Trump is a fascist

For months now, I have been guilty of quietly sitting on the sidelines like many Americans, shaking my head in disgust at the rhetoric being spewed from Donald Trump and some of the other candidates for the Republican presidential nomination. However, after Trump’s most recent comments, in which he suggests Muslims should be banned from the United States, I have come to realize it is no longer acceptable to disapprove in silence. Trump represents a serious threat to our democracy and our Constitution, and must be vociferously denounced by every patriotic American at every available occasion.
On Tuesday morning, Trump defended his suggestion Muslims should be denied entry into the United States by saying it was “common sense.” Calling it “common sense” is really just a euphemism for mob rule based on fear, misinformation and ignorant hatred of a group of people who are as peace-loving as all (good) Christians. Trump’s singling out of Muslims as the group responsible for mass killings belies the fact that nearly all murders in the United States are perpetrated by neighbors, co-workers and family who have access to legal guns. His anti-Arab, racist rhetoric and broad, unsubstantiated depiction of Americans as victims of Muslim violence is a brand of fear-mongering only rivaled by that of fascists almost a century ago in Europe.
Because Trump’s comments are made in the context of a political campaign, they are somehow reportable by the media as legitimate. Another candidate made a similar case in his campaign for chancellor of Germany in the 1930s. It is time we call a spade a spade. Trump is promoting a fascist ideology.
For any people out there who call themselves tea party members, I implore you to come to your senses and denounce Trump for the fascist he is. Do as you purport to have done since the beginning of your tea party movement, and look to our country’s founding documents, particularly the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. You will see that our country is not founded on Trump’s idea of “common sense” (a catch-phrase for mob-rule and demagoguery), but on noble principles and the rule of law. That law protects all of our rights to practice the faith we choose, be it Christianity, Islam, other religions, or none. Our Constitution provides no religious litmus test for citizenship or for immigration.
Mark Swift
Washington