How
do we talk to our friends who support Trump? We want to believe that
our friends support Trump despite, not because of, his racism and
anti-Semitism. Otherwise, we could not be friends with them. We should
test that belief by asking them to think about the damage Trump is doing
to the soul of this country and about the violence and hatred that his
rhetoric has unleashed.
Trump has given us nothing on gun safety. Nothing on climate change. Nothing on access to affordable, quality health care. No strategy on Iran. Nothing for the middle class and those aspiring to the middle class. Nothing but tax breaks for those who least need or deserve it, separating families, caging detainees in inhumane conditions, abdicating American leadership abroad, palling around with dictators, and making America safe again for racism and bigotry.
Trump has given us nothing on gun safety. Nothing on climate change. Nothing on access to affordable, quality health care. No strategy on Iran. Nothing for the middle class and those aspiring to the middle class. Nothing but tax breaks for those who least need or deserve it, separating families, caging detainees in inhumane conditions, abdicating American leadership abroad, palling around with dictators, and making America safe again for racism and bigotry.
If your friends
are not racists, ask them what on the other side of the ledger outweighs
Trump's racism and bigotry. Their own tax cuts and maybe less threat of
regulatory red tape for their businesses? Our country doesn't always
live up to its ideals, but Trump is undermining the ideals that are the
raison d'etre of America, and that should be more important than any
policy disagreement with a Democrat. They might not want Medicare for
All, but it's not immoral or racist. Ideals can't always be counted in
dollars, but we lose our humanity when ideals lose their value.
Trump's moving the embassy to Jerusalem and recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights did nothing to make Israel safer or more secure and probably made Israel less safe by making a two-state solution harder, but if your friends can appreciate the symbolism of these gestures, ask them to think of the symbolism of Trump's racist rhetoric. The difference is that while his rhetoric on Israel has yielded no tangible benefit, his racist rhetoric has cost American lives, including Jewish lives in Pittsburgh and Poway. Jews feel less safe and secure under Trump, and so should all Americans.
Steve Shelley, Pro-Israel Chicagoland Blog
Trump's moving the embassy to Jerusalem and recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights did nothing to make Israel safer or more secure and probably made Israel less safe by making a two-state solution harder, but if your friends can appreciate the symbolism of these gestures, ask them to think of the symbolism of Trump's racist rhetoric. The difference is that while his rhetoric on Israel has yielded no tangible benefit, his racist rhetoric has cost American lives, including Jewish lives in Pittsburgh and Poway. Jews feel less safe and secure under Trump, and so should all Americans.
Steve Shelley, Pro-Israel Chicagoland Blog
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