Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:38 pm
Republicans are fond of boasting how exceptional America is, but honestly, being a structurally violent society, leading the world in child poverty and hunger, gun deaths, and spending more on bombs than infrastructure or citizens is not exceptional; it is truly pathetic. It is uniquely Republican, but still pitiful. In fact, what is pathetic to a secular humanist is a badge of honor, and a sign of exceptionalism, to conservatives polluted with religious and xenophobic hatred against non-white non-Christian human beings. There was, and the operative word is was, one area that America was at one time indeed exceptional among the world’s nations, but Republicans and their dirty bigoted followers have crusaded tirelessly to extinguish it once and for all.
America’s only real exceptionalism, an open door to immigrants, was set in bronze as an American welcome to refugees penned by an American poet on a plaque at the foot of the Statue of Liberty. It reads;
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, temptest-tost, to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
Now, not only are Republicans as an organization, and some Democrats, openly rejecting America’s only claim to exceptionalism based on race and religious grounds, they are lurching towards becoming one of the truly exceptional nations in world history; Nazi Germany. This is something Republicans have been actively pursuing and ramping up over the past six years, so sod off to whomever dares cite Godwin’s Law. As Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” and no matter what they are calling themselves, Republicans smell like Nazis.
It is noteworthy that Republicans are going full-on fascist precisely as predicted by ISIS leaders last February, and are driving hard to take it a step farther with an agenda that would make Adolf Hitler proud. It is true that as the GOP frontrunner, Donald Trump is making the most public statements about America adopting Adolf Hitler’s policies targeting non-white non-Christians, but he would not be broadcasting his Nazism without substantial support from far too many Americans.
Last week Trump suggested closing down mosques because this is America where Republicans regard the concept of religious freedom as reserved solely for white Christians. Now his brilliant plan is requiring Muslims to register in a national database and carry identification that marks their religious beliefs. Trump stopped short of following the Nazis’ requirement that Muslims openly display a “crescent moon” patch marking them as Muslims, but it will not be far off because how else can xenophobes identify and attack Muslims based on a national database; they will need a publicly recognizable mark.
Trump defended his Nazism by claiming that to really become the 21st Century’s version of Nazi Germany, America will have to start doing “things that we never did before, and some people are going to be upset about it, but now everybody is feeling that certain things will be done in this country in terms of the enemy. And so we’re going to have to do certain things that were unthinkable a year ago.”
Trump is not alone. Increasingly, Republicans are calling for concentration camps to be built to house Syrian refugees for now; the rest of the American Muslim population will be incarcerated after their mosques are shuttered and they register as “non-Christian” undesirables; like the Jews in Nazi Germany.
Trump also lied profusely saying that announcing that “Refugees are pouring into our great country from Syria. We don’t even know who they are. They could be ISIS. they could be anybody.” He also lied and tweeted
Eight Syrians were just caught on the southern border trying to get into the U.S. ISIS maybe? I told you so. WE NEED A BIG & BEAUTIFUL WALL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2015
Except that according to immigration officials at the southern border, the refugees were not “caught” trying to sneak into America,” or hiding from immigration authorities. The Department of Homeland Security reported that two Syrian families walked right up to the port of entry and presented themselves to Immigration officials (ICE) for regular processing; so much for the Nazi Trump’s wall.
To demonstrate that this Republican outrage is motivated by religious intolerance as much as xenophobia, another evangelical fascist, Ted Cruz went on record “demanding that Muslim refugees be denied admission to the USA while keeping the door wide open for Syrian refugees that are Christians.” Religious freak and Baptist follower of Jesus Christ Mike Huckabee lashed out at new House Speaker Paul Ryan and said “if Speaker Paul Ryan will not lead and reject the importation of those fleeing the Middle East, he needs to step down today and let somebody else lead.” Too bad for the “follower of Christ” that Adolf Hitler is long dead, but Ryan stepped up and dutifully obeyed the evangelical demand to keep the dreaded “imported products” out of the fascist America.
As much as one wants this once-welcoming nation to accept beleaguered Syrian refugees who are victims of American’s aggression towards Muslims in Iraq, they should know that this country is embracing Nazi Germany’s fascism and Adolf Hitler’s tactics against the Jews. Republicans are openly targeting human beings, citizens and immigrants alike, because they are not white Christians; Hispanic immigrants are indeed Christians, but they are the wrong color.
It is difficult to imagine what kind of citizen is proud to be an American after the nasty xenophobia and Nazi rhetoric over the past couple of months, especially with the increasing support Republican religious bigots are garnering from truly cowardly Americans. No doubt the anti-Muslim adherents are proud to be Americans no matter how cruel and barbaric they and their leaders are, but it does not make them proud Americans or exceptional, just Nazis in America targeting Muslims instead of Jews.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn't look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
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