The View From Here: Leaders Got To Have Game

By Ken DeLaat 

​ My father came home from his all expense paid walking tour of Europe in 1945  with a purple heart and the worst kind of memories one can imagine. He had spent that precious time of his youth away from his wife and kids and home helping to destroy a vast machinery of hatred and stop the unspeakable acts carried out  by that particular brand of fascism.

 They were called Nazis.

 The many Americans who fought and the many who died made their sacrifices in part  so the despicable people carrying symbols of hatred in a disheartening demonstration of the drawing power of racism at its worst could freely express their twisted opinions as they did in Virginia last weekend.

 I get that. First amendment and all.

 On hand were self proclaimed White Supremacists who in an unbelievably ironic  show of blatant ignorance fail to recognize how they constitute the most pathetic symbols of what they fantasize to be the master race.

 They were joined by the obligatory self proclaimed Nazis, a group of cretins  identifying with a symbol representing the ultimate in subhuman culture and of course also on hand were those good old garden variety racists who hang on the fringe of normal society like an annoying rash.

 And when they all got together, violence erupted.

 Really? Who could have possibly called that one?

 I know there were counter demonstrators protesting the, uh, message being delivered by this odd group of bedfellows joined together by a common disdain for decency. I would certainly hope so. We can’t idly sit back and tolerate the advocacy of hatred.

 I can say from experience there are always counter-demonstrators of some kind. It’s part of the whole thing. Has been since the 60’s and likely long before.

 But the demonstrators were locked and loaded and itching  for a fight and seized an opportunity to spew their hatred and rage across the land.

Then they  had the audacity to publicly thank the Prez for his support.

 Because they could.

 He had backed off a previous denunciation and delivered a message that baffled and/or enraged nearly everyone on both sides of the aisle.

As it should.

 I know many out there support the guy, but before taking a stand in defense of his response  please take a look and a listen to these people who were the leaders of this march. Research them. Look  them up on social media and the internet. See what they stand for, what they say about themselves and what they believe.

 And if you are not appalled?

 Maybe it’s time for some serious self reflection.

 Listen, smokescreens aside and media wars be damned, for a guy who is not exactly rolling up big numbers when it comes to approval ratings, and has experienced an erosion of public confidence in his leadership this was an easy one. A slam dunk.

 And when you miss it this badly, butchering a golden opportunity to score?

 This just ain't your game. 

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