The Nation – August 12, 2019

August 12/19, 2019 The Nation.^11

border wall, the family separation policy, the metering

of asylum entries at the southwestern border, the pro-

posal to tighten immigration laws—can be explained by

his desire to preserve white dominance in the United

States. This is likely to be a losing fight: If demographic

trends continue, whites may well be a statistical minor-

ity within a generation. The only way to maintain the

political dominance of whites is to enshrine a view of

citizenship that ties it to race or, failing that, to magnify

the power of white voters.

Indeed, the administration spent months fighting—

and ultimately failing—to add a citizenship question to

the US census, which would have given an enduring

electoral advantage to Republicans and non-Hispanic

whites. But the Republicans won another battle when

the Supreme Court ruled that federal courts could not

stop partisan gerrymandering and that state legislatures

were free to redraw electoral districts however they

wished. As a result, permanent minority rule is now a

possibility in several states.

None of this is to say that whites, particularly those

who are poor or without a college education, don’t

struggle. Of course they do. The loss of manufacturing

jobs and the opioid crisis, to name just two issues, are

urgent challenges that demand lasting solutions. But it

is to say that when white Americans blast the govern-

ment for not solving these problems, they are not told

that they should be silent or that they should “go back.”

Americans must decide whether they want to live in a

past in which the rights and privileges of citizenship are

ranked depending on one’s race, ethnicity, or creed or if

they want to step boldly into a future in which citizen-

ship is enjoyed equally by all who claim this country as

a home. Q

The only way

to maintain

the political

dominance of

whites is to

enshrine a view

of citizenship

that ties it

to race.

GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME

FROM: A COINCIDENCE

RE

UTE

RS

Gassed!

SNAPSHOT / MUSSA QAWASMA

Journalists react to tear gas fired

by Israeli forces during a July 20

protest against plans to tear down

Palestinian homes in Sur Baher, a

village straddling East Jerusalem and

the West Bank, both occupied by

Israel. Demolition began on July 22.

One reason the Donald is so insecure—

One reason he brags and he preens—

Is swells in Manhattan told him, in effect,

“Go back where you came from—that’s Queens.”

They wouldn’t accept him, called him a clown

Whose principal talent was gall.

Surprised that he now says to others, “Go back”?

It’s not that surprising at all.

Calvin Trillin

Deadline Poet