Why do I constantly talk about Donald Trump? Well he is in the news ALL THE DAMN TIME. Do I really think I will change people’s mind about him? Not his fans but maybe some other folks who have not decided yet. So with that in mind I will proceed.
Listen I get it. You think he is a self- made success. You think he loves America. You think he loves you. You are tired of politicians not doing what they say and screwing things up. You feel like you don’t have a voice but Donald is different. He will make it all better. I am not going to refute any of those arguments right now. However, last night he said something that is so egregious and dangerous that if more people do not speak out we will pay a very steep price.
He said, “I think Islam hates us.” http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/09/politics/donald-trump-islam-hates-us/ OMG. This guy very well may be our next president and leader of the free world and he just said 1.5 billion people hate us because their god tells them to hate us. First of all that is nuts but more importantly a responsible person who has lives at risk does not say those things. Well he is telling it like it is. First no, and I will get to that, but second the closer you get to power the more your words matter and the more good and damage they can do. For the love of the god that you are praying to in your effort to scam religious people into voting for you shut the help up Donald!
We know Islam does not hate us. First of all it is just words in a book and like any scripture it is open to interpretation by the people who read it. Do you think 1.5 billion people can agree on very old scripture? They can’t even agree on whether Star Wars the Force Awakens was great or just a rehash of the older movies. Did we all miss the passage where it says and furthermore you must hate the USA? The reality is, in this country, we have Muslim American military service people putting their lives on the line to defend this nation against Islamic terrorists. You need to add the word terrorist. It is important. We have Muslim policeman & fireman who risk their lives to help fellow Americans. We have Muslim doctors who work tirelessly to keep us alive and well. Muslim scientists who look for cures and try to solve problems. Is this the actions of people that hate us?
When he says something like Islam hates us he is putting school kids in danger of being taunted and bullied. We have already seen instances where this is happening because of things Trump says being used against minority kids. And sure the parents need to make sure they are not raising bullies but when the guy who has a very real chance of being president says this type of rhetoric it makes it that much harder to parent. Now we have to say don’t be like the man who may become president. Regardless of party affiliation we used to associate the presidency with something better than rabble rousing, trash talking, and hate speech.
In this country we work with Imams and other Muslim leaders. We need them to come to the authorities if they feel somebody may be radicalized. They need to feel that we trust and value them. Instead, Donald writes off their faith. Why the hell should they come to us now and warn us? I mean Donald said they hate us so let him be right. His mouth is putting every one of us at risk.
Tactically we have military operations and bases in many countries where Islam is the biggest religion…by a lot. We work with them out of shared mutual interest. When they hear that we think they all hate us why should they work with us? Why should they make tough and often unpopular decisions to work with the United States? How can they trust us if we say we don’t trust them? There are foreign nationals imbedded with our military units who work for us. They work as translators or sell goods. Now we have put an even bigger spotlight on them. It is not an easy choice to work with the west and then go back to your village. Often it is dangerous. Our soldiers go into these villages and try and work with tribal leaders. We need them if we want to beat the Islamic terrorists but now with one broad stroke Trump writes them all off. He make it that much tougher for the battalion leader to forge a trusting relationship with the village elders.
If Donald Trump wants to jeopardize his business interests in Muslim countries with his mouth that is his business. He can fold up shop and leave these countries. It becomes a lot more serious when he threatens to tear our country apart from the inside. It becomes a lot more serious when he risks our military goals of defeating Islamic terrorism.
He is not saying it like it is. He is being irresponsible and reckless. He is doing what he has always done. He is putting himself first. We talk about him all the while he continues to make us a little less safe at home and abroad.