Sen. Joni Ernst choked on food during a Republican lunch on Thursday and was rescued by fellow Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who performed the Heimlich maneuver on her.
That is never a joking matter. It happened to me once, late at night at a restaurant with friends while in college. It’s terrifying until the piece of food is dislodged from the windpipe.
Afterward, Ernst made a tongue-in-cheek post on social media about the episode: “Can’t help but choke on the woke policies Dems are forcing down our throats.”
Not surprising, I suppose, in these divisive times where someone who disagrees with you on policy becomes the enemy, instead of just someone with a different view. Both Ernst and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds became much nastier and sharper with their insults in recent years as that became the prevailing tone of political discourse. Before then, both presented themselves as better people in classier tones. Then, it was almost like they cared about ALL Iowans.
I’m glad it was a minor episode that she could joke about afterward. It could have been much worse for her.
While Ernst’s little jab last week is relatively harmless, it’s just another sign of the intolerant, almost cruel language used so often now. Achieving anything of a bi-partisan nature these days is next to impossible.
So many in power are operating under the model of obstructionism, rather than trying to achieve real policy involving actual issues Americans face. It’s gotten so silly that some conservative text groups exchange “Woke Alerts” to the phones of shoppers who want to know which brands are accused of taking political positions that are offensive to the right.
I’m sure some of them weren’t even sure why they were boycotting Bud Light or Disney, but they joined in to “stick it to the Libs.”
It’s nonsense over what? What do they consider “woke”?
John Pavlovitz, a writer and pastor, has an answer I like. “Kindness is woke,” he wrote. “Compassion is woke. Generosity is woke. Love is woke. To be woke is to be deeply human.”
It’s woke to want fair elections, he explained.
It’s woke to want accurate American history taught to children.
It’s woke to believe LGBTQ human beings deserve to be acknowledged.
It’s woke to be anti-racist.
It’s woke to be anti-facist.
It’s woke to trust science.
It’s woke to want a less-polluted community.
Anything that brings equity gets this label because inequity is the unspoken goal. “Woke” is code language for anyone who gives a damn about people different than themselves, or the planet.
So, Joni, I’m sorry you had to choke on empathy that makes human beings human, or the notion that diversity makes us better. I’m sure it’s so hard to stomach that compassion is the better path. That every law-abiding citizen should be given the chance to have joy.
I truly think that before this arena got so nasty, in a situation like this you would have just humbly expressed gratitude that a colleague came to your aid in a time of critical need, without using it as a vehicle for another snarky dig.
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Contact the writer:
Email: malachy.lp@gmail.com
Twitter: @larrypeterson
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