In the past year and a half, the United States has witnessed and endured a shift of tone.  Hate crimes and their resulting violence have flooded all fifty states with its poisonous negativity aimed at certain races, religious groups, genders or sexual orientations.  This negative shift remains heavily prominent throughout the country.

Who or what is the cause of this shift?

It is easy to point at President Donald J. Trump and his “Make America Great Again” campaign, which has given the people who want to discriminate against others the courage and voice to attack whomever they please.

Mr. Trump began his presidential campaign “describing Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug smugglers”, according to Mark Potok in an series of articles published by the Southern Poverty Law Center.  Trump created a divide between himself and immigrants, and placed himself on a pedestal over them.  He divides the country by going against our foundation of being a free and welcoming country, the land of the free.

After he successfully won the election, Trump announced his plans for Muslims trying to enter the U.S. to be stopped by a “total and complete shutdown” according to Potok. He once again targeted a group of people  and classified them as something they are not – terrorists.  Due to his powerful words as president, many have taken to their social media accounts and to their physical actions to voice an agreement with Trump’s sentiment.

President Trump has proven his sexist views  by bragging about grabbing females by their genitals and by attacking a [female] debate moderator by insinuating that her “tough questions were the result of her menstrual cycle,” according to the SPLC source.

The president is relentless in his ability to place himself above others.

His words and actions have directly appealed to the hate organizations found all over this country. The SPLC counted a total of 1,094 bias incidents around the country.  Racial slurs, acts of violence, and both verbal and on-line harassment are heavily prominent across the country.

But let us not kid ourselves; Trump did not invent hate speech, nor did his election create thousands of hate-based organization.  They have existed for years, for centuries.  This is who we are when we reduced to our worst common denominator.

As the adults of the future, indeed the future of America, Bishop Blanchet students are called to be the change they wish to see. Braves should celebrate  and participate in weeks that honor different cultures and ethnic groups.  Our school must support positive actions, to seek those things that unite us, not divide us.  Our students, faculty, and staff must not only tolerate opinions that differ from our own, but also listen to those ideas for things that can bring us together.

Outside these green tiled hallways, when Braves see something that needs changing, our community must write to our elected officials to let the truth be told.

When we fail to do this, we give in to that worst common denominator, and that can not be us.