donald“If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a DUCK!”

It’s been almost two weeks and I just can’t seem to shake it. I mean, really? Really? Perhaps I’m caught in a political death spiral. I just can’t believe this circus of a reality show that we are watching. With the unsurprising selections of Bannon, Flynn, and Sessions what we feared about a Trump administration has become frighteningly clear. Racism will be as central during the presidency as it was during the campaign! There is no further need to “wait and see.” It’s as clear as the nose on my face.  I just can’t seem to grasp how we as a culture are so blatantly laying aside principles for pragmatism, as if the two are somehow separable. How can we accept racist, sexist, and bigoted social ethics as the means to economic growth. Yes, I know, I know. The transatlantic slave trade, Jim Crow, and the industrial revolution were all built on the backs of white supremacy. But today, with eyes wide shut, we are witnessing the revival of targeted dehumanization as the means to economic growth. Blacks, Mexicans, Islam, Jewishness, women, China are all open game! It’s as if every group except European Christian male whiteness is fair game. I mean, really. I just can’t avert my eyes. Even as one well-schooled in the spiritual dynamics of race, class, gender, and sexuality, I still find this all quite astonishing. After years of research and study, dialogue and debate, dissent and reconciliation it’s still unbelievable to witness the blatant rabidness of racist rhetoric that is about to enter the walls of the White House. It’s so obvious that it’s proving difficult to diagnose, but we just need to call it what it is! I don’t care how prosperous our economy becomes or if the face of Isis is wiped from the planet. Any success accomplished on the backs of the most marginalized is destined for failure. Sure, short-term progress is possible or even probable. But at what cost? As Trumpism seems to be tramppling all over the respectable politics of human dignity and decency, it is becoming more and more clear that if it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a Trump!