You have all these “norms.” And you think they’ll save you.
You have all these “norms.” And you think they’ll save you.
Why Biden and Harris should (maybe) skip Trump’s inauguration. And why they won’t.
One of my reactions to the election has been the belief that I should go into “question everything” mode.
Not literally. There are things I won’t reevaluate—liberal democracy, the rule of law, the cardinal virtues. But you get what I’m saying.
I expect this to be an uncomfortable process. I do not expect always to discover tidy answers. But we can choose to view last week as either a random catastrophe or a teachable moment. And I’m nothing if not teachable.
So let’s have an uncomfortable conversation about “norms.”
Also: Sarah and I taped a Secret show yesterday. It’s here. When I hit the publish button I forgot to turn the comments on. Sorry about that. It’s fixed now.
1. A Simple Question
Should President Joe Biden attend Donald Trump’s inauguration?
My gut reaction is, “Yes. Obviously.”
Norms are important. Prior to January 2021, presidents traditionally attended the handoff ceremony to their successors. This act of graciousness sent an important signal of unity to the country. It told Americans, If the men who fought this election view one another as friends and patriots, then you should view them—and your neighbors—the same way.
This norm was also a message that whatever might have been said in the heat of the campaign, everyone believed that the incoming president was operating within the American mainstream. No one was worried that the new guy might be Mussolini. The presence of the outgoing president reassured the country that, Don’t worry, folks. We’re still playing between the 40 yard lines.
Or, as President Biden put it last Thursday, “You can’t love your country only when you win” and “you can’t love your neighbor only when you agree.”
I love this stuff. Tradition! Civility! Norms! But I’m here to question stuff I love.
On January 20, 2025, we will swear in a convicted felon. A man who attempted a violent overthrow of the government. Who has ushered political violence back into the American mainstream. Who promised that he would not accept the results of last week’s election unless he won. Who previously said that on January 20, 2025, he would like to be a dictator.
And so I would ask—to paraphrase Anton Chigurh: If the norms we followed brought us to this, of what use were those norms?