Ladies and gentlemen, the idea that any candidate for any office let alone the highest office in the land, could in any way suggest that any person or group of people be required to wear any form of identification is repugnant and it goes against everything that America stands for.

The United States of America is by no means a perfect country, but then again,  no country is. We are not as bad as some people think and we are not the greatest country in the history of mankind either. We are a nation of immigrants. But when Europeans arrived we did not exactly treat the home folks, the Native Americans with loving kindness and with Christian charity either. We brought with us disease and the maddening part of man, our inhumanity to other men and women. Over the years we have evolved and improved, we continue to be self critical, and we work to better ourselves and our country.

One of our finest hours was when we helped save the world from the scourge of Nazi hate and aggression. Our soldiers fought to make men and women free and our fellow countrymen worked hard on the home front to win a great victory over a great threat to civilization.  The Marshall Plan, then helped to rebuild Europe.

Now the world faces another challenge the hate and barbaric behavior of a group of people who call themselves either ISIS or ISIL.

The other day one of our candidates for President suggested that Muslims wear an ID. This idea is wrong and repugnant to our traditions as a country. We fought and died to bring liberty to Europe where Jews had to wear an identification badge on their clothing every day. During the early days of the plague on humanity that Hitler and his henchmen became, Jewish people were singled out. The last thing we should want to do is to repeat the indignity that occurred to a people in the past by requiring any group to wear any ID on their clothing or person. It is inhumane and just plain wrong.

The cancer on society and civilization that is ISIS does not represent any religion or people. It represents the extremism and hate of a group of individuals that do not and I repeat, do not represent the beliefs of a religion.

One of the beauties of the United States is that everyone is welcome. We as a nation are a quilt of many colors and faiths. It is a blight on our country to have representatives of a political party, the Republican Party stir up fear and hate against innocent people that we do not know other than they are human beings just like you and I.

People like Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio do not represent America. These purveyors of hate and fear belong in the dustbin of history. While Senator Rubio may claim to represent the new and young his clever words put together in an articulate manner are just as wrong and dangerous as other wrong headed leaders of the past. Donald Trump in his attempt to be the nominee of the Republican Party is the insult of the week leader, not someone who should ever lead the Unites States, the leader of the Free World. He is nothing other than a demagogue, a fear monger.

Let us reject these merchants of fear. If we don’t we will create our own village of the damned. Perhaps a fitting response to those who would single out Muslims, would be if we would all put a sign on our bodies, saying that we are all Muslims,  one day.

We must remember that we are all human beings. We have similar goals and wants. We want our families to be safe, to have a roof over their heads and food on the table. It is with a fervent hope that we join together to care for the innocent and desperate refugees who seek help and humanity from their fellow men and women.

We have seen and heard demagogues before. These are individuals who seek power through drumming up fear, the fear of others who might be of a different color or look different,  or have a different religion or wear different clothes. Let us reject the fear and the hate of others that we do not even know.

While the world addresses the issue of ISIS, we must not lose our way, our identity of who we are as human beings. We must not lower ourselves to their level of hate. We must pause and take a breath and be measured but strong in our response to ISIS.

For people of the Muslim faith, these are difficult and challenging times. We of other faiths, other faiths that have come from the same father, Abraham, we must stand resolute in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters to fight injustice, hate and discrimination. These difficult times will pass.

As we come upon our most sacred holidays let us cherish and be thankful for our health, our families and our nation. But let us not forget those who are less fortunate than we are.