GOING TOO FAR Nothing about the future

Posted on 07/21/2016 | About Washington D.C., Washington, D.C.

Republicans at their national convention have finally found something to agree on and it’s not Donald Trump. It’s Hillary Clinton. They are putting Clinton on mock trial, declaring her guilty and issuing sentences that include death by firing squad or hanging. It is a remarkable display of political rhetoric gone mad. That speech so hateful, so demeaning, so intended to incite violence - has become part of the political fabric of an American Presidential campaign is without precedent. Even some Clinton haters say the vitriol has gone too far.

The focus on Clinton has upstaged what is supposed to be a weeklong celebration and promotion of Donald Trump. Instead of extolling the virtues of their nominee, Republicans have turned to increasingly crass slurs against his opponent.
On the streets of Cleveland belittling buttons for sale say, “Life's a Bitch - Don't Elect One'” and “Trump vs. Tramp.” Others are harsher and more vulgar, with crude sexual references.
Meanwhile some citizens took advantage of the ‘Open Carry’ laws, sporting armaments best left to a war zone.
United Airlines has suspended a pilot for calling for the public hanging of the Democratic presidential nominee. The airline said it was 'appalled by the threatening comments' of Michael Folk, who is also a Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates.
He posted on Twitter that Clinton should be prosecuted for treason and “hung on the mall in Washington, DC.”
He has since deleted the Tweet and said the message should not have been taken literally.
He sent the message after the FBI decided not to charge Clinton over her private email server.
"This pilot has been removed from flying pending our investigation," United Continental said in a tweet.
Folk told the AP that, "It could have been said a little bit better. I regret the tone, and the second part of that tweet. The biggest misconception is that for some reason, everybody thinks I made a death threat, which I did not. Clearly it was not that,"
Clearly it was exactly that.
Al Baldasaro, a delegate from New Hampshire who advises Trump on veterans issues, said on a radio show, “Hillary Clinton should be put in the firing line and shot for treason,” later he added “or maybe it’s the electric chair now.”
The US Secret Service later said it was investigating the matter.
Regardless of one’s political affiliation this is unacceptable on every level. Trump and Clinton are running for the highest office in the land – arguably in the world. This election should be about vision, and ideas, and policies and respect for one’s opponents and for all citizens.
Instead some in this campaign have fostered and encouraged violence toward anyone who does not share their views, beliefs, or skin colour. The words and actions we have witnessed this week would be deplorable in a third world country ruled by belligerent dictators.
That it is happening in the United States of America is beyond comprehension. With such ignorant, violent, homegrown extremism by presumably respectable everyday citizens and political delegates on display for the world to watch – who needs imported terrorism?
Sadly too, all this is happening just weeks after the US Travel Association and its marketing arm, Brand USA, brilliantly showcased to the world all the wonders the country has to offer – and told the world they are welcome to the United States.
What is being said and done in Cleveland is the antithesis of that message.