2020-06-02 – Yesterday, Donald Trump made a speech of sorts to the nation threatening to dominate looters and rioters. Like all Trump speeches it was a hodge-podge of slogans, but one stood out: his promise to protect “your second amendment rights.”

What was that doing there? In what way were the current protests—or even the looting and rioting—threatening second amendment rights? Speaking of second amendment rights, in the moment, was just word salad.

Or was it a signal?

One of the turning point in Nazi Germany was an event in November 1938 when paramilitary and civilian groups broke the glass of Jewish owned shops with the cooperation of the government in Berlin. It was called Kristalnacht, the Night of Broken Glass. It was a pogrom against Jews. The Final Solution of the Jewish Problem grew out of this event.

It may seem extreme to compare what is occurring today in America to Kristalnacht. It is hard to conceive of Donald Trump as having the capability of orchestrating something like that without tweeting incessantly about it. Or without letting something slip.

But there are people in this country who have been waiting for such a moment. They are armed. And when Trump announces that he’s going to protect “your second amendment rights,” at the same moment that he is trampling our first amendment rights by tear gassing peaceful protestors, those people are ecstatic.

Has he accidentally brought us to America’s Night of Broken Glass?

Accident or premeditated, it is a turning point. The thing about turning points is that they could go two ways, like a screw: leftie loosey, rightie tightie.

So maybe this is not the beginning of a dark future for America. Maybe, at long last, America will see that a president who made the still-active pandemic worse by his desire to dominate rather than heal, is not sincere when he says that the actions he took yesterday were to protect us. For the word he used was “dominate.”

Who is winning from his lust to dominate? Racists? Billionaires? Certainly not the vast majority of the country.

The reaction to Kristalnacht within Germany was muted. Many were opposed, but fearful and silent. America is different. The way this screw turns is still up to We the People.

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