As Americans, we need to start listening, to start reading, to start asking questions, and to start participating in the drama that is unfolding before us. Only we can save our country.
The president did not celebrate Juneteenth. Here is a quote from the reason he gave: “… too many holidays … businesses are losing billions …” All the shops where I live were opened!
Contrast his words with the fact that he spent approximately $50 million of our tax dollars presumably to honor the military or maybe to celebrate his 79th birthday which happens to be on the same date.
He has shown, either his ignorance of Juneteenth and American history, or his total disregard for the African American people.
Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the U.S. and is now a national holiday in our country — the USA. It is about slavery, racism and what we should know about the skin colors that surround us.
We are looking at a showman who is not very educated, who by his words and actions have proven that he has no knowledge of the U.S. Constitution, and disregards the Supreme Court and the rule of law. He is a one-man show and his words are law.
How did the U.S. get to this bottomless pit?
Timothy Snyder in his book “The Road to Unfreedom,” sheds light on the making of this ego-centric person.
On page 222, “Russia’s Boy … ‘The Apprentice’ was natural training for the future president … hiring and firing … the show was a ruthless oligarchy … people’s future depended on a single man broadcasting unreality.”
Strange, the resemblance between the fictional character in The Apprentice and the real-life character in the Oval Office. Or maybe not so strange. Leopards cannot shed their spots!
Here are seven quotes from Timothy Snyder’s book which help to put our present government in perspective:
- “Democracies die when people stop believing that voting matters — that elections are not free and fair.” (We must get people to the polls.)
- “Trump said he would reject the vote if he did not win the 2016 election.” (Did he really win the 2016 election?)
- “Trump opposes the masses and supports the elite.” (We are witnessing this right now.)
- “Donald and his anonymous acquisition of wealth.” (Which no one ever questions, and which Snyder details in his book.)
- “Enmity abroad is necessary for control at home.” (Do we still have friends abroad? Do we, the people, still have control at home?)
- “A fascist says, … the people … and means … some people … those he favors at the moment.” (You cross a fascist and you are out the door. TRUE?)
- “America requires both forms of equality — racial and economic — or it will have neither … if it has neither … American democracy will come to an end.” (We are responsible for our democracy.)
In a few words, Timothy Snyder has asked every thinking American about where we came from, where we are and where we are going.
Whether we accept and celebrate Juneteenth, it is part of where we came from, who we are. We cannot turn back the clock, but we can correct the moment in which we live. Are we happy with this moment in American life?
One of the government’s new rules is to arrest 3,000 people per day and deport them. And then we have birth right citizenship. Marco Rubio is legal on American soil by virtue of being born to Cuban immigrants.
Reading Snyder’s book has put the past six months on U.S. soil in perspective. It is not what our country can do for us at this juncture, it is what we can do to save our country, our democracy from sinking into anarchy — one-man rule. We are responsible!
Our three branches of government are collapsing before us with our eyes open. Are we so helpless that we cannot — at least — try to save our democracy? Whatever happened to checks and balances?
As Americans, we need to start listening, to start reading, to start asking questions, and to start participating in the drama that is unfolding before us. Only we can save our country.
And remember, he did not celebrate Juneteenth this year. Will he be skipping MLK celebrations next year?
Evelyn Uddin-Khan