Instead of getting mad at Trump's racist tweets, I'm doing this: Today's Talker

I’m sick of Donald Trump.

Sick of his lies. Sick of his mean-spiritedness. Sick of his tantrums and his immaturity. Sick of how he erodes standards of decency and morality. Sick of America’s standing in the world receding. But most of all, I’m sick of his racism, sexism and xenophobia and the abettors in his party who choose to look the other way when he engages in the destructive “isms” that brought him to the national political stage.

Trump’s latest display of Archie Bunkerism was his attack on four progressive women of color who serve in the United States House of Representatives, who according to Trump “originally came from” corrupt countries. Three of them, Detroit’s own Rashida Tlaib, Boston’s Ayanna Pressley and New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were born in the United States. The fourth, Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar, became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000, six years before Trump’s wife, Melania, obtained that status.

Decent people everywhere clutched their pearls and gritted their teeth upon reading Trump’s racist, disgusting Twitter tantrum, knowing that no one in his inner circle or political party will convince him to tamp down the divisive rhetoric that is unraveling the already-fragile fabric of the American character. For the time being, at least, this is White House normal.

Racist in Chief: Donald Trump's latest tweets cast him as racist in chief: Today's talker

Whenever Trump lobs an attack designed to make critics of color feel like their citizenship is somehow less valid because of their ethnicity, religion, or race, I feel an urge to state the obvious: Non-white American citizens are Americans. Full stop. This land is soaked in the blood of the ancestors of people of color. Trump’s racist screeds make me feel defensive — I want to tell him that the bloodlines on both sides of my family have walked on American soil longer than his own.

But I have made a commitment to myself: Donald Trump will get no more blood pressure spikes from me. I've decided to go a different way.

"I can show you better than I can tell you," my mother used to say to her nearly-never-naughty children. When our misbehavior had escalated to an unacceptable level, it was both a promise and a warning. It meant that the time for talk was over and the time for action was nigh, and that meant big trouble for us.

So I’m promising a new approach to Trump’s degradation of America. Instead of simply getting angry, I will spend every moment of my free time engaged in uniquely American displays of strength.

Instead of just posting Facebook memes mourning the potential loss of democracy that Trump represents, I’m going double down on democracy itself and my role in it.

Motivated by the bullies: Bullies told me to go back to my country. At first it silenced me, now it spurs me on.

I’m going to tell every Michigan voter I know about the state constitutional amendment we passed last year to make voting easier, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure they exercise the right to vote. I’m going to engage in voter education, since I suspect that those who seek to restrict voting access will also ramp up their dirty tricks. I’m going to fight for this country’s soul.

Donald Trump may doubt the authenticity of my claim on America, but I don’t. In the 477 days between now and November 3, 2020, I’m going to show Donald Trump how American I am.

I can show him better than I can tell him.

Kim Trent was elected to an eight-year term on the Wayne State University Board of Governors in 2012. She previously served as the director of former Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm's southeast Michigan office. This column originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press.

What others are saying

The New York Times, in an editorial: "Distraction by outrage is one of Mr. Trump’s favorite tactics. Whenever things aren’t going as he wants — for instance, when his crusade to put a citizenship question on the 2020 census fails, or when the dramatic wave of immigration raids he promised his most loyal supporters does not materialize, again — he feels moved to compensate with a remark aimed at refocusing the spotlight."

Elvia Díaz, Arizona Republic: "We’ve known for years that Trump didn’t get to the White House alone. The Republican Party put him there. Republicans, even those who at times appear to be sensible conservatives, put him there. They’re our neighbors, our co-workers, our doctors, our bank tellers. And yes, some of them even call themselves our friends. Why were these conservatives collectively silent over Trump’s racist rants? I can think of one reason. They're as racist as Trump."

Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review: "I don’t pay much attention to Trump’s tweets anymore. Like most people I’m inured to them. Plus, as I’ve said a million times, two words explain why — by what is a near miracle of the electoral map — he won in 2016: Hillary Clinton. It looks like Democrats are even crazier now than they were then, so the president has a chance to be reelected. But his policy successes are discounted by his personal flaws. He can’t afford to lose the potential supporters his barroom-brawler routine is alienating."

What our readers are saying

Were Trump's tweets mean? Of course. Were Trump's tweets rude? Yup. Were Trump's tweets racist? Of course not.

— Tom Thacker

Real talk. Real action.

— Melinda Crawford

I’m sick of Democrats and apparently, given President Donald Trump’s election, I’m not the only one.

— Douglas Jahner

I may not agree with Trent's politics or positions, but I applaud her approach. All we can do is advocate for positions we believe in and encourage our fellow citizens to vote. Trump administration will end, just like other bad presidents.That is what we all need to remember.

— David White

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Instead of getting mad at Donald Trump's racist tweets, I'm doing this