Once again Donald Trump has alerted the nation to his ignorance. This past Monday, Trump responded to President Barack Obama’s national address regarding the shooting in San Bernardino that killed 14 people. The motives behind the attack are still being investigated, but it is believed that the shooters were ISIS sympathizers.
While Obama advocated for peaceful relationships with American Muslims, Trump suggested that America ban any more Muslims from entering the country. He advocated for not only barring Muslims from getting visas, but stopping even tourists from entering the country.
His comments have sent a ripple of conversation about religious freedom all over the nation.
This kind of behavior is outrageous. It is also dangerous. Who is Trump to decide who is eligible to enter the country or not? Who is he to incite fear against Muslims? Creating fear in our citizens is not what politicians are supposed to do. Their responsibility is to keep us assured and safe.
For someone who constantly preaches “make America great again,” he seems to have forgotten what America is.
We are a country that is based on the premise of freedom of religion. How can an American presidential candidate dismiss the greatness and freedom that this country was set up around? How many people are not holding his words against him?
When the Founding Fathers set up the Constitution, the idea wasn’t “freedom for religion, sometimes” or “freedom of religion, but only for Christians.” Muslims seeking a home in the United States are not subject to extra scrutiny for their religion. That is discriminatory and directly violates the Constitution.
Trump is no stranger to attacking Muslim Americans. Earlier this month, Trump advocated for creating a national database of Muslims living in America. While he has since tried to distance himself from that interview, his words still ring with the fear of the past.
The last political figure to ask that members of a religion identify themselves, started with a patch and ended with 6 million dead. Watch yourself, Trump. It is a slippery slope. Appealing to people’s fears is one of the fastest ways to get them on your side, no matter how illogical or unconstitutional the move is.
ISIS wants Americans to fear Muslims. When people are in fear, they act out in violence. We cannot alienate Muslim Americans. We would be inciting the same fear that ISIS is capitalizing on. The answer is never to isolate people. Isolation creates discrimination, which leads to violence.
Trump either fails to see what is wrong with his ideas, or he is not so subtly imposing his xenophobic agenda. The scary part is that it is working. Trump is still leading in the polls for the Republican candidacy. His constituents say that they appreciate this “honesty.” In reality, they appreciate his capability to make racist, sexist and xenophobic comments in public.
Trump seems to have a wild card that he plays often. Call this the billionaire card. Being rich has given Trump the power to be able to say the things to which the xenophobic portion of the country can relate.
One of the last times that America caved into this xenophobic behavior, we set up internment camps for Japanese Americans. We were on the wrong side of history then.
Let us not be on the wrong side of history again. Do not let fear mongers like Trump convince the nation to hate the communities that make us who we are — the people who make America great right now.