You, Me, Trump, Christopher Columbus

…and 115 countries

Today’s newsletter is mostly a confession, or maybe just an explanation. But writing about race and adhering to the mission of the Civil Conversations Project has actually become more difficult in this second Trump era, hence, you haven’t been hearing from me quite as often.

The mission of these newsletters has always been to inform…to help Americans understand both how deeply race is cemented into the foundation of America and how harmful it is to average, every-day Americans of all skin tones.

When Trump was first elected – to my great surprise and to my great disappointment in my fellow Americans – I would occasionally ask people that I knew how they could vote for a racist. Mostly people said either that they didn’t know or that they just didn’t think racism was much of a thing in America anymore. They were wrong.

So the job that I and The Civil Conversations Project board assigned to me and the organization was, mostly through writing, to help people see America’s Thing With Race and to help them understand the harm it causes the country. I used to have a friend who would angrily say that the only reason I see so much racism is that I look for it. But I don’t look for it. It’s just right there in front of us for all to see. You don’t need to pull back the covers. But it’s been there – everywhere - for so long, that it’s become disguised as simply being a normal and acceptable part of the American landscape. It’s not.

The job that I did not get assigned was to simply rant. I also was not assigned to point out the obvious. And neither was I assigned the role of political commentator. So I try to do none of the above. And that brings us around to my Trump dilemma. Trump’s made it hard to breath by using up pretty much all of the oxygen for a long time, and certainly since January 20^th when he started signing executive orders. And unless you’ve chosen to not read the news – understandable – you know that a vast amount of those orders have been intended to remove all mention of race; remove all attempts to level the playing field; create the illusion that all Americans have the same shot at the brass ring. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has taken a beating.

But he’s also done at least part of my job for me. America’s Thing With Race is no longer subtle. It’s not a secret that America elected a racist. It’s not a secret America’s Thing With Race is harmful to America. Who knew that the social contracts under which we all live could so easily be torn apart? Who knew that so many Americans would cheer? Who knew that the leaders and titans of our homeland would bend the knee and worship at the altar of a racist? Well, now we all know. So my assignment has changed a bit and honestly, I’m trying to figure it out. I’m getting there.

On Friday, Alan Rappeport and Tony Romm of the New York Times reported that the Republicans’ proposed 2026 budget would slash federal support for “child care, health research, education, housing assistance, community development, the elderly, and foreign aid.” By now, we all know who will feel the most pain from those domestic cuts, and I was only partly surprised that a quick Google search revealed that the 115 countries that receive the largest foreign aid commitment from the United States are populated by Black or Brown people. At least I think they are. I’ve never heard of Lesotho, Burkina Faso, or Eswatini.

And just yesterday Trump announced that he’s “…bringing Columbus Day back from the dead!” I wrote about Columbus – the man that Trump is honoring with a resurrection - and his incredible cruelty towards the brown-skinned indigenous people he found when he “discovered” America.

Christopher Columbus was an inhumane immigrant whom Trump wants to bring back from the dead, yet he seems unable to bring back a living immigrant, Kilmar Ábrego García from an El Salvadoran gulag where he sent him “by mistake.” Isn’t it a mistake to send any people to a notoriously cruel foreign prison?

People seem to be wondering what they can do to save the democracy and the social contract that the Trump MAGA crowd seems intent on destroying in their MAWA quest to – Make America White Again. Two things, find out here who your congressional representatives are and their phone numbers and then call them. Call them every day. It turns out that multiple calls from the same person – you – has the same impact as the same number of calls from multiple people. Don’t bother getting into the weeds of which policy or act you do or do not support. Demand that they oppose every single thing that Trump proposes to do.

And the second thing is this: Fly the American flag. It’s your flag, your democracy, and your country too!

And while I’m restricted from being a political pundit outside matters of race, Heather Cox Richardson has no such restrictions. Yesterday she published some important words about where the country is headed, and why.

And lastly, wandering back to DEI… Ronald Reagan, who was no friend to Black Americans, at least understood the strength of what we now call DEI. In a speech at the White House in July of 1989 he was eloquent: “You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey or Japan, but you cannot become a German, a Turk, or Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America and become an American.

Yes, the torch of Lady Liberty symbolizes our freedom and represents our heritage, the compact with our parents, our grandparents, and our ancestors. It is that lady who gives us our great and special place in the world. For it's the great life force of each generation of new Americans that guarantees that America's triumph shall continue unsurpassed into the next century and beyond. Other countries may seek to compete with us; but in one vital area, as a beacon of freedom and opportunity that draws the people of the world, no country on earth comes close.

This, I believe, is one of the most important sources of America's greatness. We lead the world because, unique among nations, we draw our people -- our strength -- from every country and every corner of the world. And by doing so we continuously renew and enrich our nation.

While other countries cling to the stale past, here in America we breathe life into dreams. We create the future, and the world follows us into tomorrow. Thanks to each wave of new arrivals to this land of opportunity, we're a nation forever young, forever bursting with energy and new ideas, and always on the cutting edge, always leading the world to the next frontier. This quality is vital to our future as a nation. If we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost.”