What Has Happened to America?

 What has happened to America?

I have lived my entire life -- several decades -- in this country. Sadly, I no longer recognize the nation in which I have spent my life. I know there have always been undercurrents of racism, antisemitism and misogyny. There have been times when these negative thoughts and actions were more pronounced, and more in the open, than at others. But I hoped things had changed. I believed that the American people had changed.

How incredibly wrong I was.

Now the followers of a former twice-impeached president seem determined to destroy this country and everything it has stood for for nearly 250 years. They wear their racism, their antisemitism and their misogyny as a badge of honor. 

They call for the overthrow of the government. They ban books that don't conform to their warped ideology. They call for the execution of the current and the previous president. They call themselves 'pro-life' while simultaneously refusing to provide food and medical care assistance to those who need help the most. They want to turn this nation into a "Christian" nation, ignoring the founding fathers' insistence (embedded in the US Constitution) that there should be separation of church and state.

The disgraced leading candidate for the presidency of one party says he will be a dictator "from day one." He proclaims that if he loses the election, "there will be a bloodbath." He says he will round up all the people in this country illegally, put them in camps, and then conduct a massive deportation. He announced that he plans to fire the nation's federal civil servants (non-partisan employees) and replace them with those loyal only to him, not to defending our constitution. Adolf Hitler and the current Hungarian dictator Viktor Orban did the same thing. He wants to slash Medicare and Social Security, upon which millions of Americans depend, and for which we paid through mandatory payroll taxes. He even mirrors the rhetoric of his idol Adolf Hitler when he refers to immigrants as not human.

Jewish students on college campuses across the country, even at traditionally liberal universities, have been threatened because of their religion. Someone at San Francisco International Airport was questioned about his religion and the driver (who was fired) ultimately told the would-be passenger that he  would not transport a Jew in his car. 

Three Palestinian students at a Vermont college were walking down the street, speaking Arabic, when a man walked onto his porch and shot them. Two have recovered, while the third is permanently paralyzed.

A candidate for the position of head of public schools in North Carolina has publicly called for the assassination of former President Barack Obama and current President Joe Biden. She should have been arrested for these threats, but of course, nothing was done, and her Republican colleagues are silent.

In an opinion piece on cnn.com, some political scientists suggest this country is on the verge of another civil war. Here is the link to the article:  https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/16/opinions/us-brink-of-civil-war-hoffman-ware/index.html

These are just a few examples of what has happened in our country. 

It is up to us, the people who believe in this country and that for which it had stood since 1776. to not remain silent. We cannot sit by and watch the destruction of our country.

Get out and vote in every election, the November presidential election in particular. The stake have never been higher.