This is what it will take
And it will be more than a bishop's plea
“I ask you to have mercy on the people who are scared now.”
Words memed within minutes of leaving Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s lips, imploring, impossibly, the new president to lead with his heart. Vouching for gay, lesbian, even transgender children as JD Vance squirms uncomfortably, as Donald frowns, as Melania sits stone-faced, as Tiffany’s disdain refuses to be contained.
Credit to the C-SPAN camera operator for holding the picture tight on that rogue’s gallery while Budde, voice cracking, delivers her courageous message. We can imagine thought bubbles: vitriolic tweets truths being composed to be unleashed after this horrendous moment—stuck, muted, for once in their lives—commences.
That gallery did not disappoint.
Budde remains steadfast, concluding, “Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger,” the camera skillfully returning to her for those closing remarks. Likely certain her god is not shared by her sermon’s target, she speaks anyway.
The message plays exactly as you’d expect. My algorithm, filled with heartfelt accolades. Other platforms: women shouldn’t be elevated to the role of bishop; she’s “woke,” a castrated term now exclusively lingo to impotent trolls; she must apologize, as that’s what’s demanded of women who step out of line in MAGAmerica.
Beautiful as the speech is, there’s only two ways it can play in today’s America. I called it beautiful: that’s one. You know where to source the other, which is why, as much as I appreciate Budde’s words, and the meaning of those words to countless fellow citizens (and aspiring fellow citizens) during this frightful, chaotic, demeaning time, the notion of a needle moving is a moot dream.
That doesn’t mean we should stop dreaming. But we must recognize the playing field we’re on, not one we wish we were on, or one that we used to play on until some players stole the ball in a huff and ran into the billionaires’ stadium to play a different game.
How does the needle move, then? No one knows for certain.
My guess is that it’ll take:
Medicare patients having their generic drug copays hiked
Medicaid patients losing access to life-saving procedures
Realizing your union is gone, and any bargaining power along with it
Being kicked out of the military because your identity doesn’t comport with a narrow culturally-defined meaning
Watching as loved ones lose their right to marry
It will take feeling the burden of the massive grift, not just hearing about it from afar. Humans generally react only when inconvenienced, not even at the thought of being inconvenienced. Sadly, by then, it’s often too late.
None of the above are guaranteed to move the needle for everyone. An entire right-wing media ecosystem, which in reality is the mainstream media, blames anyone but the people responsible.
Egg prices will be Biden’s fault. The fact that transgender people exist will fall on the shoulders of professors. Everything will somehow be tied to Obama.
A crack, already
Incredibly, some seams are already fraying. When Trump announced a $500 billion joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank to develop mRNA cancer vaccines, MAHA acolytes went berserk.
These anti-vax contrarians have, for years, misrepresented and misunderstood mRNA, monetizing their ignorance and propaganda to sell supplements, accrue followers, and win the attention algorithm. Promoting fake cures for cancer is their domain; the possibility of actual interventions endangers their bottom line, which I discuss here:
Of course, this administration will be good—very, very good—for some people. Those people will trumpet their victories and ignore those harmed by the (at least) four-year assault on civil rights we’ve just entered.
The contrarians are right about one thing, however: there’s a problem with this announcement. An AI-powered platform that delivers personalized mRNA vaccines to thwart cancer is an incredible scientific development. But the money for this intervention is flowing from venture capital into biotech instead of publicly-funded and -developed interventions.
VC money demands ROI; public good is secondary to profit. Many people will be priced out when such vaccines hit the market—or, in this case, will not be personalized for the patient given the enormous upfront costs.
Weighing medical bankruptcy against death is a choice none of us should be forced to make. Yet it’s one of the extremely foreseeable consequences of this partnership.
Sadly, I’ve watched exactly zero contrarian influencers discuss this issue. Their goal is to bottom-feed scraps cascading into the swamp, not to make anyone healthy again, or ever.
Perhaps we can add to the above list:
Watching a loved one die from a preventable disease when a cure is readily available
This point has already radicalized some citizens away from either party, or both, and they all deserve it for failing to provide us with universal healthcare. That cynicism, however honest, closes us to the possibility of change.
In the coming years many people will be victims of what they never deserved. That’s what it’ll take to understand what we’ve just voted into office and, possibly, begin to course-correct.
We can pray that it won’t be too late, but that point is now moot.
That doesn’t mean the fight stops. The fight can never stop.
We just have to be honest about what we’re facing, and never stop calling it for what it is.
Bishop Budde’s speech was absolutely beautiful and brave, and yet I felt so heartsick seeing their faces, knowing exactly what you’ve put into words so well here. Knowing that so many people WANT this, and how impossible it feels to come to terms with that vast divide. It’s terrifying and makes me question everything I thought I knew, or hoped at least was true.
I’m so grateful to you for your work, which must seem very painful right now. Thank you.