I am just old enough to remember growing up in the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement, and there was an aftermath. It’s not like the Civil Rights Act was signed into law, equality was achieved, and everything was hunky-dory. Institutional –as well as personal– racism doesn’t die that easily or quickly. The immense amount of hatred of “the other” took time to cool down. Time to be hidden away, though never entirely wiped out. Throughout my life, I have seen racism, bigotry, and hatred beginning to give up its grip on this country, slowly. We’re far from perfect, but things have been generally proceeding in the right direction.

Until now.

I am thoroughly disgusted by the behavior of the anti-mosque, anti-Islam (and anti-immigrant) mobs. Disgusted doesn’t even begin to cover it, really. Not by a long shot. I just can’t find a word to adequately convey how I feel about so many of my fellow Americans and their thoroughly revolting and anti-American views. Yes, anti-American. Un-American. If an American doesn’t agree that our founding documents and principles are worth abiding by, then they are anti-American. There’s some percentage of Americans right now who don’t agree with our founding documents and principles –or at least with some parts of them which grant some of our most profound freedoms. I am incapable of comprehending how they balance their supposed overwhelming love of The Constitution of The United States of America, which they also champion loudly as being perfect in all ways, with their attempts to thwart the very ideals for which it stands.

Seems to me, they don’t think our founding principles of freedom and equality for all are a good idea, or maybe they simply have never read the words upon which our country was founded and don’t know, for example, about the principles of separation of church and state and freedom of religion encoded in those very founding documents. They do seem to have a firm grasp of their First Amendment right of free speech and redress of grievances, so it’s odd they can’t seem to grasp the meaning of the rest of that particular amendment. Though I am glad they do get on their soapboxes and feel free to spout their hatred and bigotry loudly in the streets for all to hear and plaster it all over the TV, internet, and radio. Informs me who to be careful of and who to avoid, as well as informing me which businesses do not deserve my business. As far as I am concerned, they are the enemies of freedom and equality. They are a threat to my nation and its founding principles … as much as any terrorist could be. Perhaps more so.

I don’t see good things on the horizon. So many people fractured into so many groups, many of them filled with nothing but hate for the others others unlike them (though all the same Americans) … and willing to show it publicly … to the point of physical confrontation and violence … well, what can we expect that to spawn? Peace, equality, and unicorns farting rainbows and pots of gold? It won’t. Hate only begets more hate. Violence only begets more violence. America is on a course now I fear we won’t be getting off until something so ugly –so horrifying– happens that no one can believe it. Something so wrong and evil that everyone is sickened by it. We’ve come close to that point before during the Civil Rights Movement (more than once to be sure). Things improved, but at a high cost. People died. We’ve come to that point before and stuffed the hatred and ugliness back down, which has lead to it bursting forth again now. This isn’t new hatred. This is old hatred reignited and allowed outside for some sunshine and fresh air. And it will keep rearing its hideous head until we as a country face our issues and agree to live by the ideals we claim to hold up as right and good.

We’d do better to educate it away peacefully, but how to do that when the ones needing the education refuse to listen? How to do that when instead of words, they want to use fists and guns to prove their points correct? How to do that when those who hate have formed a mob and are reveling in the righteousness of group-think? Something ugly and horrifying has to happen to wake them up, I guess. I’d think a crowd of anti-mosque protesters mobbing a man for no other reason than he was there and had dark skin would be ugly and horrifying enough, but it won’t be. If this nightmare of full-moon-mad hatred and anger doesn’t subside –isn’t put away for good properly and peacefully– there can only be one outcome: something ugly and horrifying that no one will believe could happen in America in the 21st Century. Something worse than an angry mob threatening a man minding his own business.

I hope I am wrong, but if it doesn’t happen now, it’ll happen the next time the angry mob finds someone new to hate or revisits an old hatred from days past. History repeats itself over and over and over, sometimes with the same actors, sometimes with new participants. No one ever learns from it, at least not enough people to make any kind of real difference. America is a powder keg. It’s been a powder keg for a long time, and it wants to explode. As far as I am concerned, there are really only two options: follow our founding principles and the laws of our land and yank the fuse out of the bomb, or go ahead and explode. I’d prefer a peaceful resolution to America’s hateful woes, but … I will fight just as angrily as they do for The Constitution of the United States of America and for the guiding principles of right and wrong our country was (and is) built upon. I would never throw the first punch –I’m not much for starting fights– but I am for finishing them once someone else starts the brawl and the side of good can be identified.

Hope for peace, prepare for war.

That’s what Americans do, isn’t it? Fight for the rights and freedoms we have been granted. Maintain our rights and freedoms for future generations of Americans. We even fight for the right of others in foreign lands to enjoy our collective freedoms as we do. I would expect the vast majority of Americans to stand beside me in this regard … in my desire to see our constitutional rights upheld and for racism, bigotry, and hatred of “the other” to be wiped from our collective American consciousness. Freedom and equality for all, no matter their skin color, gender, religion (and for that matter, choice in mates). That’s what our country was built upon, and those are the ideals we should live by, if we want to be Americans.

Other defenders of the things that make America great would have us negotiate, back down, give in, avoid confrontation, appease the haters as much as possible, merely to bring about a somewhat peaceful resolution. I say NO. I will not back down. I will not avoid confrontation. I will not give in. I will not negotiate on the rights afforded all Americans by our founding documents. I will not allow the wrong-headed, the hateful, the racist, the bigoted, or the ignorant dictate to me or anyone else what our rights are or attempt to change those rights encoded into our system in either meaning or word. To do anything less would make me less American. I may never have joined the military and never taken an oath to protect The Constitution, but in my heart, I have. I feel lucky to have been born in this great nation, and I will do what is necessary –what is asked of me– to protect her, her citizens, and their rights from all threats, both foreign and domestic.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Those are things worth fighting for and protecting. I continue to hope this ugliness and hatred resolves itself peacefully, that people eventually open their eyes, are embarrassed by their own actions and words, and learn and grow from the experience, but even in my most optimistic of hearts, I fear the fuse on this powder keg has been burning too long and too hot, and that no one can stop whatever explosion of true horror is to come. If we as a country don’t fix this peacefully, it will eventually fix itself violently. Maybe not this week, or month, or year, but at some point in the future, that fuse will ignite the explosion of mind-bogglingly stupid hatred coursing through the veins of America. It’s happened before (many times), and I don’t doubt it can happen again. We’ve come a long way, but obviously not far enough. As a nation, we continue to forget the lessons we learned in the past and fail apply them to new situations … dooming us to continue repeating the nightmares of the past. The same tired hatred brought out, dusted off, and given a new fresh face. A new round of ugliness for the new generation to endure.

We’re back-sliding all the way back to the 50′s and 60′s (and earlier), having learned nothing at all from all the pain and suffering of the Civil Rights Movement … or any other dark period in our history. Are we ignorant barbarians, or are we modern freedom-loving Americans? I suppose time will tell, but I feel something wicked this way comes, and we will all be sorry when it arrives and fully reveals itself. I just hope we wake up before there are more than just ugly words and a fist or two being thrown around. Meanwhile, we are all stuck in this hell-pit of rancid bile being spewed by those who call themselves “Real Americans” while utterly ignoring what being an American means, what we stand for, what our national values have always been or at least aspired to be.

So I am disgusted … and weeping for my country and its citizens. May we one day find the strength and moral fiber to live up to the highest expectations of our founders. I’d always imagined this would happen in my lifetime –that we would truly be the shining city on the hill, a beacon of hope and and guiding light to freedom-loving people everywhere– but today it feels further away than ever. In fact, today it feels like we’ll never really achieve the freedom and equality for all we were promised by our forefathers. I hope there are more people who agree with me that the rights granted to all Americans are worth fighting for –tooth and nail, if necessary– than there are people who believe our rights are malleable, changeable on a whim, and only applicable as they would like to them to apply and to whom they wish to apply them. These are dark days though, full of anger and hatred, and the screaming throng of loud barbarians seem to be not only at the gate but everywhere.

But it doesn’t take a hoard of barbarians to bring down a great society, and from what I can tell, 20% or more of my fellow Americans believe rather strongly that our rights are malleable and should only apply as they see fit, and that’s more than enough barbarians to make America a living hellhole of a country. We cannot allow them to have their way. Not if we want to continue calling ourselves Americans with any amount of dignity or pride. So … no, I won’t back down, give in, negotiate, or appease this mindless mob who has declared themselves the arbiters of our rights, because they are wrong. They are anti-American. They are Un-American. They are expressing ideas which are in opposition to our founding principles. I am willing to fight them to the extent they are willing to take the fight, up to and including their “Second Amendment solutions”. I didn’t start this fight, and I won’t escalate it, but I will damn sure be a part of ending it. Some things truly are worth fighting for, and two of the ones at the top of my list are freedom and equality … for ALL.

To use their own vernacular, I am locked, loaded, and ready to roll.

Bring it on.