Let Us Make America Great Again !

 

Now that the majority of the country has witnessed the power President Donald Trump and his "Make America Great Again" jingoism to stir false patriotic pride and assault with impunity on  America most treasured symbol - Democracy,  the political sentiment appears to be swinging away from the Republican Party nationwide.  Trump, in his devilish fashion, also manages to besmirch an iconic slogan of one of the most popular Republican presidents.

Here in Santa Clara County where Biden won over 72% of the votes, the Vietnamese-American for Trump contingence has still not given up.  One group led by Truong Vu and  Lillian Dang with the support of ex- police chief of the former Republic of Vietnam regime, Binh Nguyen, demonstrated in front of the Vietnamese-American Heritage Garden with the banner demanding for martial law to reclaim the presidency for Trump.  Some went to Washington D.C. to join in the protest on January 6th.   The elderly Vietnamese-Americans in San Jose were and still are very vocal in attesting their enthusiasm and devotion for Trump.   They continue to espouse whatever Trump and his conspirators and extreme right-wing operatives propagate on their media outlets.  

These folks earnestly believe that Trump and his "Make America Great Again" policy will prevent America from becoming a socialist country as promoted by the Democrats,  and stop the expansion of China in America and domination worldwide.  Even the Vietnamese media in San Jose buys into such rhetoric  and repeat whatever information that they could get on right-wing "news" outlets.   

And by fervently believing and accepting Trump's propaganda, they are also fallen to a path of racial bias and hatred.  Nam Pham, a long time devout Republican and the owner of Dan Sinh Media, even went as far as writing an open letter to the community to discredit the Black Lives Matter as ungrateful group of colored people trying to take advantage of  "isolated  deaths and incidences" to stir things up for their own agenda.  When asked about his facts, he simply forwarded a YouTube video made by a white supremacist group claiming that Black Lives Matter movement is trying to plunge the country into chaos so that black people can take over the government.

There is generational clash among the younger Vietnamese-American generation and their parents and grandparents.  The younger generation is trying their best to combating fake news and hatred propaganda created by Trump's vicious lies and deceptions.  They created Viet Fact Check site to combat fake news.  They rallied using social media and old fashion campaign to turn out the votes for Democratic candidates in key swing states like GA and PA.   

However, there have to be more efforts in the community for Trump will not stop his absurdity even out of office.  The drum beats for the insurrection against the US government and Biden administration continue on. 

"All politics is local", as the legendary former Speaker of House Tip O'Neill once coined.  On January 6th, 2021, the mobs (and there were a few Vietnamese-Americans among) not only broke down doors, shattered glass, defaced the hallow building that housed American democracy, disrupted the legislature session doing the people's business and killed police officers, but worse they have violently trampled on the most sacred principle that our country was founded on.  They came from all over America believing that what they are allowed to do in their local hometowns that harbor and tolerance for such lies and hatred are acceptable. 

The dire consequences of selfishness and cynicism need to be confronted more than ever.  President Trump sought to overturn a fair election by fermenting a coup misleading people with lies that are often reinforced by local elected officials that help further his treachery.    Mobs and authoritarian leaders like Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Trump are always afraid of being called out and exposed for what they are because so much of their power comes from social connectedness / perceived populism, and treating them as if they are respectable reinforce their power.    It is time for elected officials, who are against such despicable assaults on our Constitution and the democracy for which it was founded, to not grant any legitimacy to Trump supporters, even at the risk of losing a few votes to these mobs.   

Words do matter.  It is easier to deceive people with lies than to convince them with truth.   But  "Enough is enough",  these 3 simple words echoed the sentiment of many as the once ardent supporter of Trump, South Carolina Senator Graham (R) uttered them in outrage against Trump and his insurrection against the US government.   

Our democracy has been tampered, trampled and desecrated.  It will take courage to hold people accountable, and steadfast determination to grant no legitimacy to those who threaten our democracy with lies, violence and blindly follow the sedition path of Trump.