Editor’s note: This commentary is by Teddy Waszazak, who is a city councilor in Barre. It was first published in The Times Argus.
[A]s a city councilor, I try to keep my focus squarely on the city, to do the job that I was elected to do. However, I feel both compelled and obligated to speak up. I believe that I have an obligation to use my privilege and whatever platform that I possess to speak out against injustice and bigotry.
Many of us have known since the beginning of his candidacy that Donald Trump is emotionally, temperamentally, morally, and physically unfit to serve as president of the United States. His history of misogyny, shady business practices leading to bankruptcy, sexual assault, and racism are all well-documented and well-known. I have been actively protesting and fighting back against this man with everything I have since Jan. 21, 2017. I only regret not starting sooner, and I will have to live with that.
This past weekend, Trump sank to yet another new low. In a direct appeal to the racists and white supremacists who have been holding up his base of support for years, he told four congresswomen of color, who represent some of the most diverse congressional districts in the country, to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” Mr. Trump, these women are from America’s largest cities. Of the four women, three were born in the United States. The fourth is a naturalized citizen, who came here 27 years ago with her father, fleeing war-torn Somalia. Mr. Trump, these four women are Americans. How dare you assume that because someone isn’t white, they are not “from” here. How dare you tell members of Congress that because they don’t look like you, they don’t belong.
Let us not forget that with the exemption of our indigenous brothers and sisters, none of us are “from” this continent. Our ancestors came here from abroad, just like everyone else. Some were kidnapped and trafficked across oceans, some came fleeing violence and hunger, some came seeking a safe place to worship their religion. Millions flock to this country today, for these same reasons. To imply that those who are not white do not belong here is un-American. It is bigotry, it is white supremacy, and it must be called out. The Statue of Liberty calls for the huddled masses who yearn for freedom. Ellis Island accepted all people, even those with no documentation or no family. Once you become a citizen of this country, either natural born or naturalized, you are an American. This is the secret to our greatness and ability.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez represents New York’s 14thCongressional District and was born in the Bronx.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley represents Massachusetts’ 7thCongressional District and was born in Cincinnati.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib represents Michigan’s 13th Congressional District and was born in Detroit.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, was born in Somalia, and became a U.S. citizen in 2000. She has lived in the United States since 1992, when she came here at 9 years old.
These four congresswomen of color are intelligent, strong, patriotic, proud Americans. Their stories are the stories of America. These four members of Congress understand what it is to be an American more so than Donald Trump could ever imagine. This is not a matter of politics or policy. I’ve respected and found common ground with many Republicans, from Dwight Eisenhower to John McCain. This is a matter of who we are going to be as a nation. Under Lincoln, we strove to be a nation of freedom and equality under the law. Theodore Roosevelt sought for the U.S. to be a nation of fairness and of an equitable economy. Ronald Reagan dreamed of us achieving the status of the “City Upon a Hill.” This president, and this administration, and this Republican Party, are actively destroying all of that.
Instead of administering equal justice, this administration seeks out the “other,” and vilifies them. This president tells Americans, to go back to where they came from because they criticize him. He does this when and because they are women, he does this when and because they are people of color. He does this because to him, those who are not like him, are not Americans. Donald Trump wants to be the president of a white-washed America. He is the only president in modern history whose goal is to divide us, rather than unite us. He has committed crimes against humanity by ripping children from their parents, he has violated international law by criminalizing asylum seekers, he has committed impeachable offenses.
I never thought that I would hear the president of the United States tell members of Congress to leave the country if they disagree with him. I never thought we would be separating children from their families. I never thought that after doing the same things to Japanese-Americans in the 1940s, that we would once again have concentration camps in the United States, but here we are.
Friends, we are closer to fascism and authoritarianism than we realize. I believe that history will judge us by what we did in our lives while these atrocities were taking place in our name. I want my record to show that I did everything I could to stand against these crimes and those committing and enabling them. I want to work to build the America that is promised in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. I want history to show that I stand for an America where everyone is represented, where everyone has a seat at the table, where everyone is respected and listened too.
We must acknowledge that hate crimes in Vermont have risen 177% since 2013, and that 51% of those hate crimes are race-based. We must take responsibility for the fact that our only black female state representative was forced to resign her office due to threats from a white supremicist. We have to face the facts of implicit bias and white supremacy, before we are destroyed by them. Wealth does not trickle down, but hatred does. It is trickling constantly from the White House, and we can see the consequences of that hatred right here in Vermont. It is the duty of every American to vote against Donald Trump in 2020, before it is too late.
Roosevelt said that patriotism means a dedication and love to your country, not its president. I am deeply and passionately patriotic. I will not stand for a president who is a bigot, a misogynist, a criminal, a man who lost the popular vote by 3 million votes. I stand for the America of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressely, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib. Of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Little Rock 9. I stand for Mother Jones, for the immigrants, and our LGTBTQIA+ brothers and sisters. I reject this bigotry, I condemn this president, and I ask all of us to look within ourselves, to find our national morality, and to work together to be a nation that represents and welcomes all of us.
