GUEST POST BY DAVE MILLER

 

This is America!

 

In a recent discussion on reparations, a Jesus-loving Christian posted the following:

“Our Constitution provides for reimbursement when people’s property is taken. The republic took property (freed slaves) at the point of a rifle. They were never compensated. If any reparations are due, it’s to those who were dispossessed of their property.”

Stop for a moment and think about this statement. There was no pushback, no disagreement. Perhaps people simply didn’t want to alienate a friend or criticize his or her views.

But this is how racism continues to reside and fester in the United States.

I’ve asked my conservative friends many times to name specific viewpoints or actions from conservative or MAGA supporters that they would consider “extreme.”

To date, I’ve never received a response.

Not to statements like the one above. Not to cartoons depicting President Obama tending watermelon gardens at the White House. Not to caricatures portraying a former president and first lady as apes.

Apparently, none of these rise to the level of “extreme” for many on the right or among MAGA supporters. There seems to be either an inability or an unwillingness to critically address the proverbial bad apples within their own circles.

I’ve seen this before.

Today, many on the right are critical of former President George W. Bush for U.S. involvement in the Iraq War. But at the time, voicing criticism of that war often resulted in being labeled un-American. Just look at what happened to the Dixie Chicks.

Sound familiar?

I even had friends who were privately critical of the war explain their reluctance to speak publicly, saying they didn’t want to give the “left” fodder to criticize the president. I’ve heard similar sentiments more recently in relation to President Trump.

Progressives and other Democrats, by contrast, have often been willing to publicly criticize their own leaders. Many Democrats spoke out against President Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal. Others questioned President Obama’s focus on the Affordable Care Act during his first term. Still others criticized the Afghanistan withdrawal and the handling of border issues during President Biden’s administration.

For some reason, the GOP, its MAGA base, and many conservatives seem reluctant to call out extremism, racism, Nazi support and more within their own ranks. Unless and until this group steps up and does so, it is hard to imagine America being able to move forward anytime soon.