…And respect the dignity of every human being.
I make that promise several times a year and have now for several decades. Respect for the dignity of a human being is not something earned; it is the appropriate response to something inherent in a human being. That dignity is indissoluble and inalienable, and respecting the dignity of human beings is the ground for equality before the law. When we respect the dignity of human beings we help make society civil, and we help form ourselves into civil beings also. Some ground that dignity in the imago Dei; others may elect it prudentially, as Rawl’s veil of ignorance suggests to them. But without that inherent, unearned dignity, there is no democracy.
But how to respect the dignity of Donald John Trump, a serial adulterer, bankrupt, convicted conman and liar? You will have noted that respecting his dignity does not entail pretending that he is a nice man or a grace to society. Respecting the dignity of another permits, indeed entails, sometimes telling even uncomfortable truths about that other person. Donald John Trump, like the dogs in Vicki Hearne’s Adam’s Task, has “the right to the consequences of his actions.” As an agent who made choices, being referred to as a serial adulterer is one of those consequences he may experience.
So, which ways of talking about DJT don’t respect his dignity and which ones do?
Not consistent with human dignity: rat, snake, or any other vermin. Even more so, any disease or microbe: germ, bug, treponeme, and so on. Their lack of dignity is obvious, and such language is closely associated with some of the most horrific episodes of human history.
Consistent with human dignity: periphrases that refer truthfully if obliquely to him. Thus, *president (evoking baseball statistics for dubious achievements), pResident, the occupant of the Oval Office, Drumpf.
For myself, I think Donnie Two Scoops is consistent, as it truthfully alludes to his mob associations and his documented greed, but I could be persuaded otherwise.
As an exercise to the reader, pause at the next ten references you see to DJT here and ask yourself: does this respect his dignity as a human being? I sometimes find myself nodding along during a comment that is thoughtful and judicious, and as I reach for the rec button, hit some unacceptable closing epithet.
Why does it matter? DJT will never read what we write here. It matters because respecting the dignity of human beings, even humans who act deplorably like DJT, shapes who we are, even if it doesn’t change Drumpf.