Donna\nDufresne<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hate is not protected by\nthe Constitution, any more than the right to kill people with semi-automatic\nweapons. The confederate flag and confederate statues, although historical\nrelics, are more a reminder of hatred, racism and treason than a reverence for\nthe past. Their presence in public spaces is offensive to anyone who holds the\nideals of the Constitution, equality and civil rights dear. Likewise, the flying of the Confederate flag\nis not a Constitutional right, but an act of defiance against the progress and the\ngood which was accomplished by the civil rights movement before and after the\ncivil war. Freedom of speech and the right to bear arms have been usurped and\nmisinterpreted by right-wing racists and fascists who falsely flaunt the\nConstitution as a shield to protect their racism, anti-Semitism, and beliefs in\nwhite supremacy. They represent the antithesis of the founding values of this\ncountry. They are not patriots, but cowards marching in a perpetual temper\ntantrum over the erosion of their white entitlement. Unfortunately, they\nbelieve they now have a friend in the Whitehouse, who will both stand up for\nthem and<\/em> join the fray. Shame on\nanyone who equates this violent hateful display as being even-sided. There are\nno \u201cgood people\u201d in the white supremacy movement. Shame on anyone who doesn\u2019t\nhave the guts to call it what it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is an American\ntravesty that we the people have allowed the alt-right movement with their\nradio-wave rhetoric to infiltrate the Whitehouse. While we have been distracted\nby fabricated conflicts and the daily misguided rants of presidential tweets,\nour civil rights are being eroded, i.e. freedom of the press and the right to voice\nour opinion in protest, to name only a few. They have been systematically\nsquelched by the misinformation campaigns gassing out of the president\u2019s bully\npulpit. Without these most basic Constitutional rights the People will not have\nan informed<\/em> voice in order to keep\nthe government in check. Instead, we are being fed propaganda and insinuations,\nby the president [The violence in\nCharlottesville was not the fault of the neo-Nazis and white supremacists, but\nthose who were protesting against them]<\/em>, implying that those of us who dare\nto stand up for justice and speak out against hatred, deserve to be verbally\nand physically attacked. In fact, the president himself has been the\nperpetrator of verbal attacks which have ignited and empowered the extreme\nright to do his dirty work. Unlike any\nof his predecessors in over 200 years of the U.S. Presidency, this president lacks\nthe moral character and leadership to stand with those of us who love our\ncountry and the ideals<\/em> for which we\nstand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Because he is a\n\u201cbusinessman\u201d and an ideologue, rather than a scholar of history and\ngovernance, Trump does not realize that the Constitution washumbly created by men who knew that\nthey were flawed and that their society was flawed. Yet they created a document\nwhich could be amended over time, based on the founding principle of Equality\n– holding out an ideal for generations to live up to. (\u201cConstitutions are writ broad for ages yet unborn\u201d). <\/em>Rather than\nliving up to be the leader of the people and protecting the Constitution, Trump\nhas chosen to align himself with those whom Hillary Clinton rightly called his\n\u201cbasket of deplorables\u201d. While Steve Banon pulled the puppet strings behind the\nscenes, dismantling civil rights, affirmative action and environmental\nprotection laws, the president fed us propaganda and corporate speak to cover\nup his treasonous acts. Obviously, the president flunked American History since\nhe prefers to buy into the likes of Steve Banon\u2019s alt-right white revisionist\nhistory. Unfortunately, he is not alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The corporate model and\ncorporate speak have not only edged their way into government. They have also\ninfiltrated public education, with an emphasis on privatization, data-driven\ntest scores and high-stakes testing as a means to dismantle yet another\nuniquely American right \u2013 the opportunity to acquire an equal education. Public education was meant to be the great\nequalizer, giving a leg up to all citizens regardless of their race, religion,\nethnicity or economic status. It was also cleverly derived to teach American\nhistory as a means of cultivating citizenship. Thomas Jefferson, who believed\nthat \u201cAn educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free\npeople\u201d, must be rolling in his grave. I\nimagine that Sandra Day O\u2019Connor, who led the charge to teach civics in\nelementary schools, must be equally dismayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the age of the Corporate Industrial Complex, <\/em>many\nschools have stopped teaching social studies. Like the president, we have\ngenerations of Americans who do not know their history. It is a sad truth that immigrants\nand naturalized citizens know more about the Constitution and American history\nthan the average American Citizen, myself included, even though I am a lover of\nhistory. Perhaps this explains the America First anti-immigrant rhetoric of\nTrump and his ilk. I like to imagine that for the most part, new citizens hold\ntheir civil liberties dear, and that many are willing to protect our civil\nrights while the rest of us stand idle in our presumption that the government\nwill do the right thing without our voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is unfortunate that so few of the republicans have had the courage of former Senator McCain to call Trump out for what he is.\u00a0 Only now, as the momentum of outrage rises in public sentiment against Trump\u2019s racist policies and incendiary rhetoric, do we hear the voices of the moderate right. Call it like it is. Speak the truth. Trump is and always has been a racist who identifies with extremist right-wing views. In 1927, Donald Trump\u2019s father, Fred Trump was arrested during a KKK riot that took place at the Memorial Day Parade in NYC.\u00a0 Although charges were dropped, and it\u2019s not clear why he was there or what his role was, it is doubtful that Fred Trump\u2019s presence was innocent. It is na\u00efve to suppose that Donald Trump\u2019s racist views are purely his own, given Fred Trump\u2019s track record for red-lining real estate, blocking African American\u2019s from renting certain properties. In fact, both father and son were investigated in the 1970\u2019s for breaking equal housing and anti-discrimination laws. Given the past events in Charlottesville, and the president\u2019s inept remarks, it is time for democrats and republicans to work together toward impeachment for the numerous treasonous and anti-American acts he has committed \u2013 in thought if not in deed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Donna Dufresne Hate is not protected by the Constitution, any more than the right to kill people with semi-automatic weapons. The confederate flag and confederate statues, although historical relics, are more a reminder of hatred, racism and treason than a reverence for the past. Their presence in public spaces is offensive to anyone who holds … <\/p>\n