I found it difficult to watch the horse driven carriage carrying the casket of Senator John Lewis cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. It brought me to tears thinking about how John died knowing he was leaving an America still embroiled in the same hatred he marched against nearly 56 years ago. He died knowing we now have a president who has set out to undo almost everything he had worked for. I imagine his heart was broken; not for himself, but for the racial animus he was leaving behind. No one can ever deny the good, and the sacrifices John Lewis made during the Civil Rights Movement –his efforts certainly were not in vain.
Donald Trump is still nursing his wounds over the fact Lewis did not attend his inauguration ceremony in 2017. Pathetic – no wonder there are Trump balloons out there depicting him still in his diapers. John Lewis knew and understood the character of Trump. He knew he was a racist. John believed it would be remiss and hypocritical for him to celebrate the election of a man well known for his racist disposition towards people of color. When Trump was asked about Lewis after his death, he said and I quote, “"I can't say one way or the other." Once you cross Trump’s path, you will remain on his “list” to the end of time. He will die hating you.
Trump assumes because he is president, all must bow down and ingratiate him constantly. Not everyone is like the Republican Senate and Mike Pence; his back pocket puppets. Trump believes he can mistreat anyone, and his victim is to revere him in fear afterwards. John Lewis was not a hypocrite - he always fought for the rights of everyone. He was not afraid of Trump, unlike McConnell, Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham, and other members of the Republican Senate who are nothing but a group of impotent cowards. It begs the question: Why would people reelect senators who have no backbone and continually put Trump’s interest ahead of the American people?
Donald Trump is a dictator – but our country still does not want to admit it. He rules by bullying and vindictiveness. Instead of being ashamed of these qualities, he admires them. He is continuously giving his racist base a wink and a nod that he still has their backs. He has not forgotten. The erosion of our democracy is almost complete, and if Trump is reelected, the democratic principles of our nation will continue to diminish. Trump wants to be feared; he sees it as strength, as he does hate. He is the antithesis of John Lewis.
Trump is a racist and does not like people of color, especially black people. It amazes me people like Herman Cain and other blacks who crave his approval so much, without recognizing he will never see them as his equal. He has proven that time and time again. Many African Americans perceive themselves as being less because it is what our society conveys to people of color. Omarosa found out the hard way, and Kanye West still refuses to learn that he is being used by the Trump Administration. Herman Cain died from catching Covid-19 more than likely at Trump’s rally in Tulsa. What's tragic is he died for a man who had and will always see him as less. I was no fan of Cain, but it surely was not worth his life to be played by Trump. I know these statements won’t go over well, but it is the truth.
But alas, here we are. All these years later and even today the Republican Party is working hard to keep African Americans from voting. John Lewis fought for voting rights, and if he were alive today he would had continued to fight for voting rights – 55 years later. What a sad commentary. Trump has even stacked the deck with the USPS, by hiring in June a new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy- a known Trump supporter, in an effort to stymie voting by mail. DeJoy has implemented several policies which are even slowing down the mail now, in effort to circumvent mail in ballots in time for the election.
When Donald Trump is out of office, he will leave behind a legacy of hate, corruption and destruction. Not only the destruction he caused from the federal government failed response to the coronavirus, but destruction from stoking the flames of racial hatred. That is his contribution to this world, and make no mistake, he will be proud of it. Trump symbolizes what is evil in this world, and John Lewis the good. John Lewis legacy is one of love, justice, and fighting for what is right, and will never be forgotten. Even Donald Trump can’t take that away, although it has not prevented him from trying. RIP John Lewis.
