How Did White Supremacists Get A Seat At The Table?

By JIM PURCELL

My father was a World War II combat engineer in the U.S. Army. He fought in Europe and he was part of the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944. He went through hell. On top of that, he lost a brother in the U.S. Navy at Anzio Beach. His brother was an LST driver who was blown out of the water by the Germans.

   Now, let’s talk about white nationalism, the Nazi Party and the Klu Klux Klan. Here it is: these things are un-American. Someone cannot be right if they are arguing any of the nonsense that these people spout.

   A lot of good people died getting rid of the national governments that espoused similar beliefs in World War II. A lot of others went through hell.

   My Dad was someone I really respected. But, I think he had really bad, undiagnosed Post Traumatic Stress from the war and living with him was really hard. Still, he was a good man.

   Real Americans died getting rid of Nazis in the world. Families lost loved ones, whose losses were felt for decades after their sacrifice.

   Why is white nationalism something that is being tolerated in public speech these days? Why is it tolerated at all? Maybe it is because the children of the Greatest Generation are getting older, becoming retired and just want to be left alone. I know that is my situation.

   As a reporter, then an editor and finally a publisher in community news as a career, I considered myself an advocate against racism, intolerance and white nationalism. My Dad and my uncle paid the real price for my beliefs. I had the easy part, all I had to do was what was right.

   So, I had my career and lived a good piece of the American Dream, like a lot of other people. But, the experience of World War II has faded in America. Young people just don’t remember what the price of a world free of monsters costs. I pray God it will not have to re-learn old lessons.

   When I was a child, my friends and I were playing “World War II.” I just happened to be the Nazis one day. I suppose I was five or six. Well, my best friend, Paul, and I got the drop on the ‘good guys’ and we play shot them up. In victory, Paul and I pretended giving the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute. My father was nearby and hit me with an open hand across my face pretty hard. He yelled, “Never do that again, for the rest of your life.” Then, he walked away. I got it.

   I was a Conservative for many years as a young man. I like to think I was a “Gerald Ford Conservative,” which meant that he fostered business, advocated select government de-regulation and basically excluded social issues from the mix. It made a lot of sense to me.

   Then, Conservatives married the Religious Right in the 1980s and, somehow or other, the white supremacists and their ilk became Republicans too. Now, today, white supremacists have a seat at the Conservative table. I can understand church people wanting to do what they believe in government. But, white supremacists? Really?

   It is ironic in a way, at a time when more people are inter-marrying in races, faiths and nationalities that white supremacists should have a say about anything at all. But, these are the days we are living in.

World War II was a war that needed to be fought

   I am in my 50s. My children are in their late 20s. I am happy I lived when I did: before terrorism, before the societal ‘crazy’ and before Conservative attitudes changed. You know, when I was eight years old, my family went to Washington DC for a visit. I saw all the sights, we went to the Congress and we saw the U.S. Treasury Building and the chapel near the White House where the presidents took Mass. We even saw Ford’s Theater and the room where President Lincoln passed away across the street. Well, people are not able to just go to the Capital anymore, or the Treasury. There are security issues.

   As a matter of fact, I went back to DC maybe 10 years ago. Well, going to the Capital was a big deal security wise. What characterized my trip was that the White House Christmas Tree was behind several barricades, with two police officers guarding it. There was a sign that said not to get within 20 feet of it. Yeah, just not the same world anymore.

   What will America look like in the years ahead? I have no idea. I am retired, living in the mountains of North Carolina and have no plans to travel, make a fuss or leave my lovely little town.

   This is a time for another generation to make its mark. How it will do it is a mystery to me. I do wish them well, though.

Frankly, my days of wanting to make a stamp on society are over. I focus on my health and my home. But, this America is not the one I grew up in and I think that America is gone forever. It’s sad because the America I was born in was awesome. In my opinion, it was the dream.