Music (and Mixed Messages)

Last weekend, I went to see the local high school musical,  "The Sound of Music."  The songs are fun and well-known, but the story itself (even embellished -- as it is in the musical) is a lovely example of standing up for good in the face of a cruel and nationalistic government.  We all know (or at least, we're supposed to know) that the Nazis brought a horrible scourge upon Europe.  And it's hard not to cheer when a family who refuses to support such a system flees the country in the dead of night.

So I exited the musical, feeling happy for the students' efforts and talents, and went to get into my car.  Parked next to me was a large, shiny SUV.  And it was plastered with Trump stickers -- "Trump 2020," "I support Trump," and the most unnerving of all, "Pro-gun, pro-life, pro-Trump."  Not a sight I'd ever be thrilled to see, but then it struck me -- whoever was the owner of this car, had also just been watching "The Sound of Music," the same anti-Nazi musical I had.

Now I know there are people who don't like to compare Trump's ensemble to the Nazis, and I understand, as the party under Hitler committed absolutely atrocious acts against human dignity and life.  However, it is true that the neo-Nazi enthusiasts who live in the U.S. have been openly supportive of Trump -- and he of them.  Remember the Charlottesville, VA rallies?  When Trump refused to condemn the racist and white nationalist people and actions, he forever solidified a place of disgust in my mind.  In no dimension, in no world, in no just society, should those types of people ever be supported by a president.  For Trump not to have stood up against such beliefs (as any president in the past 70 years would have done, Democrat or Republican) was unforgiveable. 

And the irony of seeing a proud "Pro-Trump" sticker boldy staring at me from a car, parked in the lot so its inhabitants could go in and see "The Sound of Music," is also unforgiveable.  Despite whatever else is swirling around us, there are still some undeniable truths in this world.  The Nazis were wrong.  They will always be wrong.  And any person or president who refuses to condemn their actions is utterly, horribly, forever wrong.