Stand up against hate groups

My father was a decorated combat veteran of WWII and Korea. His older brother was shot down over Nazi Germany and spent years as a POW. His younger brother was shot down and killed over Vietnam. His grandson served in Iraq and Afghanistan. They all would have hated the images of socalled “Americans” marching in a torchlight parade, bearing swastikas and other loser flags celebrating racism.

My daughter spent years in Charlottesville, Va. One of my grandsons was born there. A granddaughter died there. We made many trips there. It is our backyard. It is a beautiful place, the home of one of America’s founding fathers and the site of an historic university dedicated to reason and learning. It is not a place for the hate and terrorism brought by modern day devotees of the cult of white nationalism.

These people are killers. They threaten law enforcement officers and anyone else who would attempt to keep the peace. They firebomb churches (or mosques, or synagogues). They shoot up worshippers in churches. They blow up government buildings. They threaten their own mothers. They have the protection of a political party, a vast network of media demagogues, and apparently lots of money to support their murderous activities. The would-be brown shirts of fascism believe their time has come, and that they can emerge once again from the shadows to wrest control of our society from the rest of us.

Perhaps it has. They operate with impunity at the very highest levels of government. Sad.

I lived in Germany for many years. I visited some of the sites of concentration camps, now preserved as memorials. I’ve been to the Holocaust Museum and the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. I studied German history in school. Today, in Germany, the display of Nazi symbolism is forbidden. I know how democracy failed there. It can happen here. It is happening here.

I greatly admire those who resist through non-violent means. Jesus Himself said “blessed are the peacemakers.” But sometimes peaceful means are not enough. From Dunkirk to D-Day and beyond, the Nazis were crushed by force.

Oh, and to the person with the Charles County Republican Central Committee who wrote in last week and are so concerned about the folks who interposed themselves between the Nazis to defend the clergy, students and others, I would ask you, would you stand aside and watch the Nazis beat the Jews and others and take them away? You claim the right of armed aggression if you feel threatened, but deny the right of self-defense to others? In several Republican states, legislatures are actually considering extending the right to use a vehicle by individuals to attack people in the street. Like Heather Heyer in Charlottesville.

Let me simplify this for you. Nazis and their racist allies are bad. Those who resist them are good. Simple as that.