A man is strolling down the street. He greets the ladies as they walk by, umbrellas in hand. He waves to the bus driver who, without missing a beat, tips his cap in return. The newspaper in hand, fresh from the corner store, is filled with stories of Hoover's ineptitude and highlights a recent squall which had blown through the region. A man was killed and another was hospitalized when a gale brought down an electrical pole which electrocuted the pair. In the mayoral race, Democratic nominee Jimmy Walker looked to be taking a commanding lead over Republican Fiorello LaGuardia and Socialist Norman Thomas. He comes to a halt at the corner and looks at the stop sign beside him. It's noticeably red.

Outside of that, all seemed well this Wednesday.

Though today we are able look back and recognize the looming social and economic issues at play. The next day, October 24, 1929, a day many economists and historians know as Black Thursday, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 would take place. A day which many mark as the beginning of the Great Depression and, unfortunately, the rise of fascist groups in many Western nations.

In Italy, the far-right Partito Nazionale Fascistahad been in power for the better part of 7 years. Leader and future dictator Benito Mussolini ushered in a period of national pride, used as a tool to exploit a people which viewed the democratic and socialist states which they supported as traitors to the rise of the Kingdom of Italy. The worldwide economic downturn and the fallacy of democracy, as Mussolini called it, gave rise to Francisco Franco in Spain, Engelbert Dollfuß in Austria, Ioannis Metaxas in Greece, the Kodoha in Japan, and Adolf Hitler in Germany. The KKK splinter group known as the Black Legion acted as a fifth column in the United States, using terrorist tactics to undermine political machines and act as a military arm for white supremacists in the Midwestern US.

We can actively look back on these events now and witness the progressive rise of these alt-right groups with 20/20 hindsight. The question then becomes: are we naïve or just stupid?

Many in the press and pseudo-press point to these trends when we speak about Donald Trump and the modern alt-right movement. With paramilitary groups such as the III% Security Force in support of the President-Elect and an ever increasing number of traditional conservatives filling the digital ranks of the Lion Guard, is it a wonder why people are concerned about their safety and well-being come January 20th, 2017? A recent interview of Tomi Lahren by The Daily Show host, Trevor Noah, paints a rather grim picture of the party about to assume absolute power of the Executive and Legislative branches of our federal government for the first time since 1930.

Though I highly recommend viewing the extended interview yourself, a brief rundown of the talking points does not bring any surprises to the table: Black Lives Matter, the outcome of the 2016 election, and Colin Kaepernick. For me, this was the most polarizing post-election interview conducted thus far. It was also a landmark interview in that we had two pundits which represent the millennial generation go head to head in a nationally televised, bi-partisan debate. Though I must concede to Tomi's point: "I mean I'm a millennial so I don't really like labels"

Though the interview was conducted by Trevor Noah and the control of tempo, subject matter, and ultimate presentation fell on the shoulders of a fairly liberal media outlet, I can't help but feel that the host of her self-titled show, Tomi, presented some of the more thought provoking comments. For example, when questioned about her comments on anti-Trump protests which erupted throughout the US following the election, Ms Lahren simply replied, "Sometimes people need to be called on their s---."

I took a look at the quote-unquote "s---" to which she referred and found, for the most part, fairly peaceful protests which took place over the course of the week following the election. Again, mostly peaceful. There were violent protests, some of which reached riot status. Police became involved. Arrests were made. And Republicans, quick to forget their own transgressions against Obama's election and subsequent re-election, hypocritically condemned these protesters.

Though now Mr Walsh has quickly changed his tune given a few cabinet choices by the President-Elect.

Though the former congressman is in the minority, right? Ms. Lahren believes so. In response to Mr. Noah's repeated use of the term 'alt-right' to identify Trump supporters and voters at large, the unapologetically conservative media sensation interrupted, saying, "I reject Trump supporters and good Americans across this country that voted for Donald Trump being labeled as the 'alt-right' where they're somehow in a basket of deplorables. You have to separate that [the alt-right] from Trump supporters at large, because (...) Trump supporters at large are not the alt-right." An interesting view, separating radicals from the general public, given her views on the rise of ISIL and the role which many on the right believe Muslims play in maintaining the extremist faction.

SIDEBAR: Tomi... in regards to, "not seeing Christians kill and enslave in the name of Jesus," I think you may have forgotten about a little something called the Catholic Church. I'm a member. Our history isn't that great.

Back to the interview. Though she brings up many fair points, she did concede she has it pretty good, being born in the US. "I, being a woman, umm... I didn't have rights."
(You were born in 1992. You have not run into the same fights as the women to which you compare yourself.) "[B]ut because I feel like I'm a woman and I'm marginalized in some way, I don't protest my country." Which is fair. As far as can be found, Tomi Lahren has had no serious run in with the law and has actually used her status as a conservative, millennial-targeting belligerent to excel her ascent in the news world. Though how can an individual from a town such as Rapid City, SD, truly understand the plight of African Americans in urban environments when census data shows the statistical likelihood that she interacted with large African American communities as a child and teenager is practically nil. I'd actually consider her to be more understanding of those fighting the DAPL given the demographics of Rapid City (12.4% as of the 2010 census), but a recent editorial by the talk show host is conveniently missing from TheBlaze website.

Given these contradictory views and regular (though well executed) back peddling and retraction of statements, it's no surprise that Ms Lahren still maintains the "star-spangled-awesome," view of this country. No doubt instilled due to her background as a military brat. (Trust me, it takes a while to see through the illusion.) After all, how else could she believe, "[I]t is a privilege to live in the United States"? I mean, "If you respect our law, come here legally. You respect our way of life. You respect human decency," all should be fine, right?

But it's not. Refugees and immigrants, both legal and not-so, are constantly forced to conform to a society which bears little, if any, respect for them. A country which has no officially established language, in which some of our southern most cities bear street signs in Spanish, yet whose citizenry often discourages the use of 'foreign' languages and will even persecute certain groups based solely off of written or spoken language. How can a nation founded on the freedoms of speech, religion, and right to peaceable assembly then be so restrictive and critical when those very freedoms are exercised?

I truly have no logical answer for you.

Though many on both sides of the aisle are quick to point fingers, the bipartisan approach to government has drastically shaped the current social climate and has produced the issues at hand. The principle contributing factor, though, is that entire generations are still in power which were raised by people and in societies which perpetuated heavy segregation and racial discrimination on social, political, and economic fronts. An all out, hypocritical attack by anyone on another demographic seems to be the only point of conversation anymore, and selectively deaf ears are quick to redirect the blame from themselves and their beliefs to those of the opposition. From the passage of a medically and theologically invasive bill in Texas to the regular misrepresentation and inaction of an entire political party, neither side can be considered "right," in any circumstance.

To be perfectly honest, this is an interview which I wish could have gone on for more than the 26 minutes to which we were limited. Because it touched on many common sense subjects with many common sense questions which are not being asked by leading political figures. Is there a way to go back and redo the election? No. Do we have a means to calm the BLM movement? Yes. Is there any way we will reach a resolution on the matter in the near future? I highly doubt it.

Unfortunately, a national narrative reigns supreme in which the dominant party is at fault for the misfortunes of the minority, despite regular and repeated attempts by that minority to disrupt the progress being sought by the party in power. Until we, as a nation, are able to overlook creed, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender, and many, many other factors in order to overcome common issues and elevate the well-being and status of all Americans, native, Native, or otherwise, we will be stuck, waiting for the stop sign to turn green.