No, This is NOT Who We Are
There is a phrase being used with increasing frequency these days in regard to the deplorable state of our nation, this treasonous “pResident”, and those who support his policies: ”This is now who we are”.
It is a term uttered all-too-often of late – usually with a sense of resignation, as though the demise of who we are as Americans is a fait accompli and accepting of the idea that true patriots have been replaced by bigots, racists, thugs and bullies – and we should all just adapt to this new reality.
No. Trump and those who support him are NOT who we are. They never have been, and never will be.
Who we ARE is the people who rescued their neighbours during Hurricane Harvey, sometimes risking their own lives to do so. We are the people who emptied our pockets to assist our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico. We are the people who perform acts of kindness every day – from the cop who shaved a homeless man so he’d look good for a job interview, to the kid who stopped to help an elderly woman he saw struggling to get up a flight of stairs; from the woman who pays for a stranger’s groceries when they can’t cover their purchase, to the man who takes off his new shoes and gives them to a man he sees walking barefoot in the cold and rain.
We are the lawyers who are working pro bono for parents who were separated from their children at the border. We are the restaurateurs who feed the homeless in their neighbourhood. We are the business owners who hire the down-and-out because we believe that everyone deserves a chance to show who they can be. We are the people who hear the plight of others and act to help them; we are the people who encourage others to speak out when many voices are needed in order to be heard, and to act when words are not enough.
There are people living among us who we now know to be racists and bigots. They have outted themselves, emboldened by a “pResident” who promotes division and violence. They are anti-science, anti-facts, anti-truth, and against the very principles our nation was founded upon. They are homophobes, xenophobes and misogynists. They are ill-informed and often proudly illiterate. They are easily-manipulated, easily-misled, and easily triggered to react with violence rather than reason.
They cheer when migrant children are locked in cages. They applaud when their elected representatives gut funding for programs that feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, care for the sick and dying. They are ecstatic when their “pResident” insults our allies and praises our enemies. They ignore the constant lies and instead latch onto the divisive rhetoric of a con-man and vow to “take their country back” from anyone who refuses to swallow the Trump kool-aid.
They are NOT us. They are NOT “who we now are”. They are a small minority of loud-mouthed idiots in the throes of a demented cult leader and his propaganda-spewing enablers. They are a collection of social misfits who have neither the intellect nor the guts to stand-up to tyranny, and instead blindly embrace it.
They don’t represent “who we are” any more than they represent intelligence, clear thought, or common sense. They don’t represent “who we are” any more than a hate-spewing bigot or racist represents American values. They don’t represent “who we are” any more than a self-serving madman represents the principles the vast majority of us still hold as sacrosanct – the very principles that madman is trying to destroy.
Promoting the idea that “This is now who we are” is as appalling as it is dishonest. It is a flag of surrender, an abandonment of everything we have always been – and continue to be – in order to normalize the abnormal and lead the citizenry to simply accept defeat.
Who we now ARE is who we’ve always been – and those who tell you otherwise have already decided to go along to get along.
"This is now who we are" is the bleat of the Judas goat. He instinctively knows that he's leading you to the slaughterhouse - but he's also acutely aware that he will be spared if he delivers you to the intended destination.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Well said! 
