OPINION | ‘We Must All Come Together’? No, We Really Don’t
Many of we Americans refuse to normalize autocracy, bigotry and more
Country music star Carrie Underwood plans to perform next week at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
In explaining her rationale for appearing second swearing-in, Underwood said, “I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”
Appearing at Trump’s second swearing-in is, of course, her right.
But it’s just as much our right not to “come together” for Trump’s intended plans for mass deportations, racist bigotry, scapegoating of transgender Americans, and all the other assorted autocracy he has lined up in the pages of Project 2025.
And it’s also our right not to normalize the first convicted felon to enter the White House and also our right not to embrace someone who four years ago fomented a violent insurrection at the US Capitol Building.
It’s also our right to increasingly tune out corporate media and protest corporations obeying in advance and social media turning a blind eye to hate speech.
And it’s our right to stand in the way of all this horror over the next four years, going to the streets and to court every step of the way.
As much as Republicans and the MAGA faithful will try to falsely claim otherwise, there’s no great outpouring of broad love and affection for Trump, either.
He won less than 50 percent of the vote.
That means when you add in the minor candidates, more people voted against Trump than voted for him.
Whether intentionally or not, comments like Ms Underwood’s seems to want to impose a sort of obedience and quieting of the American populace.
Rather than “we must all come together,” I’d much rather consider the more-American sentiment of, “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.”
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