"If you're not happy..."

I have been mulling over the words of our leader for the past couple of days. I firmly believe that the storm caused by his racist remarks is just a distraction, to keep society from making too many connections to his possible involvement in a child sex traffic organization. (Hard to believe that I'd ever be writing that sentence about a president of the United States, really...) I think that many citizens are fatigued by the constant turmoil that public discourse in our country has become. But, I was reminded of an incident in my work life this past week.

I worked at a school for 13 years. I was a hard worker. I graded papers during lunch. I arrived an hour before school, so that I would be prepared for the day. I had a 40 minute commute twice a day, but was in it to win it. I loved the kids at my school, and wanted to do my best. I made personal connections with students, tried to inspire. My last year at the school, I had a principal who was primed to retire. As far as anyone could tell, she spent most of the five years of her tenure, walking around the school, with a mug in her hand, looking for coffee. She didn't know any of the kids, she mispronounced their names during assemblies. She was confused and befuddled. At the beginning of her tenure, she gave a rousing speech at a staff meeting, announcing that we were going to care deeply about children. I thought that she meant what she was saying. But, her actions told a different story. When I had problems that I couldn't solve, I approached her. This was not often, because she was not a problem solver at all. Sometime in April, she said to me, "If you're so unhappy here, you should just leave." I was floored. This was the rudest thing that any boss had ever said to me. I thought of myself as being a valuable, hard-working asset to the school. Didn't students and parents always want to be placed in my classroom?

After she said this to me, I went home and percolated. Her words were so offensive. They were so counter to who I saw myself as being. I realized that I could no longer work for this person. I was willing to completely upend my career, because of one sentence. But, what a sentence.

So, I think of the four congresswomen. I think of the phrase, "If you're not happy, go back to where you came from." I imagine my anger and offense. And, then, I multiply the racist/sexist element on top of it all. The racism takes it about 100 notches further in offense. Like me, they were advocating for their constituents. They were advocating for children. They were elected to do a job, and they were trying to do it.

The important thing to remember, is that this man is not the boss of congress. We are the boss of congress. Hopefully, they can move through this, and persevere. These are times in which none of us can be complacent. And, if we are being encouraged to be happy with the status quo, when that involves immoral and unethical behavior by our president, then we need to be unhappy. It's okay to want better. It's okay to want our democracy to function normally.