So Let's Get This Straight

        The body of the essay that follows was written in response to an individual who, after a lengthy discussion of the divisive nature of Donald Trump's almost continual stream of invective aimed an anyone with the temerity to disagree with him, opined that it was really  Barack Obama who "divided the country."  This is an all too frequent "fall back" position for Trump supporters. Try as I might, and I have several times attempted to engage in civil dialogue on this particular point, no one has even tried to parse a cogent support of that statement. It seems almost a rote recitation , sort of like "Well, oh yeah?"  

                 So; exactly what did Barack Obama say or do (other than be born black) which as you claim, "divided the country?" I've heard this statement made numerous times but have yet to get a real answer that makes any sense. Certainly nothing legislatively did that. I've been politically aware through Eisenhower's second term to the present.  I've seen presidents who had Congressional majorities against them and with them. I have voted for both Republicans and Democrats. None of them has ever felt the need to publicly deride others simply for disagreeing with them. None has been so childish as to believe that their fifth-grade level rants were more important because they use all capital letters.

         Many disagreed with Bush 43. Many criticized him, some viciously in print media. He initiated a military action in a country with which we were not engaged (Iraq) based on fallacious allegations, urged and abetted by his aides. Tens of thousands of American casualties as well as more than 4,000 deaths occurred there as a result. Despite the harsh criticism of others, including some in his own party, he remained civil.  FDR was hated by most Republicans and was brutally and publicly attacked by people like Father Coughlin, Walter Lippman and Joe Kennedy and many others but remained civil. What is different in this case is, as Lindsey said, too much access to public fora (like FB) by people who have little to say but are all too willing to say it.

         Even more to the point is that the current president has been far more vile and abusive of his power than as any sane American would ever have imagined.  This is a direct reflection on his personal mental makeup, having never been told “no” and believing those who have praised him. This manifests as simply declaring that any media statement, even if totally factual and verifiable, which disagrees with or contradicts his position or a statement on the issue is “Fake.”  Reality is that of all the verifiable public statements the man has made, just under 70% are mostly false or worse! A recent example, He states “US Steel is opening six new plants in the US.” No, US Steel isn’t, not even one and they said so, after Trump’s bold-faced lie, which he hopes you’ll believe.  This difficulty with the truth is compounded by  his appointment of incompetent cabinet members and aides, many of them gone now, who abused the public trust and its money.

         Our  foreign relations posture with the rest of the world, many of whom used to be our allies, has never been worse in the last 60 years, even during the Viet Nam war.  In our travels over almost all of Western Europe over the past five or so years, I have been frequently amazed by persons who, having decided I was American, complimented Barack Obama simply offhand, sometimes even initiating conversation to do so. You won't hear anything like that now with regard to our current POTUS. Sixteen years of good will and sound alliances built by both Reagan and Clinton have been grievously eroded in under two years. He has poisoned the well of foreign relations. This isn't opinion, but simply fact.

       In summary. If one believes that Barack Obama “divided the country”, one should be able to substantively point out something bad that he did. Now, if that immediately brings The Affordable Care Act to your mind, well, then we simply have a difference of opinion regarding the general welfare of our fellow man. On the other hand, if you, for whatever reason you rationalize your dislike, simply “don’t like him,” then it is you and your kind who divided the country. In other words, if you agreed with Trump that there were “good people on both sides” in Charlottesville, then the issue is your racism.

       If you consider it "divisive" when someone points out the huge racial disparity of police shootings or killings of unarmed persons, then consider this. That's simply data, not political race baiting. It isn't "Fake News." Likewise highlighting the massive incarceration and severity of punishment gulf between persons of color and others charged with identical crimes is just data. It is, lamentably, a fact of life in America.  If you think pointing out real racism by the numbers is "divisive" then the problem has been isolated. It's you!

        If you have issues with anyone who says we should evaluate people one by one as we interact with them rather than simply dismissing “them” or “those people” as inferiors because of their race, religion, gender or sexuality,  then you are the divisive one. In 26 years in the military and another 20 in the public schools, I learned better. 

       Of course, I had a distinct advantage; I was raised by parents who valued and evaluated people individually on their merits and made sure their children did too. Racism is a mental defect. So is malignant narcissism. Trump is a poster child for both maladies.