Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:37 pm
*The following is an opinion column by R Muse*
It shouldn’t surprise any American that a corrupt businessman and megalomaniac who hasn’t contributed anything to America, and yet is poised to wield enormous power over Americans, once again called for implementation of an unconstitutional law; particularly a law the United States Supreme Court has two separate times affirmed is unconstitutional. A real American would have known that the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protects both free speech and free expression; particularly if freely expressing oneself is setting fire to a piece of tri-colored cloth made in China. What Trump’s call for jail time and/or loss of American citizenship for burning an American flag accomplished was not only demonstrating his abject ignorance about America or its Constitution but his blatant hypocrisy.
One man, a neo-con Republican and former George W. Bush speechwriter named David Frum, certainly saw Trump’s hypocrisy and posted a little query on his Twitter account asking a very prescient question. Mr. Frum asked by way of Tweet,
“If flag burning merits loss of citizenship, what should be the penalty for a Nazi salute by a Trump supporter?”
Of course, Mr. Frum, who defended this author several years ago regardless being on opposite ends of the political divide, has a good point. A point that would be lost on someone like Trump or his racist, Nazi and bigoted supporters; free expression, and free speech, are both protected and extended to all Americans and not just dirty Donny’s acolytes. However, Frum’s point doesn’t go far enough and the real question is why aren’t more Americans demanding Trump’s loss of citizenship for un-American activities? Activities, by the way, that are far and above more unpatriotic, and some would say treasonous, than any imaginable form of free expression or speech.
Frum could and should have asked: What should be the penalty for collusion with a hostile foreign power to interfere with America’s government? Or, does appointing a maniac who has twice called for armed rebellion against the United States government to lead the Department of Homeland Security warrant loss of citizenship? Or does being a sworn law enforcement officer and again calling for armed revolution against the United States fit Trump’s standard for citizenship revocation?
These are acutely more valid reasons to revoke citizenship or earn jail time than burning cloth, and that includes Trump’s suggestion that his 2nd Amendment cohort could regulate the wrong leader who might nominate the wrong Supreme Court justice; something tantamount to calling for rebellion against the government. Obviously, even with an African-American man in the White House, most Americans would likely think that if any act should warrant citizenship revocation, it would be giving aid and influence over America to a foreign government, or inciting other malcontents to arm up in revolt against America.
If anyone in America warrants having their citizenship revoked, it is Donald Trump; but like all Americans who aren’t naturalized, once a citizen, always a citizen, and it is too bad in Trump’s case. First, for at least the past two decades the corrupt filthy rich cretin has not contributed anything to the general welfare of the country he will soon tyrannize; in fact has taken more from just one state government than the majority of Americans earn in a lifetime of toil and sweat. Add to that, Trump conspired with China, in secret deals no less, to kill thousands of rust belt aluminum and steel manufacturing jobs out of sheer greed. Greed, by the way, that earned him millions he did not pay taxes on and clearly helped China nearly wipe out America’s aluminum industry. Trump’s supporters will say he is a good businessman, and although it is true that raping American jobs and aiding a foreign nation’s industrial complex is not illegal, but it damn sure isn’t very American. Still, American or not, cheating Americans out of jobs and income is simply not enough to warrant Trump’s citizenship revocation or jail time; or both.
What should be considered a crime against America is inviting honest-to-dog (alt-right) Nazis into the highest level of government, colluding with an adversarial foreign government, Russia, against America’s government and interests, or even considering as the next head of Homeland Security an extremist cop who not only supported Cliven Bundy’s sedition, he called for rebellion against the American government, as recently as October prior to the election. It is, in some sense, good that no American can ever have their citizenship revoked; even revoking a naturalized citizen’s “citizenship” is extremely rare and probably really good news for Trump’s wife.
It is too bad, however, that there are no paths to revoke a clearly un-American man’s citizenship regardless he is set to lead the nation. No matter how one frames it, in the same sense that many Americans claimed that House and Senate Republicans were traitors for conspiring with foreign nations (Israel and Canada) against American interests, Trump has done far worse including colluding with Russians, going to Washington with Nazi strategists as advisors, and an “oath breaker” who calls for an armed rebellion against the United States; all things no “real American citizen” would ever consider.
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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