Trump, COVID-19 and the Limits of Hate

Our limits are tested by extreme events. I will never forget seeing the reaction of a right-wing hawk in 1995 when he heard that Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin had been assassinated. Because this person hated Rabin’s policies, his reflexive reaction to Rabin’s death was…yes, positive. Even though he quickly caught himself and put on a sad face, it was too late. His truth had sneaked out.

I’m seeing similar reactions from Trump haters in the wake of the news that the president and the first lady have been infected with the COVID-19 disease. Without getting into unsavory details, I saw more than a few “positive” reactions on social media. Some said he had it coming; others prayed it would signify his exit from the public stage.

One person, apparently in regret, deleted a “let’s hope he perishes” Facebook post after receiving a backlash.

The tumultuous events of 2020 have tested us like nothing we’ve experienced before. This dark, crazy, maddening year has put many of us on edge; we seem on the brink of a national nervous breakdown.

When we are tested by extreme events, our humanity should always come first.

Trump’s illness is a huge test. So forgive me for being so blunt: If you hate Trump so much that you rejoiced at the news of his illness, you failed the test.

I get that politics is about the fight over raw power. I get that the stakes are especially high this year. I get that you would be pleased by anything that might help your team.

But there are limits — and a candidate falling ill ought to be that limit.

This feels like a mystic Hollywood script to me. Our desire to win at all cost drives us all year…until the very end, when a potential human tragedy reminds us that we are all human. It reminds us that no matter how much we may despise an individual, when that person’s health fails, it’s OK to tap into our compassion gene.

Maybe that is the simple message that we have been given just before an election that is ripping the nation apart: When we are tested by extreme events, our humanity should always come first.

Shabbat shalom.