Some Lessons from Charlottesville

Every year, my son Eli and I set aside time in August for a father-son road trip. These trips have taken us up the Pacific Coast Highway, through our national parks, some times in a car or an RV, and other times on Amtrak sleeper trains through the northwest. This year, we decided to do something on a different scale. At my son’s suggestion, we flew to France, rented a car and made our way to the beaches of Normandy, a place that will forever be sacred ground.

 On June 6, 73 years ago, 160,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Tens of thousands boarded boats and landing craft in rough seas to cross the English Channel, knowing they were sailing into the teeth of a fortified Nazi stronghold, and many would face injury or death. We were keenly aware that among the thousands on those boats crossing the channel in the dark of night were young men only a few years older than my son.

Each year, the unimaginable devastation and scale of World War II and the Holocaust fades further into history, as more and more of the Greatest Generation who fought that terrible war pass away. And while we can learn about the Great War in history books or see it in summer blockbusters, witnessing the rows upon rows of crosses and the Stars of David marking the graves of the fallen, the impact is deep and visceral.

 But for providence and the sacrifices of many made in service of freedom and humanity, the world might be a very different place today.

 Standing on those hallowed beaches of Normandy, with the reminders of what it took to beat back the Nazis’ ideology of racial supremacy all around us, it was all the more disturbing to see images from back home where white supremacist protestors, members of the KKK and neo-Nazis chanted “Blood and Soil” while displaying swastikas and marching at night with torches in Charlottesville. Are we now so far removed from the enormous sacrifice that was made to defeat such repugnant ideas of racial supremacy that once again bigotry and racism creep forward, this time from dark corners of the Internet or KKK rallies and back into the public square?

 This cannot and must not be. We must speak out and stand up against bigotry, racism and hatred in all its forms.

 Political debates, even angry ones, are a part of any democracy, and the United States is no exception. The last few years have taught us that much. But there are shared values in this country that are not up for debate and, above all others, is the simple truth that all of us are created equal. We have enshrined these ideals and founding principles in our Constitution and Bill of Rights, and it is our duty to stand up for them when they are under attack.

 Our nation’s history with race and equality has been a painful and bloody one, but it has also been characterized by halting progress towards living up to our higher ideals. It’s clear we still have a long way to go. When ideologies that divide us by race or religion or declare others less than fully human find a foothold in our political life, silence is not an option. Hatred and racism are a cancer and they must be confronted at every turn, before they can metastasize into violent confrontation. The cemetery in Normandy is a solemn testimony to that fact.

I hope that Charlottesville and the tragic murder of Heather Heyer, who was killed in an act of hatred and terror, will be a wakeup call and that people from across the political spectrum will combat the resurgence of this hateful ideology. It’s the least we can ask of our public officials and our private citizens.