I was greatly disturbed by the New Year’s Tweet from himself, characterizing those who are not cheering for him as his “enemies.”
Enemies.
From Merriam-Webster:
1 : one that is antagonistic to another; especially : one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent
2 : something harmful or deadly enemy>
3 a : a military adversary
b : a hostile unit or force
Merriam-Webster
To the President-elect: We are NOT your “enemies.” We are loyal Americans, citizens of this country, who disagree with your policy positions (as much as we can understand them) and, especially, with your penchant for demonizing those who disagree with you.
Dissent is a feature of American discourse, a proud bright feature of American democracy. It is, essentially, one of the things that has made this a great nation. We do not need to make America great again — for all of its shortcomings, it already is great, and has been, for some time now.
Dissent: This is not a new idea.
“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.”
― Benjamin Franklin
It is an idea that is older than the Republic and the Constitution that you will swear an oath to defend and protect in less than three weeks.
Presidents who preceded you understood this.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
As citizens of this country, our responsibility and duty are to this country, and not to any individual.
Members of my family have donned the uniform of the United States and have served in every war since the American Revolution. Members of my family were brave abolitionists and suffragists, who worked tirelessly to end slavery and make sure that all citizens of this country had the right to vote.
We are not “enemies.” We are loyal Americans.
Harriet Tubman wrote this, decades ago:
I grew up naked like a weed — ignorant of liberty, having no experience with it.
The country you will soon govern has broad and deep experience with both liberty and its essential counterpart — dissent.
We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it. ~ Edward R. Murrow.
Dissent is not disloyalty; it is, instead, the essence of democracy.
I am a loyal American. WE are loyal Americans. We will not surrender our right to dissent. To do so would be profoundly un-American. And that is not who we are.
______
Update: I apologize to this wonderful community. I fell asleep last night not too long after posting this, and have been otherwise occupied today. I look forward to reading all the comments and am so very sorry for not participating.