On the great Streep vs. Trump battle of 2017

Eh.   Sometimes I imagine a world where my president elect doesn’t stoop to the level of a kindergartner.  Then I remember, oh yeah.  This is the  U.S. in the 21st century.  We’ve worked long and hard to get to this level of maturity.

As for his response, if it was anyone else, I’d be shocked that he would resort to a childish dig at Ms. Streep’s acting abilities.  Then I’m reminded Trump.  I mean, President Trump.

As for the rest, she’s a big girl.  If she wanted to use the stage and spotlight to attack Trump, then Trump had every right to respond.  In typical fashion, he responded in a way that made him look worse.  He seems to have an incorrigible knack for taking situations where he could come out looking good and finding the one thing to say so that he doesn’t.

Nonetheless, expect this for the next four years.  It isn’t as if we’ve not been heading to this level of partisanship, where every corner of our society is swallowed up by political wrangling.  And it isn’t as if celebrities only recently began commenting on politics.  Will Rogers made a career of it.  And we all know Sinatra campaigned for Kennedy.

Has it become more factional, more personal, more vitriolic?  Sure. It isn’t as if consistency or humility were a big part of Ms. Streep’s overall commentary. But that’s a development decades in the making.

When Reagan was elected, the first celebrities I remember lashing out at him were Christopher Reeve and Bruce Springsteen.  As a youngster, it was quite a shock to see Superman and a rock star talking about a sitting president the way they did.  It didn’t get kinder and respectful as the years rolled on.

Nonetheless, I figure we’ll look back at this with fond memories for the gentleness and manners with which Streep and Trump approached the issue.  At least if the evolution of our social discourse over the last decades is any indicator.