As we move away from July 4, we can’t be silent when we witness wrongs | Opinion
As we continue to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, my prayer is that we will stop the fireworks long enough to give thanks for having survived two-and-a-half centuries, and for the courage to continue to stand for what is good and fair for all Americans.
The story of how we got this far to become a free nation, and the envy of the world, isn’t always pretty. The road to our freedom is stained with the blood, sweat, and tears of the brave men and women who had the courage to fight for the rights of all Americans.
Yes, we’ve made mistakes. But the one thing that has encouraged me all these years is that we have always worked through the shame and wrongdoings to get to where we need to be as a nation.
We have had presidents, who, once they realized that their job was to serve all the people of America, made honorable about-faces to do the right thing. (President Harry Truman, who ordered the U. S Armed Forces to be desegregated, President Lyndon Johnson, who lobbied Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, are two who come to mind.)
I also believe the reason we have survived this long is because, until recently, we never stopped fighting the good fight to become a better nation. During slavery, white citizens came together to fight slavery along with enslaved Blacks, creating an underground railroad where hundreds of slaves found their way out of bondage via Harriet Tubman, a brave Black woman. Generations later, whites died alongside Blacks to abolish Jim Crow laws that said Black citizens were of lesser value than white citizens.
Our presidents have been, for the most part, honorable men.
Until President Trump.
I can’t imagine another president posting a photo on social media portraying a former president and his wife as apes in a jungle, as he did with former President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. (The post was deleted after bipartisan backlash.)
Or make this comment about Obama, which Trump did last month during the Group of 7 Summit in France when he angrily defended his deal to pay Iran to agree to peace: “And you know what the Iranians did? They laughed at Obama, and they said, ‘He’s a stupid son of a bitch,’” The New York Times reported.
Today, we have a president who not only does that, but disparages the importance of the free press and belittles those reporters who are brave enough to ask him the tough questions. He is especially rude and disrespectful to women reporters.
This president has put America on shaky grounds with our allies by spewing out hateful remarks. More importantly, he has thrust our country into an unauthorized war with Iran that could have very serious consequences.. He seems to have thrown honor and respect out the window, so to speak.
While our founding fathers made gigantic mistakes (the mistreatment of Native Americans immediately comes to mind), there always were enough good-hearted people who stood up for what is right.
As our nation embarks on the next 250 years, it is time to take inventory. Is the current America the one we want for our children and grandchildren? Do we want them to think it’s OK the way ICE officials pick up, detain and treat immigrant families, separating babies and young children from parents they might not ever see again?
It is time for our leaders and our elected officials —from the White House to our local communities — to take a stand, people. Hate and bigotry are running rampant.
And it’s time for someone to speak out about the demolishing of our national traditions. Nobody spoke out when the beautiful Rose Garden was torn up and paved over. To me, that was one of the most beautiful ways to remember and honor our former first ladies.
First Lady Ellen Wilson, working with George Burnap, planted the first open-air rose garden at the White House in 1913, according to the White House Historical Association.
Over the years, the garden has been upgraded and made more beautiful. Under the Trump administration, however, the garden has been revamped. In the first term, First Lady Melania Trump removed the crabapple trees planted during the John F. Kennedy Administration and narrowed the lawn by bordering it with a limestone perimeter.
Emboldened during his second term, Trump got rid of the central lawn completely and installed a white limestone patio in its place.
Since the first rose was planted by First Lady Wilson, the Rose Garden was where dignitaries met and where visitors would use its beauty as a backdrop for their photo shoots. It was where receptions were held and where Tricia Nixon, the daughter of President Richard Nixon, was married to Edward Cox in 1971, a historic first.
Speaking of traditions, I don’t recall anyone speaking up when President Trump, during his first term, removed President Obama’s portrait from the Grand Foyer of the White House, where other presidential portraits greeted visitors.
This was another blatant racist move. And the nation looked on quietly. The Obama’s portraits remained in storage until 2022, when President Joe Biden hung them in the East Room of the White House.
I have always loved the way the White House stood out in the landscape of Washington. I am afraid now that time-honored silhouette won’t be recognizable after the current administration is done with it. Already, the East Wing of our house has been demolished to make way for the new addition of a gold-plated ballroom. I can’t help but think: What’s next?
We need to get back to the basics and start honoring our traditions again. We, as Americans, need to look at ourselves in the mirror and admit that we are on the wrong path.
America has come too far to not go forward. Too many great lives have been lost to get us to where we are today. Let us not let the blood of the noble heroes before us be shed in vain.
Let’s not be afraid to call out the wrongs of those who are in public office. We put them there. They should be working for the good of all Americans, not a select few.
So, as we look forward to another 250 years as the world’s greatest nation, let’s work on making things right. God help us if we don’t.