Marian Turski, a Holocaust survivor, said, “Auschwitz did not fall from the sky. It began with small forms of persecution of Jews. It happened; it means it can happen anywhere. That is why human rights and democratic constitutions must be defended.”
Donald Trump’s appeasement of Russia and Vladimir Putin is horrific. What is even more horrific is the fact that Americans willingly voted for Trump’s second term, knowing what was in store.
When the majority of a population willingly votes their rights away, it’s the beginning of the end.
Women for Trump: Oh, please take away my reproductive rights and then body shame me. African Americans for Trump: Oh, please normalize discrimination, make me invisible and wipe out any mention of slavery from our history. Working people for Trump: Oh, please tariff me to death and then tell me what a loser I am for not being able to take care of my family. Latinos for Trump; beyond my comprehension: Oh, please steal away my children, lock us up and demean us.
We in the North Bay think we have some magical Trump repellent, that nothing can upend our idyllic existence. Whether one realizes it or not, it’s already happening incrementally.
When I look around, I see a population sleepwalking through life. Wake up before it’s too late. Does anyone think it’s a joke when I say that, before too long, citizens will be forced to take a loyalty oath?
Haha.
The joke may well be on all of us.
David Reitman lives in Santa Rosa.
