Our nation’s motto used to be “E Pluribus Unum,” meaning out of many, one. Different points of view, different ethnicities, different faiths came together in a melting pot to form a uniquely American and a truly wonderful society in an unprecedented experiment. That society hasn’t always been perfect, it has made many missteps, but it strives to constantly improve, and it has indeed drastically improved.
But for some, the melting pot that brought Americans together has been replaced by what former New York City Mayor David Dinkins liked to call the “gorgeous mosaic,” in which what was once an attempt to have a unified nation has been downgraded into a warring collection of tribes separated by race, gender, and anything that disunites Americans from one another.
As a result, the core unifying concepts of America have become subjected to challenge by an intolerant faction. Individuality, the sanctity of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, and the right of the American people to their own culture have been under constant attack.
There is a new national motto promulgated by that intolerant faction. That motto is “Don’t.”
Don’t bring up history, such as how the socialism so beloved by the Left and the uninformed generally ends in tyranny and ruined economies. Don’t confront college students with points of view they may disagree with. Don’t point out the obvious, such as a president who takes cash for no services from his nation’s worst enemy isn’t fit to serve. Don’t question the (official version of) science. Don’t question the logic of keeping recidivist criminals out of jail. Don’t object to the nonsense of saying a man should be allowed to compete in women’s sports or be allowed to use the ladies’ room. Don’t object when the federal government conspires with social media to censor news stories. Don’t disbelieve reporters who say that burning buildings, looting stores, and attacking passers-by is a “peaceful protest.” Don’t protest when the Department of Justice describes parents who want a say in their children’s education, or Christians who believe in traditional values as “domestic terrorists.”
Those who question any of the above will be called a fascist homophobic racist misogynist by both the biased media, and subjected to threats of violence by poorly taught university students and the armed wing of the intolerant faction, Antifa and its numerous unofficial adherents.
Unlike so much else that has been unique in the extraordinary experiment that is America, the intolerance movement bears a sharp resemblance to the extremist movements of the past century. Intolerant groups in several nations overthrew existing governments by using verbal and physical violence to intimidate those who opposed them, and went on to establish nightmare regimes. From the Russian Bolsheviks to the Nazi Gestapo, we have seen political intolerance grow into totalitarian governments repeatedly.
As mayors who subscribe to intolerance have taken control of the nation’s great cities, including New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland and others, these once magnificent metropolises have seen their economies weakened, their citizen’s safety imperiled, and their residents flee to more traditionally American states. Government budgets have swelled but basic services have deteriorated. Schools in those beleaguered locales have failed to adequately instruct pupils. Police officers have retired or transferred elsewhere. Businesses large and small have fled in unprecedented numbers. Far too often, priority has been given to non-American illegal immigrants over the needs of the citizenry. The abomination of providing $400 a night hotel rooms to illegals while homeless veterans continue to suffer is an affront to common sense and common decency.
There is no mystery on how to resolve these dilemmas. Reject the verbal and physical violence perpetuated by the intolerant faction, and return to the principles that made America the greatest political success in human history.
Illustration: Pixabay