June 6, 1944 was a day that held the fate of humanity and the course of history in its hands. In the Normandy region of France on that day was the site of over 150,000 Allied troops descending on the shorelines on what was one of the largest Nazi strongholds, running through a sandy area littered with mines, barbed wires and other obstacles while dodging German gunfire from the cliffs overlooking the shore head-on. Despite over 4,000 troops perishing on that day, it turned out to be a decisive victory for the Allies, and would mark the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany as the Allies began to liberate Europe from fascist rule. The courageous feats of those who fought on that faithful day are incomparable, and I thank them for relinquishing their safety in the name of humanity and helping obliterate Nazi Germany once and for all.
Fast forward, 74 years later, on the night of August 11, 2017, when a group of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists convened on Charlottesville, Virginia, under the less-intimidating pseudonym of “Unite the Right”, marched at the University of Virginia wielding tiki torches, chanting rhetoric that the heroes of Normandy fought against, saying in unison anti-Semitic remarks such as “Jews will not replace us!” The next day, discourse between the far-right demonstrators and counter-protesters escalated into violence, which ended in the death of Heather Heyer, who was killed when a neo-Nazi deliberately drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters.
It is without question that the situation that unraveled in Charlottesville was tragic. Heather Heyer was a martyr for humanity, and there is no doubt that history will look positively on her legacy. But with vague and stubborn comments coming from powerful figures like Donald Trump, with him saying there is blame “on both sides” and there is not enough accountability of those on the so-called “alt-left”.
Comments like those from Trump are dangerous. There is something very wrong, and frankly very dangerous, when we have leaders such as those like Donald Trump crafting false equivalencies between a group that wants to revive an ideology that wiped out over 6 million innocent people from the face of the Earth and a group fundamentally against that view.
White nationalists, neo-Nazis and white supremacists all fundamentally run on the central viewpoint of Adolf Hitler’s propaganda machine that made him rise to power: the idea of “racial purity” and the inherent superiority of the “Aryan race”, and that anyone who didn’t fit the mold, in his view, was considered inferior.
Thought processes like these are responsible for some of the ludicrous points in the history of the United States, whether it be slavery, the genocide of the indigenous, the denial of entry of Chinese immigrants, the internment of Japanese-Americans, or any other crime against humanity inflicted upon by the U.S.
It is why people yell and tweet #BlackLivesMatter, Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem, and many Americans of color continue to have conversations about race in a “post-racial” America. Racism did not end with the passages of the Civil and Voting Rights Acts or the election of President Barack Obama. If you’re surprised about why Charlottesville happened, or why so many people protested Donald Trump throughout the election cycle and into his presidency, then you’re not paying attention.
Charlottesville must be a wake-up call for all Americans, regardless of the color of our skin or any characteristic that differentiates us from one another. There is no room for compromise for views that are irrational and illogical in thought. We must stand up against these domestic terrorists that preach a message of unadulterated hatred, and that means no more being complicit in silence. Adolf Hitler rose to power because he disguised his horrific agenda as a morally sound plan for ordinary people, and those who were silent chose to be because they thought the hatred spewing from him would subside. Nazism and other hateful ideologies rely on manipulation and silence to thrive.
History is taught because it is necessary for us to learn from our mistakes in the past. It is not un-American to call out the moral atrocities that the United States has sanctioned throughout its history. However, it is un-American to deny and justify such atrocities. The inability for this country to condemn its own history is the very reason why we saw the lunatics marching with swastikas and KKK symbols in Charlottesville.
When our descendants look back on Charlottesville, what will we say to them? Will we say we fought back against these neo-Nazis, or will we say we were complicit in their advancement? We are at a pivotal moment in time where we decide whether or not history will repeat itself, and it’s up to us, as self-proclaimed patriotic Americans, to fight back against a group of people that we were taught were against everything America stood for.
Do not let Charlottesville slide. Do not disgrace the legacy of those who fought on D-Day. Do not let history treat you badly. Stand up against those who want to turn back the clock on the progress we have made.
