America, we need a reality check

opinions

December 10, 2015 - 12:00 AM

The Republican Party should do itself a favor and eject Donald Trump from the party’s roster of presidential candidates.
Its justification?
Trump is not only tanking the party’s image, but also that of the United States with his most recent antic, a call to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
As of this morning, more than 400,000 Britons had signed a petition to bar Trump from entering the United Kingdom. Because the petition had gathered more than 100,000 signatures, it now must come before Parliament.
A U.S. candidate for president is persona non grata in the land of our strongest ally. Unheard of.
If that’s the case in England, imagine how those in countries with Muslim majorities — the Middle East, northern Africa, Indonesia, India — feel that someone as polarizing as Trump is currently the Republican front-runner.
Simply said, it’s against the U.S. Constitution to discriminate against one because of their religion, and though over the course of history we’ve not always been successful, it’s a goal. Singling out Muslims and persecuting them for their faith should not be something for which to aspire.
Leaders around the world are condemning Trump’s demagoguery.
And here at home? It’s entertainment.
Trump’s fear-mongering tirades, irreverent manner and bully tactics are a perfect fit to reality TV.
America, we need a reality check. We need to take seriously the damage that someone like Trump — as well as other candidates who espouse such hate — could incur if he or she were president of the United States.

IT STARTS with the Republican National Committee and its director, Reince Priebus, to say the RNC will not tolerate such outright xenophobia and those who promote it.
Entertaining or not, Trump and his ilk should not be the face of the GOP, and certainly not of the United States of America.
— Susan Lynn

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