It had been over a week since I placed my order online and I
had almost given up hope that my package would arrive. I walked out to the mail
box after getting home from work to pick up the mail and there it was.
I pulled the gray bag and the rest of the mail from the box
with a little bit of excitement and walked into the house. After letting the
dogs out I pulled out my pocket knife, cut open the bag and pulled out the
item.
The red cloth hat was clean and bright and across the front
in vivid white letters were the words Make
America Great Again. I turned it over in my hands, noticed the small
American flag on the side and, looking into the mirror, I placed the hat on my
head.
As I was adjusting the hat to fit I was reminded of why it
took me so long to order a MAGA hat.
Ordering My MAGA Hat
During the 2016 Presidential election I was not the biggest
fan on Donald Trump and did not consider ordering a MAGA hat. I liked him over
Hilary but I was hoping that a third party candidate would be able to make a
serious bid this time.
I was wrong, but I was glad that Trump won over Hilary.
After the election I would watch the news and see Trump supporters attacked for
wearing a MAGA hat. Mobs of people would surround them and shout at them and
even a few people were beat up.
I wanted to buy a hat at this time but I also wanted to
understand why I wanted to buy one now as opposed to earlier. As I thought
about my reasons for getting a MAGA hat it became clear that I only wanted to
get one so that I could trigger those who opposed Trump.
This was an unacceptable reason for me. It was not that I
was opposed to offending people, in fact I was fine with that. Instead I did
not think intentionally offending people for the sake of offending them was a
worthy goal. I put the idea out of my head.
As time went on these attacked increased and I heard from my
friends that they were afraid to say they were Republican, Conservatives, or a
supporter of Trump. They were afraid of losing their jobs, getting attacked
physically, or being called a racist.
It was at this time I considered buying a MAGA hat again. I
asked myself the same question, why do you want to buy a MAGA hat? This time my
answer had changed, it was twofold. One I wanted to buy a MAGA hat as a form of
protest against the violence committed against those who wear MAGA hats in
public.
The kid who got his hat stolen and a drink thrown in his face
by someone who yelled profanities at him. Violent protesters dressed in all
black assaulting anyone with a red hat while yelling that they were Nazi’s and
racists. Or the father
who offered to pay his daughter $100 to knock a MAGA hat off the head of
another kid who was minding his own business in the mall.
Events like this made me want to buy a MAGA hat out of
protest. The second reason was that I wanted a MAGA hat as a keepsake. Love or
hate President Trump his presidency is going to be remembered and I thought it
would be interesting to look back in ten years and remember this period in
American history.
My First Interesting
Comment
I had told my wife when I ordered the hat and when it
arrived I showed it to her. She is not very interested in politics, so she was
not as excited as I was. I placed the hat in our room and went about my day.
It was about a week later that she saw the hat in our room again
and actually read what was on it. It was at this time that I walked into the
room and she looked at me, a question on her mind. “Why did you want a Make
America Great Again hat, aren’t you just asking to get beat up?”
My reply was one word, “No.”
Of course this line of thinking had crossed my mind before.
I thought of this before I started writing about politics on my blog. I thought
of this before openly admitting I am a Republican in a deeply progressive state.
I thought of this before registering as a Republican. I thought of this when I
bought a hat with the American flag on the front and before I attended a
Patriot Prayer rally or events held by Jordan Peterson.
Each time I made the choice to do what I believed was right
and to not let myself be intimidated or censored, least of all by myself. I am
reminded of rule 7 in Jordan Peterson bestselling book 12 Rules for Life:
Pursue what is Meaningful (Not what is
expedient). It would be expedient to keep my mouth shut as opposed to
writing this blog, it would be expedient to just watch the Patriot Prayer rally
on YouTube as opposed to attending in person.
I could live a perfectly happy, safe and quiet life if I
just simply did and said nothing. Do not get me wrong there is a lot of temptation
to follow that path and I do not blame others who make that choice, yet the
words attributed to Edmund Burke called out to me, “All that is necessary for
the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
I am not under the delusion that my purchase of a MAGA hat is
some great blow against evil or some heroic act worthy of remembrance. Rather
it was an honest attempt to do what I believed is right. The choice I made was
not a choice of if I should or should not buy a hat, rather it was a choice of
morality.
I am not saying Trump is moral, we know he is not at times,
or that supporting him is the morally correct thing to do. I am saying that it
is morally correct to refuse to let other people attempt to silence those they
do not like under the guise of combating hate or hate speech.
People should not be afraid to speak their opinions out of a
fear of losing their job or their business. People should not be afraid to say
what they believe is right and true out of a fear of being socially shamed
through the use of labels like Nazi, Bigot, Homophobe, Islamaphobe. People
should not be afraid to love their country out of a fear of being physically assaulted
for carrying or wearing an American flag.
My wife asked if I was asking to be attacked for wearing a
MAGA hat. She immediately realized the implications of that question. She came
to the conclusion that a person wearing a MAGA hat is no more asking to be assaulted
then a woman is asking to be assaulted for wearing a sexy dress.
In Public
While I have made the choice to buy a MAGA hat, I have not
yet worn it out in public. I admit part of me is nervous about wearing it. My
wife, who does not like politics and does not pay it much attention, was
worried that I would get assaulted for wearing the hat in public.
The threat is real but I know that most Americans do not
care or if they do will not say or do anything. I live in Oregon outside of
Portland in the city of Beaverton. The people here are not as bad as they are
in Portland, but it can go either way.
I have a coworker who has worn his hat around town. He told
me the reaction is mixed, some people give him a dirty look or ask him about it
and others give him a thumbs up or show support. Again I am presented with
another choice.
Do I wear the hat out in public or do I remain safe and
silent? The choice is not earth shattering nor is it one that will be remembered
as a turning point in history. The greatest events in history are rarely the
product of a single choice, but the result of several small choices made by
many different individuals.
