Focused Read in 2 minutes
📎 Note: It seems like a good day for
a reminder of who Trump GOP is – perhaps more speculative at the
time of the article but more policy-based today... ⬇
“Make America White
Again?
Donald Trump’s language
is eerily similar to the 1920s Ku Klux Klan—hypernationalistic and
anti-immigrant.
By Kelly J. Baker | March
12, 2016
… Trump, of course, not
only received former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke’s support for
his candidacy, but also declined to disavow the Ku Klux
Klan on CNN. … “
(The author.) “... a
historian of the 1920s Klan, I noticed the resonances, too. Trump’s
“Make America great again” language is just like the rhetoric of
the Klan, with their emphasis on virulent patriotism and restrictive
immigration.
But maybe Trump doesn’t know much about the second
incarnation of the order and what Klansmen and Klanswomen stood for.
… Maybe Trump just needs a quick historical primer on the 1920s
Klan—and their vision for making America great again.
In 1915, William J.
Simmons...created a new Ku Klux Klan dedicated to “100 percent Americanism”
and white Protestantism. He wanted to evoke the previous
Reconstruction Klan (1866-1871) but
refashion it as a new
order—stripped of vigilantism and dressed in Christian virtue and
patriotic pride. Simmons’s Klan was to be the savior of a nation in
peril, a means to reestablish the cultural dominance of white
people.
Immigration and the
enfranchisement of African Americans, according to the Klan, eroded
this dominance and meant that America was no longer great.
Simmons,
the first imperial wizard of the Klan, and his successor, H.W. Evans,
wanted Klansmen to return the nation to its former glory. Their
messages of white supremacy, Protestant Christianity, and
hypernationalism found an eager audience.
By 1924, the Klan claimed 4
million members; they wore robes, lit crosses on fire, read Klan
newspapers, and participated in political campaigns on the local and
national levels.
To save the nation, the
Klan focused on accomplishing a series of goals. A 1924 Klan cartoon,
“Under the Fiery Cross,” illustrated those goals: restricted
immigration, militant Protestantism, better government, clean
politics, “back to the Constitution,” law enforcement, and
“greater allegiance to the flag.”
Along with the emphases on
government and nationalism, the order also mobilized under the
banners of vulnerable white womanhood and white superiority more
generally. …
(Emphasis mine.)
UNSURPRISINGLY, THE 1920S KLAN SUPPORTED LEGISLATION TO RESTRICT
IMMIGRATION TO PREFERRED COUNTRIES WITH ANGLO-SAXON AND SCANDINAVIAN
ROOTS.
… The Imperial
Night-Hawk crafted histories absent of native peoples, African
Americans, Catholics, and Jews that confirmed what readers wanted to
hear:
White Protestants were the creators of America, and the nation
would only succeed with their continued dominance. The Klan made
enemies of immigrants but also of any people they considered
“foreign” who already resided on American soil.
Threats appeared
everywhere, from newly arrived immigrants to Catholics, Jews, and
African Americans who were already citizens—though the order wasn’t
of the opinion that they should be.
... Unfortunately for the
Klan, their message of 100 percent Americanism started losing ground
by the end of the 1920s. Public scandals involving Klan leaders and
convictions of Klansmen for murder made white Americans reconsider
their allegiance to the order and its increasingly tarnished ideals.
… The Klan’s message
of 100 percent Americanism and restrictive immigration resonated in
the 1920s, and their message gains traction again and again every
time white Americans encounter social change and shifting
demographics. With a black president, LGBT equality, an enormous
Hispanic community, and predictions that America will soon be a
majority minority country, their message resonates now, too. … “
You
can read more here
Focused Thought in 1 minute,
5 minutes more if you choose to watch the video
Below: an excerpt from Angelina Jolie’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award acceptance speech at The Academy’s 2013 Governors Awards.
… And above all, she (Angelina's mom) was
very clear that nothing would mean anything if I didn’t live a life
of use to others.
I didn’t know what that
meant for a long time.
I came into this business
young and worried about my own experiences and my own pain. It
was only when I began to travel, and look and live beyond my home
that I understood my responsibility to others.
When I met survivors of
war and famine and rape, I learned what life is like for most people
in this world. How fortunate I was to have food to eat, a roof over
my head, a safe place to live, and the joy of having my family safe
and healthy.
I realized how sheltered I
had been, and I was determined never to be that way again.
I have never understood
why some people are lucky enough to be born with the chance that I
had, to have this path in life.
And why across the world
there’s a woman just like me, with the same abilities and the same
desires, same work ethic and love for her family, who would most
likely make better films, and better speeches — only she sits
in a refugee camp.
She has no voice.
She worries about what her
children will eat, how to keep them safe, and if they’ll ever be
allowed to return home.
I don’t know why this is
my life and that’s hers.
I don’t understand that,
but I will do as my mother asked, and I will do the best I can with
this life to be of use.
To stand here today means
that I did as she asked, and if she were alive she’d be very proud,
so thank you for that.
Courtesy
of Art & Science You can read more here
( You can find a back-up, Youtube link here )
Focused Action in 30 seconds,
5 minutes more if you choose to watch the video
Trigger alert: Halsey's poem is about the sexual assault of women. She recited the poem at the Women's March in New York City this past Saturday ...
You can share Halsey's Tweet here
You can read more and you can pick up the video link to the recitation here
( Courtesy of Teen Vogue )
.
.
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→ Direct sources for Democrats:
* ( Personal favored and most informative follows are shared here with the understanding that readers will always apply their own critical thinking to any information provided anywhere by anyone. #StrongerTogether does not share sources of information lightly but -- no one is perfect! -- so always #DistrustAndVerify I am using a star rating that is strictly based on my situational experience with the work of the media personality specifically in relation to issues of interest to me. )
The Democratic Party Website
Also
C-SPAN (a good place for speeches & hearings direct source (s))
→ Fact checking organizations courtesy of the Society of Professional Journalists
in alphabetical order...
→ Some of my favorite, most informative
follows on Twitter include:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ US Intelligence | Author | Navy Senior Chief | NBC/MSNBC
⭐⭐⭐ Federal Government Operations | Vanity Fair | Newsweek | MSNBC Contributor | Author
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Voting Rights/Voter Suppression | Author | Mother Jones
→ Some of the most credible media -- at the moment:
📰📰📰 Mother Jones
→ Some of the most credible Talking Heads -- at the moment -- and their Twitter handles:
( ⬆⬆⬆ Wallace is new to the job but for right now
her work on Trump GOP has been credible, IMO )
...for Networking for Democrats today!
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.
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(Linked) "...is our 2016 platform...a declaration of how we plan to move America forward. Democrats believe that cooperation is better than conflict, unity is better than division, empowerment is better than resentment, and bridges are better than walls.
It’s a simple but powerful idea: We are stronger together."
( #its2018now )
In honor of women leading the American Resistance ~
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (and just one of the ways they partnered to get the work done) are this month's Focused Inspiration:
" ... Susan, a Quaker, came from a background where girls were valued and educated just as Quaker boys were, but Susan began to see the real world when she became a teacher and was routinely paid about one-quarter of the salary she would have received if she had been a man.
Elizabeth was from a well-to-do family where boys were favored. Elizabeth married and began having children ... At that time, women had little opportunity to control whether or not they became pregnant, and it frequently happened that just as Elizabeth was about to attend a new round of meetings or take on a new push for voting rights, she would find herself pregnant and more or less homebound again. Despite this, Elizabeth attended everything she could and when she was needed at home, she served their team effort by writing speeches that Susan could use at conventions or on the road. ... "
" ... Susan, a Quaker, came from a background where girls were valued and educated just as Quaker boys were, but Susan began to see the real world when she became a teacher and was routinely paid about one-quarter of the salary she would have received if she had been a man.
Elizabeth was from a well-to-do family where boys were favored. Elizabeth married and began having children ... At that time, women had little opportunity to control whether or not they became pregnant, and it frequently happened that just as Elizabeth was about to attend a new round of meetings or take on a new push for voting rights, she would find herself pregnant and more or less homebound again. Despite this, Elizabeth attended everything she could and when she was needed at home, she served their team effort by writing speeches that Susan could use at conventions or on the road. ... "
You can read more about this power friendship here
*
Curated by Gail Mountain, with occasional personal commentary, Network For #StrongerTogether ! is not affiliated with The Democratic Party in any capacity. This is an independent blog and the hope is you will, at a glance, learn more about the Party and you will, with a click or two, also take action on its behalf as it is provided!
( You can also find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GKMTNtwits )
*
See the League of Women Voters website:
Vote411 here
Thank you for focusing!
g., aka Focused Democrat
✊ Resisting "Fake News"
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