When the election happened not long ago, I warned that Donald Trump aspired to be a dictator—that our rights were in jeopardy, that he would damage this country in ways we couldn’t yet comprehend. But no one wanted to listen.
Now, recent events seem to confirm those fears. Trump has systematically dismantled the very fabric of the America we once knew. He’s sent U.S. Marines—an institution meant to embody honor and discipline—into Los Angeles to serve as his personal enforcers. He has repeatedly disregarded the Constitution, and perhaps most dangerously, he’s emboldened and legitimized some of the most racist and bigoted elements in our society.
I see the fallout every day on Facebook: people openly celebrating the arrest and deportation of innocent immigrants, often because of nothing more than the color of their skin or the country they come from. They deny their racism, but it doesn’t take a genius to recognize the hate just beneath the surface. Tragically, many of these same individuals voted to give Trump a second term.
Supporting Trump has become more than a political preference—it’s become a personality trait. And I couldn’t, in good conscience, remain friends with people who stand by him. To support Trump requires a dangerous cocktail of willful ignorance, racial prejudice, and a chilling lack of empathy. It means turning a blind eye to lies, embracing policies rooted in cruelty, and calling for the expulsion of families who came here in search of a better life.
In the age of Trump, we’ve lost our moral compass. We’re governed by the unqualified, and too many live in fear of those in power. This isn’t what America was meant to be. Our nation was founded on the idea of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Trump has taken a sledgehammer to that ideal.
How we fell this far is something I’m still trying to understand.
What I do know is this: We need help.
SimonB writes 