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President Donald Trump is a wall builder. He takes great pride in his border wall, a monolith for exclusion. He, his posse, and his Republican-controlled Congress continue to build walls across this country and around the world.
I believe the president’s vision is not a United States of America, but rather the Republican States of America. He requires absolute devotion for admission to his side of the wall. Those of us on the other side receive nothing but contempt.
This president has walled out advances in science and technology that don’t reflect his personal view. His walls must be tall enough to block out human impact on global warming. His walls must be thick enough to keep music, art, and voices that do not meet his approval from penetrating. His walls must be wide enough to remove from history any heinous acts of our predecessors, be it slavery, Jim Crow, or the annihilation of native tribes. There is no room on his side of the wall for hunger, despair, or truth. If it is deemed unpleasant or unattractive, it must be walled out.
The stability of these walls relies on maintaining his narrative of “us versus them.” There is no “we.”
Those of us on the other side of his myriad walls are tired, growing poor, and yearning to breathe free. Our golden door is now a gold-plated wall. This administration would do well to heed the words of Abraham Lincoln: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
Mary Manchester
Searsmont
