It appears that I’ve made it through another winter relatively unscathed. Thanks to ibuprofen, I moved all the snow we had and almost six cords of firewood without injury or strain. I only fell once, tripping on one of the porch steps, leaving me with a slightly strained wrist and a massively strained ego. Despite winter’s best efforts, being alert and wearing anti-slip devices on my boots meant I didn’t slip and fall outdoors—hips intact.
The Bohunk fared pretty well. About a month ago, though, she slipped on ice at the bottom of the main stairs off the porch. She grabbed the handrail, which broke loose, and she bounced on her keister. Nothing was damaged except her pride and the handrail bracket. Still, she earned a bruise that resembled an extensive Rorschach test on the part of her anatomy that meets a chair.
Reflecting on my 71st winter, I am emotionally devastated by the national and global events of the last three months. The reactions of people I know, who seem to cheer on these events, only add to my distress. A sense of shame and disgust daily raises the bile of outrage in the back of my throat.
Presumed ICE agents, supposedly federal law enforcement, are “rounding up” people while wearing bulletproof vests and balaclavas to hide their faces. Are they afraid of being identified by the media and maybe found to be mercenaries, not real agents? Or are they just ashamed about acting in an un-American, illegal manner?
They should feel ashamed. Frog marching brown-skinned men, dressing them in matching short-pant skivvies, and forcing them to kneel and have their heads shaved seems more like the sins of Abu Ghraib in Iraq or the treatment of Native Americans in our history—shameful incidents.
So, how do people I know and generally like express support, almost gleefully, for these actions? It breaks my heart. If you can explain how anyone cheers on the degradation of others, drop me a line. I don’t get it.
Most people I know who cheer on the roundup and summary export of humans live a decidedly comfortable life with decent healthcare, retirement pensions, and financial freedom to travel, even abroad. They freely associate with people they choose at sporting events, restaurants, and churches. Yet, seeing the excesses and overreach of the current regime and gleefully sharing their delight that those “immigrants” deserve the abuse leads me to conclude they have no shame.
After World War II, Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy embarked on (excuse me for using this overworked phrase) a Witch Hunt to eliminate communists from American society. Military personnel, celebrities, and government bureaucrats were named, charged, and convicted based almost exclusively on anonymous allegations that had little, if any, evidence. The lives of the accused were destroyed for no reason. A sizable portion of Americans were gleeful that this alcoholic senator from the Midwest was “doing something” about the communists that were said to be destroying America. Spoiler alert. They weren’t.
In the 1954 televised Army–McCarthy hearings, an actual witch hunt, the Army hired Boston lawyer Joseph Welch to make its case over the lengthy hearings. At a session on June 9, 1954, McCarthy charged that one of Welch’s attorneys had ties to a Communist organization. As an amazed television audience looked on, Welch responded with the immortal lines that ultimately ended McCarthy’s career: “Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness.” When McCarthy tried to continue his attack, Welch angrily interrupted, “Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?”
Truth is, he had no sense of decency. Over the next several weeks, the hot air rushed out of the balloon that was Senator McCarthy, and the gleeful public that admired him for his bullying tactics withdrew, maybe in shame.
Behaviors that once came with shame, like lying, divorce, infidelity, excessive drinking, violence, and gambling, are downright celebrated, it seems. I’ve lived to see a rise in so-called “shamelebrities”—people who have engaged in shameful behavior but gained public attention and even popular success despite their actions. As the kids text, WTF?
Shame is a powerful emotion with positive and negative consequences. It can reinforce social norms, increase empathy, and help maintain social connections by discouraging behaviors that could lead to adverse outcomes.
If shame stops people from breaking the law and acting inhumanely, then we need more shame.
As I ponder the current state of affairs, I can’t help but wonder: Where is today’s Joseph Welch? We need a figure like him to call out the shameful indecency now.
