Two Americas; "Unite the Right" Rally in DC Sunday, First Muslim Woman to be Elected to Co

When Rashida Tlaib won the Democratic primary in Michigan's 13th District this week she was assured of being the first Muslim woman to serve in the US Congress as she will have no Republican opposition this Fall. Tlaib is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants and a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives.

CNN: "It's not about just being out there and flaunting your faith," Tlaib told CNN last month. "I always tell people that I'm exposing Islam in such a pivotal way, an impactful way, through public service."

Tlaib's success says a lot about America; how it has embraced immigrants and how they have contributed to our greatness. But few on the right will celebrate her election and some will see it as just another sign of America's decline, moving us one step further away from our European Christian roots.

Certainly no one attending Sunday's "Unite the Right" rally in Washington will praise Tlaib's victory. The gathering will include a variety of alt-right groups with differing agendas, none of which embrace electing a Muslim woman to Congress.

There will also be counter- demonstrations on Sunday protesting the rally's racist message, but I sometimes wonder if it wouldn't be best to simply ignore these white nationalist boneheads and let them make fools of themselves. They seem to thrive on controversy and conflict and I suspect they would be very disappointed to find that they had no one to fight with. Just let them mill around in a circle with their confederate flags and MAGA caps trading conspiracy theories until they get bored and go home to play video games in their "man caves."

America's growing diversity scares many people, but Rashida Tlaib represents an even brighter future for America as a multicultural pluralistic society. The "Unite the Right" folks are fighting a rear-guard action against the nation's changing demographics, hoping for a return to the 1950s. It's painful to watch, but it's even more distressing to know that some in Washington will be sympathetic to their loathsome, bigoted pleas.

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