Donna Dufresne<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Silence is complicity when it comes to\nhateful rhetoric. Donald Trump IS responsible for the crazy fools who act out\nhis hateful, white supremacist, and racist speeches. And it is downright\nDEPLORABLE that his so-called base can’t take a break from their hatefulness,\nto mourn the deaths of people of faith who were worshiping at the Tree of Life\nSynagogue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of pausing from his scheduled\nrallies, this \u201cpresident\u201d chose to continue on the path of division and hate,\nencouraging his ignorant supporters to continue their empty chants in a\nmeaningless frenzy, \u201cLock her up!\u201d, as if that has anything to do with relevant\npolitical issues. Like the worst of\nRoman plebeians at the Coliseum, these people, whom I can\u2019t even recognize as\nAmericans, cheer and jeer at Trump\u2019s rallies. It\u2019s a pathetic circus, empty of\nsubstance, and a shameful face to show the world. One would think we should\nhave evolved since the days of Roman hedonism, but apparently not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this week, Trump complained that\n\u201cthis bomb stuff\u201d was some democrat conspiracy to distract us away from\npolitical conversations. Meanwhile, his loyal sycophants were doing the dirty\nwork of sending bombs to his critics, shooting African Americans in a\nsupermarket, and executing people in a Jewish congregation who have stood up\nfor refugees and immigrants, and who believe in the scriptures which unite us\nall \u2013 \u201cwelcome the stranger\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Typically, Trump\u2019s supporters, and the fringe elements\nwho tag along, refuse to acknowledge that the tone and content of his rhetoric\nhas anything to do with the rise of anti-Semitism, racism and white supremist\nterrorism. We have met the enemy, an he\nis US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you REALLY care about this country, you will study\nthe past with open eyes. In Hitler\u2019s\nGermany, many people found his \u201chate speech\u201d uncomfortable, but they were\npleased with the economic progress, and so they looked the other way. Charles\nLindberg raved about how \u201cefficient\u201d the German government was in 1938. The\nstreets were clean, and the people were employed. The economy was great! Yet, a\nsinister movement of genocide was perpetrated by those who believed Hitler\u2019s\nrhetoric that Jews were the \u201cother\u201d, and therefore, deserved to die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our forefathers, the creators of the Constitution,\nknew that human beings are flawed. They didn\u2019t trust that a democracy could\nwork without checks and balances to keep us from the folly of dictatorship.\nThey didn\u2019t believe that an uneducated mass of people would be capable of\nupholding true democratic values. They knew that they themselves were deeply\nflawed and burdened with the legacy of slavery. Therefore, they developed an\nideal, an idea of what we might become if only we could adhere to a few basic\nprinciples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They knew they did not want a tyrannical government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In context, the second amendment about the right to\nbear arms, was designed to protect a fledgling democracy in an 18th<\/sup>\ncentury world ruled by monarchs and Autocracies. It was never intended as a\n\u201cGod-Given-Right\u201d to kill, which may as well be the NRA decree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More importantly, the Constitutional rights which were\nreally meant to protect democracy, are being eroded by the president daily. Only the worst of dictators and despots dare\nto call the press the enemy of the people, when in fact, a free press is meant\nto promote the truth and protect the people from a propaganda State News (dare\nI call out Fox News).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, among our inalienable rights, is the right to\nspeak out against the government when it is clearly going down the wrong path. It\nis an inalienable right to gather in protest, to speak out against the\ngovernment, whether it be women speaking out against misogyny and sexual\nharassment when our elected and appointed officials clearly can\u2019t adhere, or\nthe right to kneel or sing in protest, or the simple act of chanting BLACK\nLIVES MATTER. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What does it mean to be American? If you have uttered the words \u201cshut up and\nsing\u201d or \u201cshut up and play football\u201d, or \u201clock her up\u201d, then perhaps you don\u2019t\ndeserve to live in this country. Perhaps you should move to Syria, or some\nother deplorable dystopia where hatred and \u201cotherhood\u201d thrives. Perhaps you\nshould walk in the shoes of the \u201cother\u201d. \nOnly then could you appreciate the jewel of democracy, a work in\nprogress, imperfect as it is, which is America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Donna Dufresne Silence is complicity when it comes to hateful rhetoric. Donald Trump IS responsible for the crazy fools who act out his hateful, white supremacist, and racist speeches. And it is downright DEPLORABLE that his so-called base can’t take a break from their hatefulness, to mourn the deaths of people of faith who were … <\/p>\n