Gen. Michael T Flynn's anti Muslim rhetoric. He needs to tone it down.

Michael Flynn, Donald Trump's national security advisor, has a tendency to make comments that warm the cockles of those who have a bad case of Muslimphobia.  He has called the religion of Islam a "cancer" .  Lately  taken out of context to some extent he  has called Islam not a religion but a political system. (He was referring to "radical Islam"  in context but often the captions of his remarks left out that qualifying  nuance).  What  these not carefully  parsed words has done is to cause comments in Facebook postings I have seen  that reveal how widespread is anti-Islamic  bigotry in the United States.

Flynn is already under attack for his hard line approach to Islam and Donald Trump's appointment to his White House in a very sensitive position.  Let us hope his future pronouncements are more sensitively  parsed and the advice he gives Pres. Elect Trump behind the scenes is more reflective of  the complexities of the Muslim world.  If he does not, he may actually harm US national security and create more problems with terrorism than we have now.

What I learned  from  on line media discussions is there are those who do believe that the religion of Islam is not a religion but  a political system. To them it justifies their  blanket indictment of Muslims and Islam in general .They seized on Flynn's words, leaving out any qualifying statements that he was referring to "radical Islam" (referring to ISIS or other of such ilk)  which is even held in contempt  by the overwhelming number of  world's Muslims as being heretical    Here is the reality:  It is not the religion that is at fault; it is  some of the practitioners who use the religion for their own purposes. . What those who took his remarks as validating their indictment of  all Muslims  are doing  is creating a strategic military  problem, too. It will turn off the very allies who consider ISIS and its kind as as heretics. Those Muslims who do not follow ISIS are the very ones we need to fight ISIS,and we might find ourselves going it alone if the Trump administration continues to condone such anti-Islamic bigotry.

What is true is that there are those who use religion to get and keep power and that is a  fact of life in our world's history.  It has happened with some frequency.  It can be countered. Sometimes greater understanding can come from personal contacts or becoming more knowledgeable about the religion. How many Muslims do you know anyway or ever met or talked with them? How much of the theology of Islam or its origins (based on the same Abrahamic beliefs of Christianity and Judaism) do you know?To say Islam is not a religion is sheer ignorance and is disrespectful   of  the  over 1.5 billion Muslims in the world who practice it peacefully.

What is particularly  disturbing is the effect of anti Muslim bigotry on  our own security.  There are those who are already here who have been  radicalized on line.  So far, to intercept theim from carrying out Jihad in the US or abroad,  law enforcement has relied on cooperation with the Muslim community and their good will to intercept them before they act.  Now, what I hear is fear in that community, that the Trump administration is hostile and suspicious of all followers of Islam in the US.  Whether good will and cooperation in the future will continue is not helped by the bigoted comments found on line or expressed openly. Those bigoted remarks can only work to increase the alienation of members  of our own  Muslim community.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzh9b_vo4vshttp://www.jewsnews.co.il/2016/11/24/mike-flynn-trumps-new-national-security-advisor-says-islam-is-not-a-religion-but-a-political-system-based-on-religion-used-to-control-people.html

Defining racism and bigotry

Sometimes in the battle of words and name calling, we throw around terms that sound awful but we fail to look at the meaning:  There are two hurled often:  One is racism and the other is bigotry.  I ran to Websters' dictionary for defintion:
"Racism:1.  a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race2a :  a doctrine or political program based on the assumption of racism and designed to execute its principlesb :  a political or social system founded on racism"

1. By that definition the KKK or Neo Nazi groups fit that definition to a tee. Inclusion and belief that all men are created equal are the opposite terms.

Bigotry is a bit more  subtle: www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bigot

"Full Definition of bigot. : a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance."How we apply the definition and to whom are the stuff of which political discourse is made.  The key in that  definition  of bigotry is "intolerantly" as does the following clause. You may have strong views you hold dearly, but the difference is how you treat or speak to others, especially a racial or ethnic group.Example of Breitbart bigotry in the their own words: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/us/politics/stephen-bannon-breitbart-words. “Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy” 

• “Bill Kristol: Republican Spoiler, Renegade Jew” 

• “World Health Organization Report: Trannies 49 Xs Higher HIV Rate”

• “Roger Stone: Huma Abedin ‘Most Likely a Saudi Spy’ With ‘Deep, Inarguable Connections’ to ‘Global Terrorist Entity’” 

• “Lesbian Bridezillas Bully Bridal Shop Owner Over Religious Beliefs” 

• “The Solution to Online ‘Harassment’ Is Simple: Women Should Log Off”

Is Steve Bannon, formerly with Breitbart and now closest policy advisor to Donald Trump, himslef a bigot?  A case could be made either way. He admits to being a nationalist, but a white nationalist? Probably not, though he has provided the media forum for some of those holding such views to be an advocate. 

What  I am seeing  on Facebook regarding Muslims, are many postings painting their religion and their followers  as all being to be feared as a threat, is sheer bigotry since the remarks "treat the members of their group" with hatred and intolerance.  One of the tools used by those who are intolerant of Muslims is to gin up fear that their 1% of  the United States  population will impose Sharia law on us. That has been an ongoing theme in anti-Muslim bigotry since 2011.  Our forefathers had experienced "divine right of Kings' and wisely wrote an amendment to the Constitution that prohibits setting up a state religion. It is found in the First Amendment. "Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,....".

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-trump-adviser-stephen-bannon-fiery-populism-followed-life-in-elite-circles/2016/11/19/de91ef40-ac57-11e6-977a-1030f822fc35_story.html?tid=a_inl

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_the_United_States

Populism is a fickle beast and therein lies the Democratic Party's hope

Populism is a fickle beast. The public mood can change quickly. Therein lies the Democratic Party's hope, but only if it can develop an appeal to those who voted for change in 2016 and Donald Trump fails to improve the lot of those who felt economic pain of being left behind in the economy.  

Donald Trump is laying a trap for himself by setting up an administratiion dominated by anti-populists. So far, Donald Trump's appointments to cabinet posts make his administration look like a team of billionaires.  While they are Washington outsiders, their orientation is 100% big business and it is doubtful they will promote protecting consumers from bad, unfair, harmful business practices or take the side of the working middle class when policy conflicts with the CEO s and the bottom line. Republicans propose removing regulations that are harmful to business interests and many of those regulations are consumer protection measures. Democrats should be ready to pounce when they see these inevitable GOP backed anti consumer, anti little guy policies.

What Democrats are debating is whether to stonewall Donald Trump so he fails or whether they join forces with him on issues and legislation which they would normally support because it benefits the working middle class .Those who support stonewalling argue that supporting Trump on some policy issues is helping Trump succeed and will hurt Democratic chances later.  Democrats have more to gain by tooting  their horns loudly that solving middle class  problems is better than blind partisanship.  Their measuring stick should be whether the middle class is helped in deciding  what legislation they support regardless who proposes it.  

Both Democrats and the Trump administration can join in common cause in providing more jobs through infrastructure projects. Greater emphasis on educational training for the new manufacturing economy will be something that may be of direct benefit.  

What would be harmful  to the struggling middle class would be yanking affordable health insurance from those in the lower income brackets without  effective, comparable replacement.  Privatizing Medicare and Social Security would not be helpful, because those who most rely on those programs for retirement security are the middle class and the near poor.  Democrats should  hold Donald Trump to his promises not to touch them. If lowering individual taxes on the wealthy does not stimulate the economy and lift all boats in four years,  Democrats can make the case trickle down economics are a demonstrated failure. To do so, they need to oppose massive tax cuts to wealthy individuals now even if it is a losing battle in Congress.

Promoters of  white supremacy such as the KKK  and bigotry forums like Breitbart News  tainted supporters of Donald Trump. Racists and bigots  think they have found a home in a GOP and believe they have a green light to be "politically incorrect" and shout hate speech. Donald Trump denounced bigotry in a post election rally in Cincinnati. Those were the right words, but whether his policies support civil and human rights will be the real test.  Expect Democrats to continue to speak out against racism and bigotry, and be a champion for civil and human rights. That is what will inevitably differentiate Democrats from the Trump wing of the GOP.

I hear two currents of thoughts from those who are optimistic about Donald Trump's ability to rule and to get things done.  One, because he has no prior experience in government, it is similar  the lack of experience that Pres. Obama had when he took office and so he will  likewise succeed, even though he called Obama a failure in the compaign. The other is conflicted. So he appoints a white supremicist to a leadership position in his White House, Trump himself is not racist and will concentrate on bringing economic well being to those left behind, which is much more important.

Comparing Donald Trump's lack of experience in government to Pres. Obama's lack when he was elected, is not a good one.  In fact, Trump's experience is much less. To dismiss the fears felt by those who were disrespected in the Trump campaign as not widespread or spontaneous, will lead to his inability to get his economic agenda accomplished.  Here is my response to a facebook post.

Was Obama unprepared. for the job? Obama was a state legislator and a US Senator and sat on the Foreign Relations committee. He at least understood civics and the Constitution, more so than anyone elected to that office since he was a professor of Constitutional law. Trump seems ignorant about the powers and Constitutional constraints on the office. It will be a very steep learning curve . Obama's multicultural background gave him a unique understanding of all of America and the world. He never acted out of ignorance nor did he ignore facts. He is leaving office with one of the highest favorable poll ratings in history.

If what you are saying is that fear in our land and a feeling that Washington is now their enemy of all except white males is somehow just fomented by paid agitators, then you are laying the groundwork for a failed presidency.. Fear is deep seated and real. To calm the waters is now what Trump must do, or the civil unrest and constituitional crises will dominate public attention and Trump will find his economic agenda buried in the racial and ethnic civil unrest that will result.