This campaign season and events during the last eleven months have forced me to look at my beliefs and compare them to those of other Americans. Because I am an original ‘baby boomer,’ I was expected to be a patriot. I was required to offer unquestioning loyalty to my country. My father, and my uncles had just defeated the most horrific man in history. National pride was expected from all of the American people.
Born in 1946 I was raised by a family. We were not allowed to refrain from attendance at family gatherings. When I was very young I heard and understood the sacrifices required to defeat Nazi Germany, Japan, and their allies. When I reached school age, I was proud to recite the ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ every morning before classes began. I believed the words of that oath, and I felt secure in my assumption that all Americans joined me in those beliefs. It was only when I was in my late teenage years when I learned that I was uninformed. Many of our nation’s citizens did not share the values I had learned.
I grew up in Los Angeles, California. I was completely unaware of the differences throughout our nation. My awakening occurred when I entered the United States Air Force in 1964. My basic training was in Texas, and then I was sent to “technical school” in Gulfport Mississippi. We traveled by bus. When we stopped in Louisiana for food and the use of a restroom, I was slapped in the face. There was a sign next to the sign pointing towards the restrooms. It crudely stated “N***ers in Back.” Was I to understand that my fellow Airman who were black could not use the same restroom I would use?
Without offering every detail of my time in Mississippi, I will tell one more story. Three of my friends and I received a ‘pass’ to go into town. One of them had a car. As we returned to the base, gunshots sounded from behind our vehicle. One of our friends was black.
As time went by, and I thought about what I had experienced in an alternate America, I was disheartened. Of course I had seen what was happening in the south, but to physically experience this extreme hatred was entirely different.
Why am I writing this? For a very important reason. This year’s election will move our nation forward or backwards, depending on who wins on November 8th. Under the direction of new “spin doctor,” Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump is attempting to make the American people forget about the last year.
Trump has proven by his own words that he is a racist, a bigot, a misogynist, and a xenophobe. Conway claims that Trump will now speak in black churches; where was he one year ago? At a single rally Trump shouted out: “Where is my African American?”
Conway attempts to misdirect the truth about Trump by using his tactic of attacking Hillary Clinton.
America will never be a great nation as long as one person is a racist. America cannot claim greatness if our president fails to support all of the Constitution. Our nation’s leader must be ‘color blind,’ and support religious freedom for all Americans. Our president must be a supporter of the working class, and shun the one-percent. Trump’s tax plan proves that he favors the wealthy.
America is not an easy nation. Our country is more diverse than any other nation in the world. Because there will be healthy disagreements, we accept dissention, but those disagreements cannot contain anger or create fear.
Patriotism does not require loyalty to our government; worship for a flag; or unquestioning dedication to all of the laws created by Congress. Patriotism is respect for the ideal which is the America founded by our forefathers. Patriotism is exhibiting dissent when one group is suffering a loss of freedom; when one section of our citizens faces anger and hatred from others. Whether they be black or Muslim, all Americans must receive equal treatment and equal protection under the law.
Only when all of the American people use intellect instead of emotion; when they all believe in the Constitution and its guarantees of equal protection under the law; when they support individual freedoms for everyone; only then will our nation move towards ‘greatness.’
Op-Ed
By James Turnage
Follow me on twitter; @jamesturnagenov
The Truth With No Restrictions 