Gen. John Kelly, USMC (Ret.)
Chief of Staff to the President

Why do leftists insinuate their leftism into every aspect of life?

Years ago, at my mother’s funeral, a cousin handed out leftist fliers as we exited the funeral home. Later, my wife and I attended two funerals in a short time. At both, the speakers – adult children of the deceased – gave prominent mention to the deceased’s contempt for then-President Bush.

At the time, these actions seemed inappropriate, insulting, even repugnant. But now I realize that for those people, leftist politics had taken on a religious fervor, so a funeral was just the place to push their agenda.

And now we have President Trump’s phone call to the widow of a soldier killed in action in Niger. How could a Democrat congresswoman politicize this sad event? Nothing I can say could add to what was said by Gen. John Kelly, a Gold Star father himself. Watch him. Let what he said sink in. Then you will understand my feelings.

http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/kelly-goldstar-parents-fallen/2017/10/19/id/820868/

If you want to understand more fully what Gen. Kelly was talking about, watch this movie, which is based on a real incident. It depicts the care given to the remains of a fallen Marine who served under Gen. Kelly. In fact, Gen. Kelly was present during the attack that resulted in the death of Lance Corporal Chance Phelps. If you want to know the full meaning of “honor” and “commitment,” watch it.

“Taking Chance” starring Kevin Bacon.

Fanatical hatred of nonbelievers used to be the province of religion, and it still is in the Middle East. But here in the West, religion has ceased to play an important role in many people’s lives. Sadly, instead of discarding intolerance, many people transferred it to politics, where it can be just as destructive.

If I believe Satan is tempting me, I will be aware of my weaknesses and try to overcome them. But if I believe that a politician with whom I disagree is satanic, I will do everything in my power to destroy him − and perhaps even kill him. And I will regard his followers as satanic as well. To believe Satan is tempting me is one thing; to believe a real person is satanic is quite another.

Having removed all religion from public life, we needed somewhere to put all the fanaticism and intolerance that people too often associated with religion. And where better to put them than politics?

Yes, let’s take a politician with whom we disagree, and instead of criticizing his policies, let’s condemn him personally. But let’s not be squeamish. Let’s not stop with making fun of his hair or his hands. No, let’s equate Donald Trump with the Antichrist.

On Google, “Trump+Antichrist” in quotes gives 10,600 hits, and “Trump+devil” gives an impressive 15,300 hits. But “Hitler+Antichrist” gives only 1,420 hits, and “Hitler+devil” gives 4,750 hits. That is, according to the Internet, Donald Trump is associated with the devil over 3 times more often than is Adolf Hitler. If you need further evidence, check out Google Images for Trump+Antichrist and Trump+devil. To progressives, Trump apparently out-Hitlers Hitler, no easy task.

But wait – did Trump start an aggressive war in which 40 to 60 million human beings died? Did Trump set up death camps in which 10 to 12 million innocent civilians were murdered? Did Trump spread racial and religious hatred that reverberates to this day?

Yes, that Trump.

● The insensitive Trump. The Trump who wasn’t sure whether he should phone Gold Star families, or what he should say. So he asked Gen. Kelly, whose son was killed in action in Afghanistan ‒ and took his advice.

● The anti-immigrant Trump. The Trump whose paternal grandparents were immigrants from Germany, whose mother was an immigrant from Scotland, and whose wife is an immigrant from Slovenia.

● The racist Trump. The Trump with a daughter who converted to Judaism and married a Jew, three Jewish grandchildren, and another daughter who is going with a Jew.

● The white-supremacist Trump. The Trump who opened up Palm Beach to African Americans and Jews, while other hotels remained segregated.

● The self-absorbed Trump. The Trump who got out of his limo to stop a mugger who was wielding a baseball bat.

That’s right, the diabolical Trump. The Antichrist Trump.

We have taken the intolerance and hatred that were evoked by religious fanaticism, and instead of burying them in the graveyard of rotten ideas, we transferred them to politics. If we are not careful, we will wind up with the worst of both worlds − absence of ethical principles to guide us in life, combined with the fanaticism to believe that our political opponents are diabolical. That is hardly the recipe for our survival as a free nation.

When I watched General Kelly give his heartfelt description of dealing with Gold Star families, I was moved and inspired. But how we see things depends on our point of view. You see, I was brought up in America, where we had deep respect and gratitude for those who risked life and limb to defend our freedom.

Others, however, see things differently. A columnist for the New Yorker saw Kelly’s speech as evidence of a “military coup” – her words. Letter writers to the Los Angeles Times were unanimous in condemning President Trump’s phone call to the widow as insulting, insensitive, and probably racist. Of course, none of them had seen a transcript or heard a recording of the call, since none exists. They were willing to assume the worst. They regard Republicans not as political opponents who need to be won over, but as enemies who must be shunned, silenced, and ultimately crushed.

These people were not brought up in the same country I was. They were brought up to see our military as thugs, our flag as an emblem of oppression, and our National Anthem as a cue for kneeling in contempt, not standing tall in respect. How inexpressibly sad. And how dangerous to our constitutional republic.

My mother’s funeral was not political. The President’s phone call to the widow of Sergeant La David Johnson was not political. They were sacred. It’s time we remembered that.

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Contact: dstol@prodigy.net. You are welcome to publish or post these articles, provided that you cite the author and website.

www.stolinsky.com