In the midst of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, one of the darkest, most violent periods in human rights history, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
It seems our country has forgotten this since Donald Trump began his campaign. His campaign promises to "Make America Great Again," which is appealing. He's loud, he's outspoken, he makes fun of the other candidates and reporters, and doesn't get in trouble for it. He doesn't apologize for his actions. He's a new kind of politician that no one has ever seen before. People are excited about his ideas and his lack of connection to the political sphere.
But this campaign isn't making America great again. It's making America hate again. Trump's negative words against women, telling Anderson Cooper twice that "Islam hates us," calling Mexicans rapists and criminals are just a few statements he's made multiple times since the start of his campaign. His campaign finds its place with violence: he wants to kill the innocent families of members of ISIS in order to defeat them. Which is a war crime.
Such violence is bringing Americans who support these kinds of violent acts into the public eye, like this woman from Trump's cancelled rally in Chicago.
Americans have a lot to say regarding the Chicago rally that took place on March 11. Some people blame those that came to protest against Trump's rally for the violence and eventual cancellation of the event. They think that if the protesters hadn't been up in arms about the "bad" things Trump supports, the rally wouldn't have been cancelled, the police wouldn't have had to intervene and no one would've been hurt.
Others disagree. Trump rallies have been violent, both physically and verbally. Today in Cleveland, a Trump supporter was screaming "Go back to Africa!" to a group of Black Lives Matter protesters. Last week in North Carolina, a black protester was being escorted out of the building and was sucker punched by a Trump supporter. Trump, himself, has participated in such behavior at his own rallies, yelling back at protesters that scream at the stage a number of things, including: "Go home to Mommy." This kind of behavior from a potential world leader makes the public believe that it's OK to treat those they don't agree with aggressively.
Sarah Alnesr is a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Tex. -- a school she says is predominately Republican. "In a class of 30, I was the only person willing to say I was voting [as a] Democrat this election." Her thoughts on Trump's cancelled rally might differ from the average SMU student:
All of this to say, Trump supporters aren't necessarily violent people who support the Nazi Party and the KKK, as a recently viral SNL skit suggested. Trump is outspoken and voicing many Americans opinions in a passionate way. He's listening and he's being heard. But he's feeding into and promoting violence. He's exploiting people's fears. You might agree with his position on illegal immigration and the Department of Education, but politicians should never promote putting innocent lives on the line or suggest such a thing.
Selecting the future leader of our nation is a privilege and needs to be taken seriously. Those who argue that Trump isn't a serious candidate are wrong: he keeps winning primaries. By a landslide. It's time to honor the privilege that we have as Americans and choose a leader that will speak truthfully and respectfully about other nations, other leaders and our fellow Americans. By doing this, we will make America great again. Without the help of Donald Trump.
