Neutrality is Not An Option
by
John J. Dunphy
(Originally published in 8–3–19 The Telegraph of Alton, IL)
Pete Buttigieg has a gift for bluntness. He makes statements that too many other politicians are hesitant to say publicly. In an earlier televised debate between the Democratic presidential candidates, the South Bend, IN, mayor assailed the hypocrisy of Republican politicians who loudly proclaim their Christian faith but fervently support legislation that endangers the lives of the most vulnerable Americans. During the July 30 debate, Buttigieg again demonstrated the kind of political courage that seems to be in short supply these days.
It isn’t enough to take on Donald Trump, Buttigieg noted. We must also “take on his enablers in Congress.” When white supremacist and former KKK leader David Duke ran for governor of Louisiana as a Republican in 1991, Buttigieg reminded us, the Republican party at that time didn’t merely disavow him. “It ran away from him.” Today, however, Republicans “are supporting naked racism in the White House, or at best are silent about it.” No one who follows the news can contest such an assertion. Republican politicians give Trump a free pass on even his most disgusting racist comments.
Buttigieg then looked directly into the TV camera and uttered words that made me applaud. “If you are watching this at home and if you are a Republican member of Congress, consider the fact that when the sun sets on your career and they are writing your story of all the good and bad things you did in your life, the thing you’ll be remembered for is whether you found the courage to stand up to him [Trump] or you continued to put party over country.”
A few Republican politicians, however, indeed have demonstrated the kind of courage of which Buttigieg spoke. The May 12, 2019 edition of The Atlantic included an essay by Andy McKean, a lifelong Republican who served 24 years in the Iowa legislature. McKean announced that he has left the GOP and become a Democrat.
“I believe that it is just a matter of time before our country pays a heavy price for President Donald Trump’s reckless spending and shortsighted financial policies,” McKean wrote. “He delivers personal insults, often in a crude and juvenile fashion…In addition, he frequently disregards the truth and displays a willingness to ridicule or marginalize people for their appearance, ethnicity, and disability.”
McKean believes that Trump has “coarsened political discourse” and contributed “to unprecedented polarization,” which has created “a breeding ground for hateful rhetoric and actions.” Such “unacceptable behavior should be called out for what it is — and Americans of all parties should insist on something far better from the man holding the highest office in the land.”
Buttigieg challenged Republican members of Congress to stand up to Trump. McKean, however, took it a step further and demanded that all Americans resist this hatemongering demagogue. Any American who possess a functioning conscience must vote Trump and his Republican enablers out of office in 2020. However, there’s much we can do in the meantime.
Support the media. Trump slanders it as “the enemy of the people” because it dares to tell the truth about him. Responsible journalists are the guardians of democracy. Our nation couldn’t survive without a free press.
Never let Trump’s hateful rants go unchallenged. When neighbors, friends and family members say that Trump is doing a wonderful job as president, ask them if they agree with his callous dismissal of nations with non-white majorities as “s**thole countries.” Mention Trump’s remark that there “were very fine people on both sides” during the clash between neo-Nazis and other white supremacists with protesters in Charlottesville, NC. Ask whether they agree with Trump that neo-Nazis are “very fine people.”
“We must take sides,” Elie Wiesel said, “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” Justice, equality and compassion are under attack in Trump’s America. Neutrality isn’t an option.
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John J. Dunphy is the author of “Abolitionism and the Civil War in Southwestern Illinois” and “Unsung Heroes of the Dachau Trials: The Investigative Work of the U.S. Army 7708 War Crimes Group, 1945–1947” and “Abolitionism and the Civil War in Southwestern Illinois.”