Public Service Malpractice: From Words to Walls
The President’s official campaign slogan is, “Make America Great Again,” but the heart of that campaign and now his White House is “build a wall,” a physical wall. However, we must recognize the other walls constructed by words and actions. In addition to the White House planning a new physical wall along the southern border of the United States, it also advocates for walls such as Muslim walls, Mexican Judge walls, “the Blacks” walls, refugee walls, sanctuary city walls, healthcare walls, and affordable housing walls. Me versus them approaches to national leadership are public service malpractice.
The self-aggrandizing monument that the White House promises is not yet under construction, but brick by brick, layer by layer, unlimited and unfiltered rants, tweets, and uninformed actions from the White House are creating dangerous walls. When the White House prevents Muslim refugees from entering the United States, proposes sending the “feds” to Chicago, or equates inner cities with being Black in America, they build walls. When we hear rants about supporting torture, lies about the size of an inauguration crowd, and bragging about sexual assault, walls are built. Words aren’t just empty vessels, but rather a power that can separate or bring together, give life or kill, build walls or bridges.
History Teaches
History shows what happens when international figures build walls based on their belief in the inferiority or humanness of large groups of people. For example, Hitler built walls. Ismail Enver built walls. Ante Pavelic built walls. Josip Broz Tito built walls. The walls that they built caused the deaths of millions and separated families. These horrors had lasting impacts. The actions and words of this White House are reminiscent of a long line of wall builders. It would be a travesty if the words and early actions of the White House lead to the types of deaths that the world has never seen before.
Neither White House supporters nor resistors can escape walls. Historically, people have never been shielded from actions or words from people who hold power. Discord, distrust, hate, and fear thrive through words, particularly if the leaders of the country use their words to create these emotions. Some supporters of the White House distrust, hate, and even fear those who the leader of the country disparages. Some resisters of the White House distrust, hate, and even fear for their lives based on the words and actions of those in power. Shared feelings live on opposite sides of the walls, but what differs is the values, virtues, and vision of how the world should work and how people should betreated.
Breaking Down Walls
People on the side of walls opposite of those who commit political malpractice found ways to deconstruct the walls of bigotry, injustice, and hatred. The Abolitionist Movement, Women’s Suffrage Movement, Anti-apartheid Movement, Satyagraha Movement, Civil Rights Movement, and Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace Movement are a few of history’s wall dismantling efforts. These movements refused to find comfort in cruelty, resisted maltreatment of the marginalized, and worked to get those in power to recognize the humanity in all people. All of these movements took time but eventually fractured unjust systems. There is hope in reflection and these movements remind us that deconstruction requires work, sacrifice, time, and commitment.
As progress to dismantle walls comes, there will be an equal and opposite reaction by those in power to build even higher walls. For this reason, the work of wall dismantling is perpetual. Each generation has faced walls and each generation of resistors has worked to dismantle them. Yes, the White House will continue building, but people who believe in justice, love and basic human dignity shouldn’t shy from using legal tools, writing tools, oratory tools, direct action tools, boycott tools, storytelling tools, coalition building tools, ally tools, political tools, and organizing tools to break down these walls.
