JUNE 11, 2019 – Yesterday on my way to work I had two contrasting, back-to-back encounters. I’ll report them objectively, using as few adjectives and adverbs as possible, except to enhance visualization. I want the reader to be self-directed as far as conclusions are concerned.
PART I – CAP AND FLAG
When I crossed Third Avenue to the Federal Courthouse block in downtown Minneapolis, a gentleman approached from the opposite end of the block. He waved a large, bright American flag on a pole at least as long as he was tall. As the distance between us narrowed, details appeared. The gentleman was of slight build, presentably attired (at least by downtown office standards). He wore a sunglasses and a red cap bearing the slogan, “Make America Great Again.” Affixed somehow to the bottom of his flag was an extra, blue stripe with the same slogan. In the center of the flag was a stylized illustration of the president’s portrait. He seemed to be a Latino in his mid- to late twenties.
Just a few paces after we’d passed each other, an inner voice said to me, “Opportunity missed but not lost.” I turned around and saw the guy waiting at the corner for the light to change . . . “17, 16.” I hastened my pace toward the corner and stepped up beside him.
“Excuse me,” I said. “If you don’t mind my asking—in your judgment, what would make America great again?”
“Sure,” he said. “America would be great if we stopped all legal and illegal immigration.”
“Uh-huh. And why would that make the country better?”
“The Founding Fathers didn’t contemplate it.”
“What exactly didn’t they contemplate?”
“They didn’t contemplate that people from all over the world would come here. They didn’t contemplate that.”
“The Founding Fathers didn’t contemplate a lot of things,” I said. “Take tall buildings and the internet for example.” My tone gave the guy permission to smile, but he turned right back to a serious lecture about what the Founding Fathers hadn’t envisioned about immigrants.
I detected a Canadian accent and inquired about his origins. “I’m from International Falls [MN]. As you might guess, I’m Native American.
I decided to dive in. “What do you think of Columbus?”
“He didn’t do that much harm. He didn’t make his way to the middle of North America. He stopped at islands in the Caribbean. The people who really did the harm were all the Jews on his ships. Did you know he brought lots of Jews over here?”
“Are you aware of the Inquisition?” I had to ask.
“Wasn’t that the Catholic Church?”
“Uh-huh. So what did the Jews do that you don’t like?”
Upon hearing this question, the young man pulled a small crucifix necklace out from under his shirt. “They killed my lord and savior.”
“Don’t you think it was humanity, maybe, that killed your lord and savior, and given the locale, the humanity in that place happened to be Jewish?”
“They were Jews who killed him.”
[READ PART II TOMORROW – WHEN YOUR OTHER SOCK WILL BE KNOCKED OFF]
© 2019 Eric Nilsson
