Trump's rhetoric has always been hatred masked with the facade of patriotism. Every speech that he makes, every tweet that he tweets, every word that he speaks reeks hatred, racism, homophobia, and sexism. His recent encounter with Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was another display of his hatred for people of color, and yes, it is indeed hatred. Each day that he spends in the White House is another day that people of color in America spend in fear.
A question that always lingered in my mind whenever we learned about the Holocaust is how the German people allowed Hitler to commit such atrocities. Today I am witnessing how Hitler's Germany became possible. I am witnessing how hatred screams louder than love. Like Hitler, Trump has been able to take advantage of hurt citizens who were searching for a reason, something to blame for their despairs. In Germany, the Jewish were blamed, and today, in the United States of America, people of color, specifically Latino people, are being blamed. In both scenarios, the victims were innocent people, looking forward to living their lives working hard and living happily with their families.
It is terrifying to think of the similarities of Hitler's Germany and Trump's present-day America. The raids, 10,000 ICE officers involved in a violent and racist group on Facebook, children placed in unsanitary and abusive detention camps, all of these should ring a bell, a loud bell. These were things that we heard about in history class, things that made all of us appalled and disgusted, and that is precisely what we should be feeling right now: appalled and disgusted.
History is starting to repeat itself, and we have the power to stop it now. The past four years have already changed the global standing of America; I can only imagine what another four years will bring. America was once the model of democracy, justice, and opportunity. Now it has become the face of hatred, fear, and inhumanity. We cannot let this injustice continue. While most of us have raised our voices about this abuse of power, we cannot stop until this vile administration is out of office.
As John F. Kennedy had said in the past, " The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all." We are experiencing the result of the ignorance of many from the last election. While the past cannot be changed, the future is now in our hands. We have power with our votes. Let us bring back a united, humane, and diverse America. Remember, your vote is your voice. Let it be heard.
