i wonder what people in other countries think of the usa. when i read or watch the news, i am ashamed of my country. i think about the hope that i had as i watched the power of the ussr unravel, first in eastern europe and then within its own borders. as communist dictatorships were overthrown and democratic governments were established, it seemed as if the power that was unleashed by the american revolution had come to full flower. then there was the "arab spring" when it appeared that there was hope that all of the middle east would join the progressive wave that had earlier engulfed europe.
as i look back on that earlier promise, it seems impossible that now so much has changed. hungary has turned into a neo-fascist state. xenophobia flourishes in italy. ultra-nationalism is rife in the united kingdom. trumpism rules in the usa. i want to be able to tell the world that all of us in this country are not like trump and his supporters. my small voice is one of many here that decries everything trump stands for.
we watch in horror as the most desperate who are fleeing violence and poverty are thrown into virtual prisons where conditions approach those of concentration camps, where medical help is denied and children are ripped from the arms of their parents, where inedible and unhealthy food is provided, where private companies who operate these facilities make profit off the misery of others at the expense of the taxpayers. how can we tolerate these deplorable conditions that those who have suffered so much are forced to live in? we hear the hatred being spewed out at political rallies and the cheerleader-in-chief is our own president, a man who rules despite having lost the popular vote because of a peculiar quirk in our constitution which allows smaller states to have power that belies their population. we recoil at the repeated horrors of mass shootings all over our country while the president and his party refuse to take steps to curb this violence, pointing to our constitution's words that give our citizens "the right to keep and bear arms."
at least in the united kingdom, there are those in the ruling party who refuse to be a part of the prime minister's rush to leave the european union and who denounce the prejudices that propelled the brexit movement into prominence. here in this country, the members of the president's party who have dared defy him are few and far between and, for the most part, those few have been forced to retire from their positions. even the weather reporting in this country has been politicized because those responsible for it dare not contradict the false and outlandish tweets of the president. we stray further and further from our democratic ideals and the president's party abets the dictatorial power grab of trump. we who oppose the current course of the country must hope that the next election will bring an end to this madness and that republican control of the senate and presidency will see its last days.
may we work so that all may live in a world where kindness and love towards one another is the rule, rather than cruelty and hatred. may we build bridges between us, not walls. may we resist the siren call of racial and religious divisions and see that we are all human beings first. may we learn to disagree amicably while condemning in the strongest terms the hatreds which separate us into warring camps. may we provide help and comfort to those who suffer regardless of the color of their skins or the language they speak. shalom.
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