« When they go low, we go high. »
It is DNC convention week and that means the Democrats are more insufferable than they normally are. The ratings aren’t in yet, as I write this, but I can’t imagine that the numbers will be as high as DNC convention organizers hope they will be. I admit I couldn’t stomach the thought of watching the coverage on Monday night. I did tune into CNN’s broadcast of it but I didn’t last long. Actress/activist Eva Longoria was standing in front of a big screen as she spoke with Biden supporters. The people were to represent ordinary working people – I listened to a farmer and a nurse. In fairness, I will note that the farmer began his remarks to Longoria by offering his condolences to President Trump and the Trump family on the loss of Robert Trump. That was a nice touch. The nurse wore Cookie Monster themed scrubs, with a stethoscope around her neck. The Cookie Monster scrubs were a smash hit on Twitter. While the farmer admitted that the coronavirus pandemic wasn’t Trump’s fault (which is more than most Democrats will say) he did say Trump botched the response to it. The nurse wanted to emphasize her concern for her child’s safety when schools are reopened. You know the drill. I read a transcript of Michelle Obama’s speech. Her appearance was much anticipated and the media was hyping her speech all Monday. There were two topics addressed in her speech that caught my attention. The first was her reference to a saying she often used while in the White House – “When they go low (Republicans), we go high.” Republican voters know that Michelle often goes low, as does her husband. The sanctimonious imperative issued by Michelle is a bit much, especially given the setting Monday night. So what do we do now? What’s our strategy? Over the past four years, a lot of people have asked me, “When others are going so low, does going high still really work?” My answer: going high is the only thing that works, because when we go low, when we use those same tactics of degrading and dehumanizing others, we just become part of the ugly noise that’s drowning out everything else. We degrade ourselves. We degrade the very causes for which we fight.
