Sunday, November 4, 2018

May the light push back the darkness

I have many conservative friends, and I trust that most of them are not overt racists and I hope they are impervious to the darkest energies coming out of the woodworks in this election - Trump and many Republican candidates are not sending out racist dog whistles that can only be heard and responded to by the racists they are messaging, but rather they are sending out loud trumpet calls of overt racism to play to the hardcore Trump supporters, far too many of which are hard core right wing anti-semites and racists.


The ridiculous false claims that the caravan of refugees fleeing poverty and violence in Central America to seek asylum in America includes Isis and hard core drug criminals is just an overt message to those who fear brown people to vote Republican who also fear brown people.

The astonishing voter suppression in Georgia and Kansas and other Republican strongholds is an echo of voter suppression in the Jim Crow south.  There is not even an attempt to hide the racism in these efforts.



When the Republican candidate, Desantis, for governor in Florida says that voters shouldn't "monkey this up" by electing a black man, there is nothing subtle about that racist message to his base.  And when Trump's Agriculture secretary says that the Florida governor's race is "cotton picking important" this again is an overt message to anti-black voters.


But, there is so much more to conservatism than racism.  I am very saddened that the avid Trump base is so mired in the darkest places of the party - from racist fears to the darkest and most vile conspiracy theories such as Jews like Soros are trying to replace whites with brown people. 


I have a fervent desire and hope that the forces of light amongst conservatives, and my conservative friends, will be repulsed by these forces of darkness and push back. As many long term and reputable conservatives have said, the only way to defeat the Trumpster darkness is to vote against it.  Indeed, I believe the only way for conservatives to prevail and return the Republican Party to conservatism is to punish this relentless overt racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, isolationist campaign being led by Trump and the Trumpster candidates.


I expect that the forces of light are stronger than the forces of darkness.  And I expect that many Republicans appealing to the darkest energies in the conservative movement will be defeated this Tuesday. 


I certainly hope so, but even if I am pleased with the outcome of this mid-term election, the forces of darkness will still be there. Perhaps electoral losses can be a wake up call for what used to be called compassionate conservatives, and maybe even a wake up call for those in the thrall of the flim-flam leader of the Republican who is temporarily leading the Republican Party.


America has always been a light in the world, and that light is not going to be extinguished by Trump and his appeals to the darkest corners of America.