Some of you may remember that Donald Trump thinks Frederick Douglass, ex-slave-turned-abolitionist, is still alive. Douglass is not only alive, but he is doing “an amazing job.” (I am not sure if any corrected him on this. For the record, Douglass died in 1895).
So I wonder what Trump would think about this passage from Douglass’s “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July”:
“What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?
I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass-fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.”
How unpatriotic. Look–if Frederick Douglass does not love this country he is free to leave.
Our Country is Free, Beautiful and Very Successful. If you hate our Country, or if you are not happy here, you can leave!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2019
Yup.
It looks like Trump is going to use his Twitter feed to attack Douglass after he is done with Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Talib, and Ayanna Pressley. Like the women of “The Squad,” Douglass hates America. This is why he uses such disgusting language.
And while he is at it, Trump should also target William Lloyd Garrison. I hear he is getting more and more attention lately. He burned the Constitution. HOW UNPATRIOTIC! WHEN WILL GARRISON APOLOGIZE TO THE COUNTRY?
John,
You are selectively applying examples to create an unbalanced view of this matter. Protesting actions of the federal, state, and local governments is not necessarily unpatriotic. American citizens of all political stripes have protested since our beginnings in various ways against government overreach and/or abuse. For example, there have been citizens of all persuasions who have refused to pay taxes or to communicate with governmental authorities. Most of these have been on the right in recent years. Their activities are unlawful and in many cases narcissistic, but I would not for a second question the patriotism of these individuals. Being misdirected is not equivalent to being anti-American.
The four freshmen DEM congresswoman fall into a wholly different category. They disparage the very concept of America.
As far as Mr. Douglass, he had a right to be bitter and expressed it in certain writings. ( A number of former slaves also moved to Canada, and I can understand why they did.). The supposed grievances of the new congressional squad of four hardly matches the genuine grievances of Douglass, yet their venom toward the USA far exceeds the measured and reasonable writings of Mr. Douglass. Maybe they would be happier in Canada.
I think a reasonable argument could be made that this President is leading an effort to harm the ideals of America. We are not inspired to become a better people by him. Certainly not a more compassionate people.
James, please have some respect for yourself and others at this blog and stop parroting false partisan narratives based on nothing or misinformation. When you charge that “They disparage the very concept of America,” bring some detailed factual evidence. Your constant unsubstantiated blanket trashing in obedience to your political tribe is dishonest and grating.
You are not the final judge of what is or is not American and, like other things, everybody has an opinion. Some attempt to inform their opinions with factual evidence.
So, at the Trump rally this evening our President looked on as his crowd chanted “send her back”.
Our President, as far as I could tell, did not calm the crowd to explain how wrong that is. He can’t because he had already tweeted and said the same things. He won’t because the future of our country as he evasions it is apparently just that ugly. Or as is often the case he is way too small man to learn and grow or to admit any wrong.
Now cue the excuses and enablers.
Jim in STL,
So Jim, are you saying that you think these four ladies have America’s best interests at heart?
James
Jeff,
I respect the fact that you don’t like Trump’s style; it is indeed different than anything we have had in a national politician in most of our lifetimes. He is not going to please everyone and he is going to annoy many others.
But let’s look at the failed alternatives. John McCain treated Obama with political kid gloves and lost. McCain thought that he had gained respect within the Mainstream Media (MSM) by being a Republican “maverick.” Of course, the last laugh was on him when the election got underway; the MSM backed Obama. Next enters Mitt Romney playing fully by “Hoyle’s Rules of Accepted Political Convention.” Wasn’t Mitt a nice guy and a gentleman toward President Obama and the liberal MSM? Of course, he was.. They then painted him as a rapacious financial robber baron who was cruel to the family dog. Mitt just took it and lost.
Donald Trump is not cut from the same defeatist cloth. I realize you are uncomfortable with his style, but he used it to defeat the Clinton machine abetted by just about every major media outlet in America. Personally, I think he perceptively read the mood of the public which has become cynical about slick, polished, focus-group political figures who promise one thing and do something else once in office.
By the way, his talk in NC last night was hysterical. Show me another current politician who can draw and hold a crowd like he does. For many of us, it is a refreshing change from all of the political robots on the scene.
James, please don’t try to figure out what bothers me about Trump if the best you can do is come up with “his style”.
It is the substance of what he does and how he believes.
American ideals that we would do best to progress towards do NOT allow for chants or declarations that a fellow American Citizen needs to go somewhere else or be sent somewhere else. That, James, is not a matter of “style”. That is a sentiment that is opposed to core values we should best hold.
People should not be suggesting other Americans go “back” or even that perhaps they choose to go to Canada.
Those women aren’t the President, Vice President, Secretary of State and Senate Majority Leader. They are four freshmen members of congress. They speak in a body, and in a Republic where theoretically diverse opinions can be expressed and they get argued and debated.
That is America for you.
I don’t like what Trump thinks or the substance of much of what he writes and says.
The substance, not the “style”.
Nice sleight of hand there. But what about:
“When you charge that “They disparage the very concept of America,” bring some detailed factual evidence. Your constant unsubstantiated blanket trashing in obedience to your political tribe is dishonest and grating.” …?
If I defend them do I disparage the very concept of America? Am I un-American? Does that make me love Al Qaeda? Does that make me anti semitic? Does that make a communist? A socialist? Should I go back to somewhere. Really, inquiring minds want to know.
Jim in STL
,
Your defense of these ladies does not imply that you are a communist, an anti-Semite, a socialist, or an apologist for terrorism. It does, however, say to me that you are a very dogmatic Democrat who is willing to overlook undemocratic and anti-American characteristics in other members of your party. Thus practically speaking, your partisan tolerance might result in the furtherance of unhealthy views.
James
Anyone else notice that “Kill Them All” chants to the exact same rhythm as “Lock Her Up” or “Send Her Back”? How much distance is there from one to the other?
You agree that chants of “send them back” express a sentiment at odds with American ideals? I think there is a really good argument that they do.
Unicorn,
I think you are savvy enough to mark the difference between a crowd’s playful expression and actual public policy. In this case you probably realize that sending the subject back to her country of origin would probably require a change in our laws——something which is not going to happen for several reasons. Unicorn, give the crowd a break. We all need to let off a little steam.
Again. Nice deflection. You continue in unfounded accusations and slurs.
“…undemocratic and anti-American characteristics …”
Name them. Be specific. Lay out your case.
I am neither dogmatic nor a Democrat. You continue to deal in guess work and innuendo.
Bring some facts, some evidence.
Jim in STL,
I would guess that the evidence of your DEM partisanship is seen most clearly in the voting booth. (Of course, your postings on this site also add to the perception.). As far as the voting, however, I doubt you have ever voted GOP. Tell me it ain’t so, Jim. As the old saying goes, are most of us astute enough to pick out the house detective hiding behind the potted plant in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria?