On Friday, Donald Trump delivered the commencement address to the Naval Academy. The address included the declaration that “our ancestors tamed a continent.” Now, we’re not going to waste our time trying to decode another one of this guy’s idiotic statements, especially since we don’t know where to begin determining which “continent” he’s referring to. However, what we can dissect from his speech is that Trump is clearly unapologetic about what can be perceived as genocide.
"Together there is nothing Americans can’t do, absolutely nothing," Trump said. "In recent years, and even decades, too many people have forgotten that truth. They’ve forgotten that our ancestors trounced an empire, tamed a continent and triumphed over the worst evils in history."
"America is the greatest fighting force for peace, justice and freedom in the history of the world," he added. "We have become a lot stronger lately. We are not going to apologize for America. We are going to stand up for America." Trump’s statement that we are "not going to apologize for America" is quite problematic since there have been plenty of dark moments in this country’s past which require much more than just an apology. We can start by taking a long, hard look at the way people of color have been treated. Just start with the 18th century and move to the next one.
Trump ended his speech by commenting on how America has "rediscovered our identity." "We are witnessing the great reawakening of the American spirit and of American might," he said. "We have rediscovered our identity, regained our stride and we’re proud again." If what we’re witnessing is this country regaining its stride, is this the place where we really want to be?
