Love Will Always Trump Hate

"The further a society drifts from truth

the more it will hate those that speak it.”

George Orwell

Today's breaking news from this morning's screenshot of Breitbart News is that left-wing rioters attacked supporters of President Donald Trump leaving a rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota last evening — assaulting them in groups, setting fire to pro-Trump hats, and attacking the police. Riot police stood by as members of Antifa were seen dragging steel barricades away from the Target Center where the rally was held. They were filmed by Elijah Schaffer, a correspondent for the conservative news site, who was maced as he filmed.

Only hours before the rally, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey proclaimed 'Love Trumps Hate Day', claiming that, “Minneapolis is built on, and propelled forward by, a commitment to inclusion. The people of Minneapolis will not be baited by voices that promote conflict and intolerance. Minneapolis will put on full display tonight the love and compassion for our neighbors that has made our city world-class … in Minneapolis, love will always trump hate.”

Schaffer tweeted out afterwards that as the situation deteriorated, “A protestor can be seen waving the Chinese flag in front of riot police. While people in Hong Kong wave American flags for freedom, we wave Chinese flags.” He further tweeted, “Anti Trump protestors in Minnesota stole about 40 hats off the heads of Trump supporters & then lit them on fire at the Trump Rally. They then left the ashes as a vigil against fascism, leaving a f*ck Trump sign on the top of the pile. This is tolerance. This is the left.”

Exactly my first reaction: “This is tolerance. This is the left.” Where was “the love and compassion for our neighbors” that the mayor said would be on full display?

One bystander, Kali Finch, who was not a Trump supporter or even part of the rally was attacked by the Antifa mob, later tweeting: “In this riot of anti-trump, I was just trying to get through with my brother, and I’ve never been called a racist so many times let alone ever. I’ve never been shoved for just walking through for thinking I was a trump supporter. I don’t have opinions on trump but this was wack.”

The rally itself — with 72,000 ticket requests showing a capacity crowd inside and tens of thousands outside — passed without serious incident, but local police seemed unprepared for the violence by anti-Trump rioters after the event was over.

I add this supplement to my daily blog to air my thoughts on just how disconcerting the situation is becoming with our divisive national politics. Were I a subscriber to the politics of the left, I would be embarrassed to say I aligned with such outright hatred and disregard for opposition opinion. Hatred is never in the right. In every exchange between left and right on the streets of America, it is the left that has abandoned dialogue to engage the opposition with hatred and violence. Never have I seen supporters of the president act in an aggressive manner toward those on the left. The intolerance and animus is completely owned by the left.

Where today can we find the passive non-violent resistance, Satyagraha, of Mahatma Gandhi? Where is the American spirit of civil disobedience exercised by Henry David Thoreau in countering that which he objected to? If the left has truths it is passionate about, it is those truths which must be advanced, not hatred and violence.  We need calm dialogue, not acrimonious shouted platitudes.

George Orwell was prescient in what we are seeing today. The truth is coming out. The hatred is directed at those who are speaking that truth. The powers behind the left know that if they feed the public propaganda long enough, this is the result. Nothing can stop the truth, the facts, and the evidence from coming out. The truth will always find the light of day. Mayor Frey was right about one thing: “love will always trump hate.” Transparency is only the way forward.