Keywords or Terms:
Racism; President Donald Trump; Immigration Policy: African, Salvador, Haitians;
Bigotry; US Congress: Domestic and International Policies; Lady Liberty; E
pluribus unum
The implication of the 2016 General Elections finally came to roast for me yesterday. Not given to praises or accusations of how bad a presidency can get; yesterday, for me, represented a new and telling watershed experience in studying America Presidency. In what would normally be considered a progressive debate on immigration, especially with the Dreamer’s Act and the regularization of the status of young Americans, “The Dreamer’s”, whose only fault is that they were given birth to by undocumented immigrants, Mr. President showed his true color in the use of language. Lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats alike, in a bipartisan immigration conference heard the President of the United States of America, utter what is most retrogressive, uninformed, regressive and outlandish comments in recent memory on immigration into America: “Why are we allowing people from these shithole countries to come to America?”
Whoa? Hate-filled and vile comments coming from the most powerful political office in America and now, probably the world? A President, Donald Trump, who says African countries are shit-hole countries? A President, who has no personal knowledge and relationships with many of these countries, who has created a deplorable nightmare with his comments in the past, making another unhelpful and despicable statements in a bipartisan immigration negotiation conference? How else could you interpret the President’s behavior in these off-handed comments? Racist? Annoying? Undiplomatic? Could these comments open a new cankerworm of unwanted bigotry in America’s domestic and foreign policies? Could this President have sunk to an unbelievable and unenviable level of indecency in presidential communication in conference? Not surprising, the Senior Democratic Party Senator in US Congress, Dick Durbin of the State of Illinois, finds his recent comments, racist and insane!
How is the Republican Party-led White House Administration making America great again? Is it by having the President of the United States of America, making heart shattering and vile comments that do not only question the written ethos of, “E pluribus unum” (Latin for "Out of many, one"), a traditional motto of the United States, appearing on all the Great Seal of the United States, circa 1782; or, which stand in contrast of written statement under Lady Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The President of the USA, not known to having constraints in the use of words and language, has once again, made another of his pooh-pooh statements that have received reprimands across the globe, as abhorrent and undiplomatic, including one from United Nation’s Human Right spokesman, Rupert Colville: “There is no other word one can use but ‘racist.”
Donald Trump, first America President to ever mention these rather deplorable words about minorities from South America and descendants of nations of Africa in the public sphere: 1) “Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out;” 2) “why would we want El Salvadorian and Shitholes countries’ immigrants coming to America.” A President who has been rather loose with the truth, who is often divisive in his comments, who enjoys socializing with autocrats, is now making heart wrenching comments on the fiftieth year of the assassination of Senator Robert (Bobby) Kennedy and the birthday celebration weekend of the life of Dr.(Reverend) Martin Luther King Jnr; two men, black and white, sacrificed on the alter of the nation, so that we can have a more perfect union. The nation is roiling in another antic of the Republican President of United States of America. Maybe the best response to his questions is simply: ‘the same reason that afforded poor-Scottish immigrants, who would have been labeled “White Trash” in modern American parlance, to find refuge or shelter two generations ago in America. America opened her lofty doors to the Trump’s family; and, Donald J Trump became the beneficiary of the benevolence of America and her people.
A rather despicable President, who derogates and denigade El Salvadorians and bad-mouthed African nations, making vulgar and offensive comments that are not only racist, repulsive and damaging; but also, having domestic and foreign policy implications in current American narrative experience. A President wondering why America wants to continue opening her doors to Black and Brown people from South America and Africa, not only, White People from Norway, Europe or whatever have you? That is the beauty of America’s diversity and why many across the globe want to be part of this great democratic experiment; an instructive and inclusive plurality of experience that everyone can learn from; a nation, a melting pot, that has created newer and far reaching innovations in Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine, the Arts and more. An experience Donald Trump cannot fathom, because he does not, or probably, cannot read or understand words beyond a fifth grader! No wonder many are mystified by the breath of political power he wields while in office of the President of the United States; and yet, so shallow in his reasonings and utterances.
Not knowing the type of uncharacteristic comments that can come out of the mouth of this President, many political actors are wondering why Donald Trump is again putting his foot in his mouth by race-baiting, or making exceptionally blatantly racist comments, that are pathetic and offensive to any decent American during a bipartisan deliberation of America’s immigration policy? Before we all forget, this same President, who wields mind bulging political influence on many national and international issues, who is now making another racist comment, last month, admonish Haitians as having AIDS and 40,000 Nigerians, residents or citizens of America, would not return to their huts after experiencing America? This is who Donald Trump is.........(Your guess is as good as mine)!
We must now be watchful, careful and observant, keeping an eye on Donald Trump’s actions in the next three years as he watches the till; because, one cannot trust his best judgement to rule America in equity, equality and respect for the rule of law. Ashamedly, many of these comments coming from the President, are at variance with the American creed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
No comments:
Post a Comment