When Silence Equals Death

I watched as genocide unfolded in Rwanda almost thirty years ago. News reports and headlines captured the horror and anguish nightly. But by the time the world realized there really was a problem and responded, it was too late. Over two million lives too late.

History has repeated once again in Syria. For five years we have watched cities and lives like our own reduced to rubble. Five years.  Now, the world is finally mobilizing but to what end? The lives we could have, should have saved, are gone. What do we say to the survivors now that we could have said then? 

I was raised with stories of the Holocaust, explained as the pernicious hatred it was and man’s inhumanity to man. Later, I learned about the Armenian Genocide, which was denied for years by Turkey. In both cases, I felt impacted by historic events because of close friendships, and the sobering realization that these people I loved and cared about could have been murdered by hatred.

With Donald Trump now in office, horrible acts are being approved and put into action. I realize people are afraid, and feel powerless. Many fear retaliation if they speak out. And many say what has been said before: this does not affect me; there is nothing I can do; let’s wait and see what happens. 

I won’t let my silence speak for me. I am not live in the US, but I stand alongside my friends and neighbours there. This is a way for me to go on record as saying I decry what Trump stands for, his bigotry, hatred, and dangerously blind need for control. His latest abominations establish his authoritarian regime on the backs of those people who seek asylum and safety.  He is legislating racism and hatred, and obscuring the lessons of genocides past.  This cannot continue, or we face a reign of terror as he ushers in an era of McCarthy-style witch hunts, and actively hunts down and silences those who openly disagree with him.

I have explained to my children that what Trump is doing is wrong. They can see the differences between him and Obama for themselves, and simply put, Trump is not a good person. There is no such thing as “alternative truth” and that he expects his electorate to fall for such garbage is shameful.  Anything he says should be questioned, and challenged. He serves himself and answers to no one. IMHO, he has caused more damage in his first week in office than any president ever has. 

I teach my children to stand up for the rights of those who cannot defend themselves, and to speak out against injustice. Ironically, this now extends to the greatest nation on earth.

 

 

 

I bit my tongue long enough

Trump is in. And we are all going to pay the price.  He is not a heroic leader. He is not a role model for me or my children. He is predictable, until he isn’t. At which point he is volatile.  Neither  bodes well for security. His recent house cleaning removed the experts he needs in place to help him do his job. And with them went their networks, trust, knowledge, experience. Bad business decision. His approach to world affairs will undo decades of what was hard fought to achieve. 

Don’t even get me started on The Wall. That is a metaphor for the man himself: judgemental; biased; dangerously close minded; blind to the errors of his own ways; willing to alienate others in reckless pursuits. I don’t want to see happen what he proposes to bring in. 

God bless America.