This year my friend invited me to observe the celebration of the end of the Islamic holiday, Ramadan. As I enjoyed her hospitality and the beautiful expressions of faith that evening, one thing struck me cold: If Trump was elected president, my friends and the people I cared about would be put under intense scrutiny and profiling that hadn’t been seen since J Edgar Hoover was alive.
This chilling thought brought me to the reality of the why I would vote to make sure Trump doesn’t get in office. Some say he doesn’t really believe what he says, that’s it’s all demagoguery in order to garnish votes. It seems to me that Trump doesn’t perceive those who practice Islam as being human. I believe he feels the same about women, people of color and others. He has espoused eugenics long before he ran for president. As I went through the candidate choices, after Bernie was out of the race, I realized Clinton has a stable history overall when it came to interacting with the Islamic community, and she is very respected in foreign policy. The empire of business Donald has built, which he has staked his political reputation on lacks, in every way, the necessary stability to lead in government. I do not want him to lead the country how he has conducted his business, which is what he has promised us.
I am concerned with the leftist worldview, which at this time conflates and confuses integrity with ideological purity. Many leftists need to take some lessons from interfaith communities on how to deal with complex moral dilemmas. Ideological purity can lead to and be conflated with fascism. You become what you dislike. Hillary is called an Imperialist. I will take American Imperialism over American fascism any day of the week. American Fascism stems in no small part from that applying the literal doctrinal views of Christianity in a fallaciously dysfunctional dangerous way to American political ideologies and civil religion.
American fascism disguises itself by wearing a semblance of worshiping the individual. We are recovering from the poisonous, detrimental nature of American Fascism of the past as well as fighting it presently. In the past, it was during times like J Edgar Hoover’s reign and McCarthyism. We are recovering from the poisonous, detrimental nature of American fascism of the past as well as fighting it presently. In the past, it was times like Hoover’s reign. Presently, we fight American fascism in the forms of institutionalized racism. We are also living in a nation in which people are excused for their ignorance in the name of freedom of religion.
My faith is one that recognizes life connects us all past, present and future, and understands the zeitgeist therein. Ignorance makes for neither loving faith, nor wise government. What I do, affects my fellow human beings. There are serious choices to be made. I am choosing to make choices that ensure my friends and the people I love live their lives happily, without fear.
