So much here that’s important and I’m too far behind with projects today. One of which is to respond to comments our Mayor, who is Muslim, made in the local paper on what Trump has been saying. The gist of his comments were that Trumps constant tirade on virtually everyone, with a special emphasis on Muslims, were simply an attention-getting device to capture news minutes. And then he went on to point out his passport mentions nothing about his Muslim heritage and anyway, things are safe here in Northern Alberta 500 miles from the US border.
I’m not sure how to reply to this foolishness. Should I point out his cleverness at being able to “pass” for a white Christian indicates to me that he, himself has no values? Or is that insensitive of me (being white and blond) when I don’t share his precarious position? Or should I mention that Leslie and I moved from the US 1975 making us first-generation Canadians while his people moved to this town over 100 years ago and therefore, his as an “outsider” is pretty much blown?
As a Unitarian I was brought up to be tolerant and appreciative of other’s values but I feel no obligation to tolerate the weakness of our mayor or the dismissive and disrespectful person of Donald Trump. Understanding how hate works, it’s my obligation to stand up to it. Which is not to abandon reason or to imagine myself a perfect person, but to take responsibility for my beliefs.
A Quote:
“It is hardly possible to overrate the value, in the present low state of human improvement, of placing human beings in contact with persons dissimilar to themselves, and with modes of thought and action unlike those with which they are familiar. . . . Such communication has always been, and is peculiarly in the present age, one of the primary sources of progress.” – John Stuart Mill

Goldin, Ian; Cameron, Geoffrey; Balarajan, Meera. Exceptional People: How Migration Shaped Our World and Will Define Our Future (Kindle Locations 29-31). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.