The anger is in the air in the United States of America. It is frightening. It pits neighbour against neighbour and family against family. It seems to have something to do with a statue and yet has nothing to do with the statue.
It reminds me in some ways of a silly argument we had in Toronto years ago about a statue of King Edward VII. It was purchased at a very reasonable price in India—which was getting rid of symbols of the British era—and shipped to Toronto as a gift to the city by local businessman Harry Jackman.
Oddly enough, Mr. Jackman was not really much of a monarchist. He is believed to have thought the statue was of a damn fine horse. And if you can ever find the statue in the park behind the Ontario Legislature, you will agree: that is one damn fine horse. The guy astride the horse has been dead for more than 100 years and is a quite minor historical figure.
But I am not too sure that the American South needs to get rid of all the statues and monuments to the dead of the American Civil War. I can appreciate those who revile the symbols and flags of that war but it is the racism and bitterness that needs to be expunged first.
There is no question that the ascendency of Mr. Trump to the White House has encouraged American Nazis, skin heads and the new Alt-right movement. These white supremacists are emboldened and reflect the anger that Trump played on to win the election. If he keeps on scratching at that itch, it could easily rise up to destroy him.
But there is no “Alt-Left.” There are just people who are angered and revolted by Mr. Trump’s equivocation and the brazen ignorance of his followers. The most serious problem is that these people are prepared to believe anything. They are but a blunt instrument for the destruction of the Republic. Turned loose and encouraged, they resort to base instincts.
When Donald Trump was asked to help ease the problem, he did the opposite. He spread the blame to the people reacting to the white supremacists. This leaves the country in the middle of a maelstrom of political and racial origins.
What makes the situation more serious is that there is no leadership among the moderates who could bring some reason. The United States can hardly allow this situation to continue to escalate.
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Copyright 2017 © Peter Lowry
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