Melania Trump meets boos with grace

There’s been much talk of civility’s ebb in these fractious political times, when good manners have taken second place to spontaneous, often vitriolic expression. To all those who consider it imperative to broadcast their views whenever, wherever, consider this: You’ve taught the children well.

First lady Melania Trump found out firsthand earlier this week, when she addressed hundreds of middle and high school students at the Baltimore Youth Summit on Opioid Awareness. The appearance was on behalf of her “Be Best” youth campaign, which includes a focus on the U.S. opioid epidemic.

“I am in this fight with you, and I am fighting for you,” she said, according to the Associated Press.

“I know each one of you has hopes and dreams for the future, whether it is college, joining the military or playing a sport. Your future will be determined by the choices you make,” the first lady said. “Using drugs will only slow you down and prevent you from achieving those goals.”

She was booed.

There were some cheers, but the boos started before she began her speech, and the audience remained noisy throughout it.

Were the students in favor of drug abuse? Unlikely.

No more so than the protesters railing against Mrs. Trump’s visit to Boston Medical Center last month were pro-drug addiction in babies, the focus of the first lady’s stop there.

Clearly her husband was the focus of the wrath of both groups, and Mrs. Trump was caught in the crossfire.

President Trump infamously referred to Baltimore as a “rat and rodent infested mess.” He attended a September retreat held by U.S. House Republicans in the city, after his remarks, and his motorcade drove past protesters shouting and waving signs.

What does any of that have to do with the first lady and her efforts to fight the opioid epidemic?

But in this age of the internet bully pulpit, where everyone has a pulpit and gets to be a bully, making a coherent point isn’t necessary. Making noise, grabbing attention and virtue signaling through disruption is the name of the game.

See a lawmaker you don’t like at a public restaurant? Go up and make a scene — your opinion is that important. Do people have the right to eat in peace? Not while you’ve got something to say.

Are people gathering who don’t hold your political views? Slap on a mask and scream in their faces. Because you are the voice of reason, and everyone must listen.

Children, as they say, are sponges. And so we have a group of middle and high school students displaying zero respect for the first lady, who was addressing the drug crisis that is affecting their lives. Hopefully, they got a lesson in how adults should behave from Mrs. Trump’s response, which she issued later that day:

“We live in a democracy and everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the fact is we have a serious crisis in our country and I remain committed to educating children on the dangers and deadly consequences of drug abuse.”

Don’t like Trump or any other elected official? Vote them out, work on the campaign of someone you can get behind, teach the next generation that one doesn’t have to be a troll to affect change.

Civility is not weakness, it reflects the respect we want afforded to ourselves.

And our children.

 

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2OwpLsn