Bob Dylan wrote Forever Young in 1973, over 50 years ago, as a way to describe his hopes for his son. The lyrics capture the essence of what every parent would wish for their children. From the second verse of the song:
May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
And may you stay
Forever young
Donald Trump made much ado about Judge Merchon potentially not allowing him to attend his son’s high school graduation. He, in fact, was able to attend the ceremony. That ceremony, for every high school graduate, has power and meaning because it is a clear demarcation line between being a child and being an adult. And the graduation address is always filled with advice/encouragement, in one form or another, for graduates to follow a similar path to what Dylan wished for his son.
But what is Donald Trump wishing for Barron,
and what legacy he is building for his son to absorb?
Can you imagine?
“Barron, you should start a university that is a fraud and maybe you won’t get caught like I did. You should build a foundation that is fraudulent, and maybe you won’t get caught like I did. It is okay to have a one-night affair with a porn star right after your son is born. It is okay for you to grab women by their genitals. It is okay for you to dismiss an American military hero because he was shot down, captured, tortured, was a prisoner for five years, and refused to be released unless his men were also released. Maybe you can also:
- Sign a $100,000 contract with a small piano dealer to provide pianos to your casino and then only offer him 70% of that contract after he has completely met the contract requirements.
- Ruthlessly separate mothers from their children and then not keep track of where they are.
- Remain so ignorant in the face of a pandemic, that you recommend to unsuspecting people that they should drink bleach.
- Remain so ignorant that you think the earth’s climate challenges are a hoax.
- Never think about the needs of other people. Only think about yourself.
- And if you run for office, say that you will finance all the cost yourself and then hit your base up for money EVERY DAY!
- Pretend to be a Christian without ever actually looking at a Bible unless you are selling one.
- Always think about making money, and if you are ever President, ignore the emoluments clause in the constitution.
- If you are President and you lose re-election, just scream and yell and that it was unfair.
The potential list goes on forever. One 99-year-old activist has accurately listed 238 awful things that Trump did in the White House.
Again, Donald wanted to go to his son’s graduation. Why? If he is proud of his son, what he is proud about? In 2020 Anthony Scaramucci said that Donald Trump conveyed to friends, “What do I care about my legacy, I will be dead.”
At this time of high school graduation for seniors across the country, this is my wish for Donald Trump: “Look at this list of what you have done in your life. You may not care about your legacy, but your son, who is beginning his adult life, will care. You can wake up tomorrow and try to think about someone, anyone, other than yourself, and you can decide that you will stand upright and be courageous like John McCain and see how your son reacts. You are a fear-mongering, constantly whining narcissistic sociopath who appealed to the worst in all of us, and you have been incapable of feeling even a shred of personal empathy, but you can try. You can have a positive effect on Barron. He would be so proud of you for trying. It is your choice. You should care about the legacy you leave Barron, even if you are so totally transactional that you do not care about it for yourself, because, after all, how can you make money off of a legacy?
