By Mark Naison (November 20, 2017)
I don’t know where this election is taking us. There is a wave of hatred and fear sweeping through the nation. People assaulting one another, threatening one another, pulling up provocative symbols in public places that send a chill through their fellow citizens.
The current administration has appointed white supremacists and white nationalists to high positions and has provoked demonstrations and uprisings by young people throughout the country that have, on occasion, spilled over into violence, giving supporters of the incoming administration a rationale to overlook the hate groups their own rhetoric has emboldened..
This is the most dangerous moment in US history I have lived through in more than fifty years. I do not know where this will lead. We could go through 5-10 years of disorder, marked by riots, strikes, uprisings, mass deportations, episodes of martial law, a country divided by race, class, religion, region and political perspective,
I may not live long enough to help put the country back together. To restore a sense of common purpose, of justice for those long injured and economic security for those recently displaced; to give all people who live here and come here the feeling that they are valued, respected and protected from harm.
But most of you will be here long after I am gone. I am counting on you to fight for justice and protect vulnerable people in our current moment, but even more important to be on the ground when the current madness passes to pull things back together and make this the country we all hoped it would be.
I love you and am so glad you are there. You give me hope that my grandchildren – and all children- will live in a country that will honor them, respect them and give them an opportunity to serve their fellow citizens and serve humanity