March 22, 2019--Conways On A Hot Tin Roof

A cousin and I with whom I used to be very close have not exchanged a work with each other for more than two years. Another cousin has refused to spend Thanksgivings with his parents and siblings, also for the past two years.

Then there are the shattered family stories I have been hearing from friends for about as long.

And there are the sad stories of what has happened to so many who somehow believed in him, went to work in the White House, and by now have become lifelong enemies.

These stories, and perhaps millions more, have one thing in common--Donald Trump.

Now, in plain sight, we are witnesses to the breakup of a longterm marriage.

Attorney and constitutional authority George Conway and his wife, presidential advisor Kellyanne Conway's relationship is coming apart in tweets, live on social media and cable news.

In this regard they can be thought of as surrogates for the unravelling of civility and the social fabric of American life.

Some time ago someone, I think Joe Scarborough, said that everyone who gets involved with Trump inevitably is "slimed." And the rest of us, even if at a great distance, in frustration and rage, are being brought low when we descend to the use of mockery and vitriol, sadly severing relationships, especially with those we have loved, because we so despise, even have come to hate our president.

The most recent Conway flareup began with husband George blatantly questioning Trump's sanity. Among other things he tweeted--

"Americans should be thinking seriously now about Trump's mental condition and psychological state."

Then, after Trump's smackdown response George Conway, further turning up the heat, posted a link to the diagnostic criteria for narcissistic personality disorder, and about Trump wrote: "You. Are. Nuts."

Trump snapped--

“George Conway, often referred to as Mr. Kellyanne Conway by those who know him, is VERY jealous of his wife’s success & angry that I, with her help, didn’t give him the job he so desperately wanted. I barely know him but just take a look, a stone cold LOSER & husband from hell!”

Coming to Trump's defense, Kellyanne told Politico--

"He (Trump) left it alone for months out of respect for me. But you think he shouldn't respond when somebody, a non-medical professional accuses him of having a mental disorder? You think he should just take that sitting down????"

And so here we are. What began as a joke of a political soap opera is now destroying lives. Including, in many cases, of people with whom we have been close to us.

We are all being slimed.