My high school social studies teachers taught the value of citizens
being aware of current world events. Mr.
Pierce required weekly reading of Newsweek magazine. It helped you pass the Friday quiz. Mr. Plummer used the newspapers, mostly, but
still had the Friday quiz. I caught the
bug early and “political junkie” continues to this day.
I carry strong memories of my parents listening to the news each
evening before dinner. We watched the
radio as we listened to Gabriel Heatter tell us about the war in Europe and the
events in Washington. The daily
newspaper, read front to back, provided more information. Later, television provided a choice of three
news reports each evening. Five if you count
the two channels from Montreal in English or French. The weekly newsreels at the movies showed the
world in motion.
It was a simpler time. Keeping
up was simpler. Reporting was
simpler. Our presidents were pictured as
men of integrity, who had toiled long hours and years to achieve the most
powerful position in the world. They did
it with dignity for the most part. Even
Nixon had the dignity to resign. Ford
forsook his legacy to unite the country.
Kennedy asked what we could do, sent out a Peace Corp, and stared down a
nuclear holocaust. Reagan called for
demolition of The Wall. Obama brought a
first step to healthcare sanity for the poor.
If we agreed with the policies of our presidents or not, we knew we had
leaders with integrity, who knew the awesome privilege of the office and
brought dignity to their efforts. For
me, that changed last year. It really
changed last night. My stomach was in
knots.
New Presidents come into office
with the promise of change. They get to
implement their ideas. I get that, and
give Mr. Trump a lot of slack in that area.
I don’t agree with most of his policies, but, he was elected and those I
supported, were not. That is not the
issue.
Yesterday, in a meeting with congressional leaders, The President
referred to people of other countries, here in our country under special
protection programs, in the vilest terms ever uttered at the White House. The President castigated anyone from the 54
countries of Africa, most of Central America and the Caribbean and wondered why
we couldn’t have more white people from Northern Europe. That was the last straw. My stomach is in knots.
Our nation fought bigotry throughout its recent history. People marched to Selma to end bigotry. People marched on Washington to end segregation. Now we have a President who encourages bigotry
and racism. There is no denying that
assertion. He is shredding the fabric of
the country. In one afternoon meeting,
with one comment, oft repeated, he brings shame to the Office of the
President. He brings shame to the
country. He isolates us from the
civilized worlds.
On the weekend in which we celebrate Martin Luther King’s birthday,
vile, contemptible words of hate emanate from the halls of the White House. It is a disgrace to the office, it is a
disgrace to the country, and it is a disgrace to the American people
irrespective of their political persuasion.
How much more must we endure?
This can’t become the new norm.
We can’t sit back and tell people to ignore the tweets or the
comments. Our President is a racist, a
xenophobe, and a man ignorant of his role as a leader of the country and the
world. He brought disdain to our nation.
He needs to go on nationwide television and apologize to the American
people and the people of all the nations he injured and held in contempt. Otherwise, he needs to resign the
office.
.
