I guess it’s all right for self-proclaimed conservatives to proclaim their love for the United States of America; everyone buys into it.
However, when a self-proclaimed socialist, a progressive politician does so, critics cast those proclamations into doubt; socialists cannot love this country, they declare, because they want to “destroy” it.
Donald Trump has gone to rhetorical war against four women who serve in the U.S. House. They’re all progressives. One of them is an avowed socialist. They’re all fighting back. They’re freshmen lawmakers, having just bee elected in 2018. They are Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (the aforementioned socialist), Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar. Three of them were born in this country; Omar was born in Somalia but emigrated here when she was 12.
Trump said they all could return to the country of origin if they didn’t like it here.
AOC, though, spoke quite openly Monday of the “love” she feels toward this country and toward all Americans. Her statement flew right over the heads of those who weren’t about to listen to her.
How do we allow this to happen? How do we allow right-wing ideologues to get away with (a) proclaiming their love of country without qualification and (b) doubting left-wing ideologues’ proclamation love of country.
The president said the four women are free to leave if they “hate” this country. To be fair, he didn’t say they must leave, only that the door is open to them to depart if that was their desire.
It’s still a mindless comment, born of ignorance of the principle of dissent and discord under which the nation’s founding fathers crafted this republic.
These women do not “hate” this country, in my humble view. Their hatred is focused on the policies being espoused by the president of the United States. Specifically, they hate the separation of immigrant children from their parents and they damn sure hate the squalid conditions under which those children are being detained.
Demagogues such as Donald Trump, though, will have none of that. Instead, they level personal blasts at their foes and turn their words inside out.