Because everything is stupid, something that has been trending on social media off and on for the last couple of days has been former First Lady Melania Trump's appearance at the memorial service in Plains, Georgia for Rosalynn Carter, who was also a First Lady as the wife of former President Jimmy Carter.
Mrs. Carter, who was 96, passed away Sunday the 19th just a few days after entering hospice care. She was said to be suffering from dementia.
Jimmy Carter, who is 99, who has been in hospice care for nine months now, was also at her service but was unable to speak. Family members spoke on his behalf.
Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter were married for 77 years.
Mrs. Trump sat in the front row along with all living First Ladies, which included Jill Biden, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, and Hillary Clinton.
The chatter on Twitter, for example, was primarily of two vastly differing mindsets: Among Trump fans, there were comments about Melania being the classiest one in the room and some snark about the Democrat First Ladies. For Trump haters on the left, though, the remarks were predictably petty and sometimes vicious, with a big deal being made about Melania Trump not wearing all-black like most everyone else in the church as if she deliberately defied memorial/funeral dress traditions to draw attention to herself at a time when the focus should be on Rosalynn Carter's life.
The overall tone and tenor of the criticism about her being there revolved around the belief that in their view, she didn't deserve to be there and hadn't earned the right to, even though Melania Trump is just as much of a member of the First Ladies Club as the four other First Ladies who were there.
Something conveniently left out of all the ranting and yada-yadaing about Mrs. Trump's appearance, though, was the inconvenient fact that it was actually Rosalynn Carter herself who specifically wanted Melania Trump to be at her service in the spirit of the unique First Lady bond:
Carter’s family said she specifically wanted Melania Trump to know she was invited to the service. In a time of division, she hoped all the first ladies would join in a show of solidarity as her farewell tribute.
“My grandmother campaigned against and voted against some of their husbands,” said Jason Carter, the Carters’ grandson. “But she believed that there are some things that are more important than politics.”
Carter wanted Trump included out of respect for the often unsung role of first ladies, according to her family and friends.
“They know what goes into the job,” said Paul Costello, who worked for Rosalynn Carter in the White House. “I wouldn’t call them best buddies, but I think they have a great deal of respect. … A unique bond, no matter what party they’re in or no matter how well their husband is respected or not respected.”
Though Republicans no doubt have had many political disagreements with the Carters over the years, in my opinion one thing that should be able to be agreed upon at this moment in American history is that right up until the end, Rosalynn Carter maintained a class and grace that is extremely hard to find in the modern day political arena, especially among social media netizens and other assorted keyboard warriors, many of whose understandings of the words class and grace are confined to school classrooms and the occasional grace said at the dinner table.
May God be with the Carter family at this difficult and bittersweet time. May the memory of Rosalynn Carter's life and legacy be a blessing.
