I am Fenwick

There is a funny Southwest airlines commercial that has been aired several times during the NFL playoffs.  In it a leader of some sort announces to an army that if Fenwick identifies himself, all of his comrades will be spared. As Fenwick begins to acknowledge his identity, his mates, one by one, announce, "I am Fenwick" to make it impossible to single out the real Fenwick for what appears to be some disastrous end.   The attempt to protect Fenwick, however, is thwarted because another man stumbles into the crowd, finds the real Fenwick, and asks him a question.  When he realizes the blunder, all heads turn to the latecomer. The audience hears the voiceover say, "Want to Get Away."

Over the past weekend, the Trump administration has issued a number of edicts that one would think could only be enforced in some autocracy.  I was under the impression that there are checks and balances in America to stop a tyrant from ruling like a King. Apparently, there are things a president can do unilaterally that are outrageous, let alone unconstitutional.

With some signatures, immigrants from certain countries cannot enter the country.  And Moslems are especially identified as potential threats to America and will have difficulty getting into the United States.  The claim is that since terrorists have, indeed, terrorized the US, and some of these terrorists are Moslems, and some of these terrorists have, as their place of origin, Iraq, Sudan, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Somalia and Yemen, people who wish to enter our country from these countries are not welcome. (Osama Bin Laden was from Saudi Arabia, which is not on the list).

So Moslems cannot come in. Lebanese, Syrians, and Sudanese etc cannot come in.  Does that not smack of racism to you?  Do you have to be an historian to remember when Jews had to wear Jewish stars so that they could be singled out as potential threats.

I am not Lebanese, or Syrian, or Sudanese--but I think it is time for all Americans to respond to Trump's absurd behavior, to pretend as if we are.

We are Fenwick.

Tomorrow, I fly out of West Palm Beach. This, I assume, is Herr Donald's airport when he flies to his winter mansion.  I will probably have no trouble getting through security, though I imagine tomorrow it will be a bit chaotic at the security check in.  But if I were an Iraqi or Lebanese I might not be able to get through. Imagine if you were an immigrant, or just had an accent, and were flying somewhere tomorrow. Imagine if you had planned to come to the land of opportunity and had saved for the pilgrimage. And then all of a sudden, because your name is not Alan, but El-Alan, you are stopped from boarding your plane.

It is time for Democrats and Republicans to find their backbone, stand up to the self styled King and say, defiantly.  We are Fenwick.