Let’s Establish a New Normal at the Democratic Convention | Opinion

Let’s have a normal Democratic National Convention, everyone.
Let’s have a convention where the voices of the balaclava-clad angry mob outside don’t drown out messages of unity and love on the inside.
Let’s wear our stupid hats and sunglasses as big as the moon. Let’s shake our signs and cheer our cheers whenever a talking point is raised up upon the stage. Let us hear speeches from the men and women of the moment and let us search for the voices of the future.
Let’s have a convention where we offer thanks to the man who got us here—President Joe Biden. It’s enough to turf out the man who once saved democracy from former President Donald Trump, even if he couldn’t do it again. Biden deserves to be listened to and to receive our gratitude for stepping aside—albeit under the same pressure that turns coal into diamonds.
Let’s have a normal platform that isn’t built solely around the wishes of one man and a single think tank.
Let’s have a convention where the conspiracy theories are made up outside the hall, rather than acted out on the main stage.
Let’s have a convention where we welcome a multicultural future. However you may feel about it, it’s happening now and isn’t going to stop. White supremacy isn’t gone, but let’s have a convention where we wish it was.
Let’s leave out “Q” and “the deep state,” from our convention. Let’s leave out a world of personal grievance.
Let’s keep “weird” outside for just three more days.
Weird is not a word linked to great rhetoric down through history. It’s unclear if Cicero ever called anyone “weird” on the floor of the Roman Senate. It’s unlikely that Demosthenes of Athens ever called King Philip of Macedon “weird.”
Nor did British Prime Minister Winston Churchill call Adolf Hitler “weird”—though I’m sure an argument could have been made.
No, Tim Walz, weird is not the stuff of great rhetoric.
It is, however, an accurate description of today’s Trump-led Republican Party.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines weird as: of strange or extraordinary character.
It’s a bit odd to choose a convicted felon as your standard-bearer—or your demigod.
It’s a little strange to contort yourself into a mental pretzel of belief to see a holy force in an unholy mess.
It’s downright bizarre to forget the chaos and scandal of Trump I, even though it was just four years ago.
It’s weird to buy a Bible from a man who has sold steaks only to overcook them, sells golden shoes, his not-so good name, and likely his underwear if the bid is high enough—and you happen to want it.
It is strange to have the My Pillow guy as your most consistent supporter.
It’s odd to think the law doesn’t apply to you and then to get six people, including ones you’ve appointed to agree with you.
It’s weird to be so nosy as to get involved in a neighbor’s pregnancy. Or for that matter to feel that the way you live your life is the way that I must live mine. Frankly, it’s one thing to shake your head in disapproval, and a whole other world to pass laws to make sure that I follow your beliefs.
So, is the word “weird” elegant?
No.
Weird isn’t much of a word and it doesn’t show class, and it doesn’t show maturity, and it is calling your opponent names.
All true.
On the other hand, Trump’s movement fits the bill, so maybe one word is as good as another.
And whatever word we choose, let’s keep it away from the DNC.
Jason Fields is a deputy opinion editor at Newsweek.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.