I’m 63 years old. I was born smack dab in the middle of the ‘cold
war’ between Russia and the U.S. I grew
up attending schools that held routine bomb drills suggesting that hiding under
our desks would keep us safe should there be a nuclear attack which always
seemed to be looming, imminent and inevitable.
Even though I was just a kid and grew up in an environment of ‘there
might be a nuclear war any moment’ I don’t ever recall feeling afraid. It
simply was what it was. It was normal to me and I don’t ever recall in my
entire life feeling fearful about the impending doom of nuclear war. It would
stand to reason that children raised in that environment would end up being
paranoid types and just maybe that’s what happened to some people from my
generation, but somehow it never happened to me. Maybe those who support Trump are the remnants
of those kids that did feel fearful about the impending nuclear attack by the
Russians. But somehow, they don’t seem
to be afraid of the Russians anymore. The new boogeyman is Muslims; not just
Muslim terrorists but it seems all Muslims are now the threat against our
freedom, our way of life and our very lives. Oh, and the other boogeymen are Mexicans. Yes, the illegal ones but it seems as though the main point is that they are Mexican, they are here and some people don't want them here.
So, Trump was able to tap into that fear that may have been
left over from the cold war and he gained support from people who truly believe
that the Muslims are out to end our way of life while completely ignoring the
FACT that the Russians waged a war against our democracy and looks like is
winning that war without firing a single shot.
The very same people who as children feared Russia, the USSR, and
nuclear attack today don’t seem to care what Russia does to us, the level of
influence they have on our leaders or that they blatantly interfered not only
with our election but may be in control of the president that didn’t win the
popular vote but won the electoral college (and we really aren't sure to what extent the Russian's interfered or had influence in the election).
In addition, today we have the threat of North Korea which
if Trump has his way will be in a war with us any day now. Today’s speech by Trump
at the United Nations made it perfectly clear what his thought process on the
situation is and what his intentions are. I am very hopeful that there are
enough strong Americans in our military and who run the military to stand up to
Trump and say, 'OH HELL NO!!!' when he demands that we attack North Korea. Apparently, Trump is unable to understand
that nuclear weapons are involved and that threatening to obliterate a nation
that has nuclear weapons and is run by a dictator that appears to be somewhat mentally imbalanced (yes I'm talking about North Korea's leader here, not Trump) is not only risky it’s completely and totally reckless and
foolhardy. I don’t suppose Trump
understands, or is even interested in, the fact that North Korea could fire
missiles armed with nuclear warheads directly at us and could potentially
strike in not at least Hawaii but the west coast of this country BEFORE we ever get a single shot off. BUT something
tells me that Trump would not only be willing to sacrifice the people in Hawaii
and on the west coast but would be more than happy to rid himself of all of us ‘liberals’
who seem to be the only ones interested in keeping this country a democracy
rather than allowing Trump to turn it into a dictatorship.
In the end, I have to say that being a person who grew up
under the constant threat of nuclear war didn’t make me fearful then and didn’t
turn me into a paranoid person expecting the worst from other countries around
the world. BUT today I can honestly say
that for the very first time in my life I am afraid. I want to live. I want my
children and their children to live. I want all of the people I love to live. I
even want all of those who hate liberals and hate me because I’m a liberal to
live. Believe it or not I even want all of the people who voted for Trump to live and yes even Trump too.
I am afraid. I am afraid that
something will happen, that North Korea will call Trumps bluff and that there won’t
be enough sane people in Washington DC or at the Pentagon to stop Trump from
killing all of us. I sincerely hope that
those who support Trumps approach to North Korea and who are now applauding his
saber rattling and threatening rhetoric will remember that nuclear bombs don’t
keep their radiation in one place and that they will not be safe from the
fallout of a nuclear attack no matter where they may live. I hope that they realize that Trump will be safe underground somewhere living in the lap of luxury compared to the rest of us who will have to survive out here. I sincerely
hope that they are ready to die for their conservatism because it is going to
kill us all if something or someone doesn’t do something about it and NOW.
