Thigh-High Politics is an Op-Ed column by Teen Vogue writer Lauren Duca that breaks down the news, provides resources for the resistance, and just generally refuses to accept toxic nonsense.

On Sunday night, ex–White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was featured at the Emmys in a surprise cameo. “This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys. Period,” he said, mirroring the infamous lie he told reporters about the size of Donald Trump’s inauguration crowd size. He was met with giggles and a promising shot at an appearance on Carpool Karaoke.

Now, we talked a lot about “normalization” during the 2016 election. Throughout the campaign, certain examples stood out as clear markers of a shift in our social and political norms — Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns and the total lack of ramifications for what he said in the Access Hollywood tapes are two of them. But the grander sea change was harder to see, and soon the word grew weak with overuse. At the Emmys, however, that slowly fading idea was yanked out of the abstract: Spicer rolling up on his podium is what normalization looks like.

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The term “normalization” now exists in our national conversation as a conceptual Band-Aid for the Trump administration’s authoritarian rejection of accountability. It’s often repeated, and often lacking in heft. We would do well to recenter our perspective around the definition of the word as it shreds the fabric of the American value system. Normalization (noun): the process by which something that was once considered intolerable is formally or informally condoned by society.

“Normalization” is a collective shift that tells a story about our culture. It is not any one opinion but the sum total of the majority’s thinking. Still, we all participate in this process. Just as no one is solely responsible, no one is off the hook. To varying degrees, our individual voices contribute to the shift. For anyone who cares about democracy and/or the truth, silence is not an option.

I’m going to cut to the chase with the receipts here, because we’ve wasted enough time messing around on this topic: Spicer’s Emmys appearance should be unacceptable because he is an accessory to an ongoing attack on American democracy. He spent seven months creating confusion and distress by disseminating misinformation from the mantle of the White House. On his first day on the job, his lie about inauguration crowd size blatantly contradicted photographic evidence. It was an act of gaslighting, seemingly intended to force the public to wonder what was true, as well as an implicit declaration of impunity: The Trump administration was going to lie, and it was going to get away with it. On Sunday night, under the confounding spell of “normalization,” the Emmys turned that act of propaganda into a literal joke.

The objection here appears to be that Spicer and Stephen Colbert, who (disappointingly) arranged the cameo and invited him onstage, were “in on the joke.” The sheer fact that Spicer can be treated as a joke of any kind is normalization. The comedic worth of the bit is irrelevant, and, by the way, it wasn’t funny. Furthermore, this issue extends beyond critique of an awards show. Spicer’s behavior is also being condoned by Harvard University, which earlier this month offered him visiting fellowship at its Kennedy School's Institute of Politics.

The context of this week in politics makes Spicer’s redemption tour even more egregious. You’ll recall that the White House is actively using Spicer’s old podium to impale ESPN journalist Jemele Hill for asserting that Donald Trump is a white supremacist. Political commentators across the aisle have also spent the past week debating whether or not Hillary Clinton should be in the public eye promoting a book about her experience of the 2016 election. Meanwhile, a notorious liar who actively undermined the American perception of truth is rolling around in a ball pit of affection.

As MSNBC host Chris Hayes wrote on Twitter, “Power is all about who gets forgiven. Who gets fresh starts.” Spicer is embarking on a redemption tour that includes being embraced by Hollywood and Harvard, and he hasn’t even apologized beyond a half-baked admission of regret, when asked about the inauguration lie. There has been no true remorse or condemnation of Trump’s tactics, and if your argument is that he was “just following orders,” I’d encourage you to think about the other people in history who used that line to write off their crimes.

It is crucial that we learn from this red flag: We are less than a year into this presidency, and the Trump administration is decimating our social and political norms. A quick look at the things we collectively accept from the White House reveals that we pummeled past “worst-case scenario” several months ago. We all must raise our voices to push back on this process before the ideals we currently hold dear become unrecognizable. Normalization is about the lump sum of opinion, and it requires that the majority remain silent. We should all be screaming at the top of our lungs.

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Things to Do:

Get on the phone with your representatives and insist they vote no on the Graham-Cassidy health care bill, which would strip care from millions and defund Planned Parenthood. 5 Calls is still the best place to get started. Follow Jemele Hill on Twitter, and throw your support behind her as the Trump administration continues abusing its power in an attempt to end her career. Get vocal on social media and/or on campus. Take the time to talk to friends and family, especially the ones who might not agree with your views. Your voice matters, insist on using it.

Related: Sean Spicer Surprised Everyone at the 2017 Emmys and the Internet Is PISSED

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