The Politicization of Funerals

With the recent deaths of Aretha Franklin and John McCain, there were two funerals last week.  There should have only been one, given that Ms. Franklin died on August 16 and wasn't buried until August 31.  At least they buried McCain within a week of his death; the people in charge of Ms. Franklin's funeral decided she needed a victory lap that culminated in a six or seven hour funeral with three wardrobe changes and two casket changes. 

Yet, there was one sinful similarity between the two funerals:  The use of the occasion to vilify the President of the United States. 

McCain and the President had their differences.  I'm unaware of any between Ms. Franklin and President Trump.  That there were bitter feelings between the two politicians is understandable, even if they were from the same party.  McCain did little to support his president and tried to detract from his administration every chance he could.  Ms. Franklin, although she sang at President Obama's inauguration, wasn't particularly vocal or involved in opposing the President.  She may well have disagreed with him, but she wasn't an activist in the mold of Michael Moore or Ashley Judd.

Still, both funerals were used by the decedents' followers to attack the President and his policies.  The most vocal of McCain's supporters was his daughter Meghan, who is known for her appearance on the liberal chatfest The View.  Ms. McCain is known for her brash and confrontational style on the show, often clashing with Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar.  At her father's funeral, she chastised the President in thinly veiled criticism, claiming that in her father's world, America was always great.  Nevermind that President Trump's slogan was directed at the devestations brought about by President Obama's policies, Ms. McCain saw fit to take a swipe at the President during what was a very painful time for her and her family.  President Trump had nothing whatsoever to do with her father's death; he wasn't a member of his family, nor did he have any involvement with her mother.  Still, Ms. McCain sought to politicize the eulogy of her father for no apparent reason other than spite.  Of the two funerals, this was the more surprising, given the source.

At Ms. Franklin's funeral, on the other hand, the politicization was readily apparent, with the Four Horsemen of the Political Apocalypse -- Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Bill Clinton -- were on the dais ready to deliver what were to be eulogies.  I didn't watch this funeral -- I don't even spend half that much time on sporting events these days, much less funerals -- so I don't know what any of them said, only that Reverend Al  reached out to punch President Trump in the nose. 

Is a funeral an appropriate place to engage in politics? As an Irishman, I am well aware that at the funerals of murdered Republicans, the IRA would rail about the invaders, but these situations don't involve foreign invaders murdering innocent civilians.  It's partisan politics at its most raw.  People on the Left are upset because their doyenne didn't cut it and they dislike the policies of the man who beat her.  I understand it, even if I don't agree with it.  But to subordinate the memory of a civilian beneath partisan politics with no war going on -- no matter what the putative Resistance claims -- is disrespectful, untoward and simply wrong.  Perhaps McCain is grinning about it, but I wonder if Ms. Franklin enjoys being used as a political pawn.

The more the Left engages in stunts like this, the more it alienates the populace.

(c) 2018 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles