“To my mind, to kill in war is not a whit better than to commit ordinary murder.” These are the words and peaceful sentiment of Albert Einstein.
At the opposite end of the spectrum we have the White House felon’s horrifying threat to Iran: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
This administration and its enablers have targeted mariners in international waters, civilians in Gaza, the government and people of Venezuela, American citizens in our streets, and law-abiding, nonviolent immigrants in their workplaces and houses of worship. Now the Donald Trump is resurrecting the military draft so that today’s young men can become tomorrow’s “losers” and “suckers” — words the felon defiling our White House allegedly used to describe heroes who fought and died during World War II to free the world from fascism and tyranny.
Is this who we are now? In the current crisis, We the People would do well to remember Founding Father Thomas Jefferson’s prescient warning regarding the violent end of slavery he foresaw: “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
If not for our own sake, then for our children and posterity, let’s heed our better angels and bind together peacefully to return our country to democracy and decency. This is not a political issue; it is simply a matter of justice and humanity.
Kathleen Acklin
Squirrel Hill