nice if people who are sort of on the right would behave a little less savagely.
Beyond this post, many “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” liberals were using the opportunity to complain about President Trump’s absence:
Funeral for Barbara Bush. Trump is golfing. And spent the entire week at Mar-a-Lago. This is #notnormal
— Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) April 21, 2018
History is hard for any liberal, but it’s nigh on impossible for them when you’re talking ancient history like, say, two years ago when President Obama didn’t attend Nancy Reagan’s funeral so he could go to South by Southwest and some fundraisers.
As the above-linked article says, it isn’t all that unusual for sitting presidents to not attend the funerals of former first ladies.
It should be a point of pride to Americans that our former leaders from both sides of the political divide can put aside their differences for such occasions. I have a very public body of work expressing my dislike of President Obama and his presidency. I’m also in the business of writing in somewhat caustic terms about the political opposition. That’s my polite way of saying that I’m paid to be a jerk.
It took no effort whatsoever for me to have a nice thought or two about that picture and leave all of that other stuff at the door.
If I can do it…
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