Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Old Song, New Verse: The Sound of Xenophobia

People who know me well know that I firmly in the middle of the road when it comes to American politics.  I cannot be defined by any single issue, don't vote a party line, and can most often see the other side of an argument, even if I'm pretty convinced of my opinion.

Sometimes, however, things happen in our country that cannot go unchallenged, and for me, celebrity candidate Trump's xenophobic comments about barring all Muslims from entering the US makes me wonder if he will soon appear the flag of the Third Reich as a campaign backdrop.  His words ring hollow against those of the First Amendment, which protects all of us from religious tyranny, not only those who think like "us."  This prohibition on religious profiling protects every American from the censorship of our faith by the government, and though some will argue that we Christians have seen our freedoms diminish in recent years, that only proves the point that this freedom belongs to all of us, and, as such, must be protected.

Trump sounds far too much like Hitler to see his fear-mongering as simply political stagecraft. He wants us to be scared; so scared that we build a wall from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, so scared that we would abandon the principles of our constitution, so scared that we would restrict the movements of an entire group of Americans, or hold them captive against their will.  American citizens! He wants us to be afraid of Americans.  This appeal to fear calls us to abandon intelligent problem-solving and react like cornered animals, lashing out at whatever is closest, regardless of where the actual danger might be.  He wants us to be afraid, because he believes that if we are afraid, it will bring him more power.  So, he reframes our concern about radical, extremist zealots into irrational fear of all Muslims.

He plans to do these things because he believes their religion makes them dangerous.  And, he believes that our law enforcement, intelligence, diplomatic, and military communities are incapable of doing their jobs in the fight against terrorism.

There are surely people in this world who wish to do us harm, even to destroy us, because we are Americans.   We need strong military and intelligence against ISIS, here and abroad, and those who would bring evil against us must expect dire consequences.  We cannot be a paper tiger; our teeth must be quick and sharp.  We must protect the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans.

People of all political stripes, religions, and races must call this what it is; xenophobic, racist hate speech that undermines key American values, feeds fear, and will do nothing to reduce the threat of terrorism in our country.

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