COLLINS: The battle is on
MY FAMILY TOLD ME my original title for this commentary was too far over the top. It was along the lines of, “If you’re not a bigot, white or a right-wing Christian, if you’re a minority of any kind, opposed to dictatorial power, or against the destruction of democracy and you’re not an elitist out for only their own good, why the hell would you want to be an American?”
After one week as president, Donald Trump has done enough damage to set the USA — or just the ‘SA’ — into a tailspin that may well change the world order. When you have a man who seems to be out to set an agenda that is full of vengeful ideas, particularly against long-time friends who have stood by the U.S. for hundreds of years, against migrants who came to be part of a new vision, curtailing the rights of women, attacking transgender citizens and their right to live the life they choose, to blame other countries for the drug crisis and ignore their own role — the list is endless. I haven’t even touched upon the desecration of rights for those who work in government services and favouring criminals who supported Trump when he tried to overturn the vote in 2020.
Yesterday, we started Black History Month. A directive issued last week and viewed by reporters from the Wall Street Journal seems to indicate that, with the president’s move to dismantle the offices dedicated to diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI), events like Black History Month will be downgraded in importance. If that turns out to be true, it will be a precursor to the rise of dictatorship and the fall of democracy in the Western World.
I have relatives and close friends who are American. I regret having to speak negatively about the country they live in, about having to tell them their national anthem needs to be shortened. It seems obvious to me that the words, “land of the free and the home of the brave” are no longer relevant.
