"I believe that the community is already in process of dissolution where each man begins to eye his neighbor as a possible enemy, where non-conformity with the accepted creed, political as well as religious, is a mark of disaffection; where denunciation, without specification or backing, takes the place of evidence, where orthodoxy chokes freedom of dissent; where faith in the eventual supremacy of reason has become so timid that we dare not enter our convictions in the open lists, to win or lose." Former U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Learned Hand said that in a speech given at New York University in 1952, it sounds apropos for today’s body of politic.
The significant part of the quote that stands out for me, especially in this climate of racial division, that has infested the minds of conservative politicians culminating in the abject cruelty to children is, “…the eventual supremacy of reason…” We have the real potential of aborting women’s rights and pushing them back into the arms of back-alley butchers with a rusty scalpel. I still hold onto the hope of reason for anyone who believes that Donald Trump has read the history of judicial rulings or given real visage to the qualifications of his would-be Supreme Court nominees. This from the man who this week equated NAFTA with NATO, disputed the effectiveness of the WTO, which was formed in 1994, and incidentally has ruled in our favor over 80 percent of the time. Trump is planning a summit with Putin, who installed him as President, canceled joint military exercises with South Korea while North Korea has ramped up its nuclear program, despite his[Trump]make believe agreement.
Do you trust this guy with the judicial future of America, probably for the next 50 years…?
We are caging children and reuniting them with their families with less efficiency than the kid's chain of party restaurants, Chuck E. Cheese. I spoke to my daughter in law, who is the mother of a college sophomore and five other boys, under 16, and asked her about the procedure. You and your party and guest are stamped with numbers when you enter and when you leave an accounting is made. Paraphrasing Donald Trump, I am calling for a halt to child separations until the United States government can tell us, “what the hell is going on, or they place a call to the CEO of Chuck E. Cheese. We are hearing reports and rumors of child sexual and physical abuse, parents permanently losing their children because of a rushed deportation policy, and the government literally hiding young girls and babies from the public,” what the hell is going on.” I pray that these are just hyperbolic stories meant to stoke even more anger and resentment over the policy, but what if even fractions of the reports are true?
Recall the words of Judge Hand…
“…where denunciation, without specification or backing, takes the place of evidence…”
The last time the United States made such an egregious error in judgment was the internment of Japanese-Americans following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. We blemished their reputations, disavowed their loyalty and mitigated the trust of thousands and passed the legacy to their children of, watch your back. History does replay its worse moments and this movie is being looped for at least its 4th showing. Be careful America
Vote in ’18 for Change, and March tomorrow!