Birds on the Brain

What the president did in allowing the children of undocumented immigrants to become citizens was Marco Rubio’s idea, but only Julian Castro got to brag about it at a convention. Only Castro got to make the incontrovertible point that, “In the end, the American Dream is not a sprint, or even a marathon, but a relay. Our families don’t always cross the finish line in one generation. But each generation passes on to the next generation the fruits of their labors…. My mother fought for civil rights so that instead of a mop, I could hold this microphone.” Marco Rubio could say that, but his party won’t let him, because to admit that someone had to “fight for civil rights” is dissonant with the party’s message that the simple incantation of “America” is enough to make all the bad things in our history disappear, and because to admit that being an American occasionally means calling bullshit on “America” would give the lie to the entire phony narrative thrust of last week’s convention.