Viewpoint: Trump rhetoric tiresome, childish
David James
I love my country. For 40 years of teaching, I have tried to instill the values of democracy, justice, equality, decency, and truth in the students I love. When I see Trump and his fascist regime trying to dismantle American institutions, destroy our traditional alliances, and cozy up to evil dictators, I have to wonder how Americans could have bought into this madness. It also causes me to contemplate the meaning of patriotism.
When I witnessed Canadian hockey fans boo during the singing of our national anthem, it chilled me to the bone. Our closest neighbor and ally who has fought with American men and women, has protected us along the longest border in the world. Canadians have fought and died with American men in the Civil War, at D-Day, in Korea, and Afghanistan. They have had our back since the 19th century.
I can understand how upset many Canadians are about Trump threatening to turn their country into the 51st American state. I also know that the booing shows plenty of people refuse to humor Trump and his expansionist ambitions. Canadians are not alone in their antipathy towards Americans.
Other countries object to the Trump administration’s hostile interventions. There’s a well-earned anti-Americanism growing around the globe. Recently, during the Munich Security Conference, for example, Trump collaborator JDVance attacked Germans for their lack of free speech by refusing to welcome their Neo-Nazi party.
I’m confident Trump vetted his words, but the arrogance and lack of historical context show the utter disregard for the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazism. If the Trump administration hopes to have a working relationship with Germany, JDVance showed an ignorance that will not impress any country except Putin’s Russia. NATO allies are now embarrassed for us.
On the domestic front, Trump has unleashed a coterie of extremists, conspiracy nuts, sycophants, and imbeciles on people they disapprove of. Our cherished public lands, national forests, and parks are targeted for exploitation. Our colleges and universities are being audited for perceived DEI ‘infractions’, and an unelected billionaire aims to cut/eliminate Social Security benefits Americans have contributed to, using the White House as a commercial prop. All the while Musk has the personal records of every American.
Over and over, Americans tell ourselves how great we are now under the command of Trump. Media coverage is being neutered with threats and intimidation. Americans are told patently false things and told things that are not happening. Americans who have spent their lives working in public service are being treated like criminals by Trump and Musk’s ‘Children of the Corn’. Is it patriotic to love my country while placidly accepting what the Trump administration is doing to America? I wonder.