Think of the last time we say this kind of tribalism and nationalism – it was in the 1920s and 30s. And, what was the result of that? Unmitigated horrors… the Holocaust. Remember, that at the same time, America was forcing Japanese Americans into internment camps; that America turned away Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis (including Anne Frank’s family); that Black people were denied their voting rights through internecine and unconstitutional requirements; that the KKK acted in full daylight, with the nodding approval of the majority, that LGBTQ persons were imprisoned, institutionalized, or worse; that women were institutionalized for promiscuity; that native peoples and brown peoples were often denied property rights and justice; and so many more human rights violations. Remember, that most of those things were also happening in countries around the world at that time. Sadly, I’m afraid it took the horrors of the Holocaust and Nazi’s unmitigated terrorism and cruelties with every invasion for the rest of the world to recognize the imperative to turn away from the bigotry and racism, nationalism and tribalism.

This regime is systematically trying to undo the progress of the last 70 years. It’s as if they WANT to go back to those days of terror for everyone who isn’t them. I hope and pray things turn back toward the historical arc of justice and progress. I hope people will open their eyes and see that history is repeating itself – but with world destroying weapons and technologies.