President Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric has been amped up in the closing days of this election season, like the steady beat of an acid rock song, growing louder and louder, that only appeals to most die-hard fans of their whacked out idol.
To the rest of us, his words are repugnant and abhorrent. We remain in a state of shock, asking aloud, how did it all come down to this? When did our country drive off the road in to this ditch? And most notably, what will it take for us to climb out?
There are so many issues that the country faces today: the economy, taxes, the federal deficit, health care, education, income inequality, global warming, sensible gun control, the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, challenges from North Korea, Iran, China and Russian…and, and, and ….comprehensive immigration reform.
And yet the focal point of Donald Trump and many other Republicans, in the days leading up to the mid-term elections, has been illegal immigration. Their strategy is clear. Let’s tie illegal immigration to crime, terrorism and economic competition and accuse Democrats of being responsible for it. What a concept.
But this is nothing new. Rich and powerful and selfish men have done the same throughout the course of history. They motivate and energize their supporters by vilifying another weaker group of the population, placing all the blame on them and deflecting the magnifying glass away from real issues and real problems.
It seems so long ago, but I still remember it. In the days following Trump’s implausible election victory over Hillary Clinton, I actually held out the belief that Trump would pivot, he would become Presidential, he would reach out to all Americans, and maybe with the disruption he would bring, we might experiment and learn there were better, different ways to govern.
But I was so wrong. We never saw a glimpse of any of this. There was never any genuine desire to unite the country. There was no authentic attempt to remind us that the common bonds which hold us together were stronger than the ones that divide.
Instead we saw his campaign pledge of building a physical wall along the US – Mexico border, stifled by both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, morph into an even more ominous wall, one that was intangible in construction but stronger still, one that was driven right down the middle of the country, built to split us apart and reveal to the world the worst we had to offer. Make no mistake. The foundation of this wall was in place long before Trump rode the escalator down Trump Tower into the hearts and minds of his supporters, but Trump employed his knowledge of construction and conning to make this wall even bigger and stronger, tearing us all apart, ripping the fiber of our nation and causing us to lose sight of our own ideals, and he did it with almost unbelievable speed and efficiency.
So instead of America as the shining city on hill, we are left with the vision of the sun setting over the country, with the big question of what tomorrow will bring.
Tuesday is election day, and so you can all answer that question. You can all emulate the sentiment expressed so eloquently and so simply by Ronald Reagan as he stood outside the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in June 1987. You can let the President know that its time.
You can tell him “Mr. President, tear down this wall!”
Vote on Tuesday.
