Problems with U.S. run deeper than Trump

The United States of America has a problem, and it’s not former President Donald J. Trump. No doubt he has contributed to the demise of this country with his recent actions of supposed espionage to his invitation to storm the capital on Jan. 6, 2021. But he is just the result of everything this country has worked so hard to keep hidden.

The history of America has never been a fairy tale. According to Wikipedia.com, “European colonization of the Americas, which began in 1492, resulted in a precipitous decline in Native American population because of wars, ethnic cleansing and enslavement.” It also goes on to say, “after its formation, the United States, as part of its policy of settler colonialism, continued to wage war and perpetrated massacres against many Native American peoples, removed them from their ancestral lands, and subjected them to one-sided treaties and to discriminatory government policies, later focused on forced assimilation, into the 20th century.”

Based on the famed Thanksgiving Day story, one would think that the Native Americans and the Europeans were pretty friendly with each other, and they probably were at times, but overall the Europeans were dangerous and continued to terrorize the Native Americans until they had complete domination over them.

Over the course of history, we begin to see the same thing that was done to the Native Americans start to occur with other nationalities. This internal need of complete dominance over what they deem to be a “lesser” race is and always has been quite troubling. History has shown how the New World Europeans, also known as the colonists, stormed the shores of Western Africa to buy other humans, steal them away from their tribes and land only to bring them to an unknown country to work for free. Now, in 2022, people will freely admit that the original Americans were brutalized and that the enslavement of African Americans and their continued mistreatment is and was very horrific, but is that the truth?

When Donald Trump announced he was running for president, he famously said: "(Mexicans) they’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists and some I assume are good people." This person, who would later go on to be one of the most powerful men in the world, categorized all the people who cross our borders as criminals. So does that mean the children are, too? Are they criminals just because they desire a better life? Granted, our immigration policies aren’t the best, but to single out a whole ethnic group and characterize them as criminals should have been where the true patriots drew the line.

But, sadly, the people who considered themselves to be most patriotic of this country pulled out their once-hidden Confederate flags, donned their crosses in the name of their Jesus and supported the man who just declared war on a minority group of people.

In America, land of the free and home of the brave, where all men are supposed to be created equal, this rhetoric was now openly welcomed. The rhetoric of violence soon followed, along with the disrespect of women. How did America go from electing the first Black president to electing someone who believes African nations are s---hole countries? Was this some type of fluke?

Unfortunately, this is America, a country where some believe they are better than other people or countries and will terrorize anyone who dares to disagree with them. Although this is not the majority of Americans, the homegrown domestic terrorists have infiltrated every corner of this country. The blood that was shed in the name of God runs deep into the very soil of this nation.

Systemic racism has fueled this country for centuries and it’s truly what this nation was built on. But until we deal with our sordid history, the God we supposedly trust in will never bless this country. He just may damn it.

Dionna Riley Johnson is a member of Stronger Together Huddle, a group engaged in supporting and promoting the common good of all. Comments can be sent to mcneil102@icloud.com.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Dionna Johnson: Problems with U.S. run deeper than Trump