Trump Should Condemn White Supremists -- Really!

As reported in the NY Times on 9/13/17,  Congress just passed a bill instructing Trump to condemn white supremacists!  Add to that,  racists, anti-Semites and the Ku Klux Klan.  But what about Antifas and nuts on the left?

Do our legislators in Congress really think that a bill like this will finally get their reputation out of the toilet?  Their bill is so obviously demagogic.  And, these people we have elected don't seem to see that.  Why didn't they add to their list of people the president should condemn pedophiles, mass murderers and Islamic terrorists?  And, what about nations that imprison reporters, and torture them, and, indeed, kill them.  Why stop with white supremacists?

I think one must be pretty warped to identify with the white supremacy movement.  But, if one were a white supremacist, I believe such a person would be really impressed and flattered to find that he and his ilk had come this far in America - - - that his group had caused Congress to feel the need to pass a bill telling the president, what we already know; namely, that he, along with a vast majority of the American people,  despise and condemn white supremacists and other hate groups.  Passing such a bill puts white supremacists clearly on the map.  Is this what Congress wants to do  . . . . to make them so very much more important than they actually are?

Countries everywhere have haters.  Sometimes they become a threat.  Sometimes not.  I don't see them growing in numbers in our country.  Indeed, as it now stands, I believe they are quite inconsequential.  But, they certainly do know how to get attention and generate publicity.  And, in this, the Congress is being most useful.

But Congress, as I see it, doesn't care if they boost the importance of the white supremacists.  Their only interest is to diminish Trump.  From Liberals, I would expect no less.  But what are the Republicans doing joining them in their effort to besmirch Trump?  Shame on them.  Thank goodness we now have a president with the stamina to rise above  party politics.

If the  Congress wants to do something, why don't they sign a tax bill?   Why don't they pass a bill straightening out our immigration system?  There are so many other things that the Congress needs to be doing.  Is white supremacy the only thing these jokers can focus on?  

Jews The I-O-people

The "I-O" in I-O-people refers to people who are both insiders and outsiders.  They're insiders in the sense that they are part of the society in which they find themselves.  During WW I, German Jews fought for the Kaiser.  They contributed to the German chemical industry.  As French citizens, they also fought for their country.  Ditto, the English Jews, the Russian Jews, American Jews and so on.  They added to their country's literature, sport, justice system and industry.

And, yet they were most often also outsiders.  Consider the Dreyfus Affair and the treatment he received at the hands of the French military.  In so many countries, despite their contributions to the advancement of those countries, they were treated like lepers.  This can, perhaps, be chalked up to anti-Semitism; an example of the dislike for the other.

Is there a possibility that there is something about Jews that makes them subject to such treatment.  What makes Jews different.  Even in America, where Jews play important roles in all walks of life, is there anything inherently different about them.  Yes, of course.  They are Jews.  They may be Orthodox or they may be reform, but they're still Jews.  They are a people with a unique history.  Hebrew, like Latin, was once considered a dead language.  With the advent of Israel, that is no longer so.  It has come back to life and now flowers.  As for Latin, it remains a building block for a great number of languages, but it's still dead.

Jews may dismiss their religion.  Repairing the world has become for some their prime directive.  But, they're still Jews.  Distancing themselves from their religion may seem simple.  But is it?   Does atheism provide the same rich texture to one's life?  Judaism my not seem perfect.  It's got any number of imperfections.  These however fade to insignificance when it's held against the world's other religions.  A rabbi might easily find himself humming "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas"  at yule time.  But, he's still a rabbi -- anyway, the song was written by a Jew.  For better or worse,  Jews, though they may be "insiders" to the culture in which they find themselves, will also always be "outsiders."

Why I like Trump

When Eisenhower ran for the presidency, the Republican slogan was "I Like Ike."  What exactly did that mean? That he had an avuncular demeanor?  Is that what made him a fine president?  What makes for a superior president?  In Ike's case we must point to him having been a really fine commander  leading the allies in WW II.  But that achievement wasn't a presidential achievement.

 Ike wasn't a traditional Republican.  No eye brows would have been raised if he had run as a Democrat.

He did have a talent for deflecting political pressure on matters wth which he disagreed.  In the face of mounting pressure to enter into war with Vietnam, he found a way of keeping out of that war. When pressure mounted for him to pick up from the French their military struggle in Vietnam, his decision was to send American forces; but not as combatants.  Instead, he sent them as observers.  He had no particular affection for the State of Israel.  That was regrettable.  But, in his behalf, his avoidance of getting into Vietnam showed great wisdom.

JFK succumbed to the voices that would have us enter Vietnam.  He turned U.S. military observers into full fledged combatants.  This was a tremendous mistake for which he still hasn't been called to account.  (See David Halberstam's "The Best And The Brightest.")

Why regurgitate these bits of history?  Because we need some sort of yardstick if we're going to pass judgement on Trump's presidency.  The first thing to note is that Trump arrived at the presidency from a background that wasn't the usual background for an American president.  JFK, Nixon, LBJ, Bush H and W, Obama, all had a background in government.  For some it was deeper than for others.  But all had people that knew the Washington ropes and whose loyalty had been tested.

When you set out to clean the swamp, you won't find many ready and able to help you.  Trump hasn't found it easy, but he's still working on it and I give him a lot of credit for that.