To the editor:

Racism and its first cousin enslavement relegate human beings to “less than” things to be owned, degraded, exploited, segregated, physically and sexually abused, used up, destroyed … then thrown away.

What we white Americans did … and still do … to our fellow travelers on tiny spaceship Mother Earth is our second greatest sin … the first being our ethnic cleansing of our Native American brothers. And now the deeply flawed and very troubled, mean- spirited occupant of our White House is fanning the flames of racial fear, resentment and hatred…while proclaiming MAGA … Make America Great Again.

I’m confused, Donald, do you mean we should all become greater bigots? Racists are what racists do. And America, sadly, has had … and still has … more than its share of racists. But I fear, oh wounded one, you can’t see your reality through your very distorted view of self.

The carnage of our Civil War apparently wasn’t a painful enough lesson, for the very negative ripples still affect our present. While there could be healing, the current “them and us” Trump effect has torn open our festering wounds. But before we point the finger at the many current racists, or our Founding Fathers and our southern brothers for owning 12.5 million African Americans over 400 years of our country’s history, each one of us now must honestly ask “Who picked that delicious lettuce in my salad last night?” No doubt exploited, very hard working, migrant farmworkers did the harvesting. Each one of us is an integral part of our already great but deeply flawed country, so each of us is responsible for our collective behavior, attitude, and beliefs … also the cleanup and positive changes.

Current evil deeds are passed along to our future generations. It’s well documented that the grandchildren of the Holocaust survivors inherit trauma. And with a New Hampshire license plate while driving through the deep South today, I can hear “Damn Yankee!!”, so I know the Civil War is not fully over. Which begs the question “What legacy do I personally wish to pay forward?”

Mike Beebe

Lyneborough