New age of darkness

US President Donald Trump on Friday issued executive orders banning refugees, immigrants and travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries, from entering the US saying that his ‘extreme vetting’ system would keep away ‘radical Islamic terrorists’ out of the country.

Trump put a four-month hold on permitting the refugees from entering the US and barred travellers from seven predominantly Muslim nations including Syria for at least 90 days in his most sweeping use of presidential power since taking oath a week ago. The move led to chaos across the globe with criticisms raised from all corners including from chief executives of Facebook and Google, Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai.

"My great grandparents came from Germany, Austria and Poland. Priscilla's parents were refugees from China and Vietnam. The United States is a nation of immigrants, and we should be proud of that. These issues are personal for me even beyond my family", Zuckerberg posted on Facebook reacting to Trump’s immigration policies. His words are highly relevant. The world we live in today has people who belong to different races and cultures working, striving together, sharing and contributing to benefit the nations. Pichai, an Indian American, also slammed the order. However, there exist some who stand against such mergers, peaceful coexistence and harmony in the name of racial purity. We call them, in political terms, right-wingers. They dislike secularism and cultural inclusiveness. Such people with bigoted perspectives look at other human beings and societies through the eyes of race, colour, religion, region and caste and adopt approaches according to that.

We, today, live in a world where unfortunately, such small-minded bigots gain supremacy. The decision of Britain last year to withdraw from the European Union also known as Brexit, is an instance. There are possibilities of France leaving the EU (Frexit) as well. Those who share the same stance come to power in Italy. The predictions say that the right wingers are expected to score big in the approaching German election. In India, the world’s largest democracy, those who follow the principles of intolerance are already ruling the nation. The democrats, in this scenario, share apprehensions of the world entering a new Dark Age.

Trump’s order reinforces these concerns. It was by saying out such things more loudly and sharply that Trump led his election campaign and subsequently came into power. Still, the world did not expect him to implement those crazy policies so soon. Trump through his everyday-moves, is proving that he is a racist bully.

His moves undoubtedly, would spark massive conflicts not only across the world but also in the US. Thousands rallied in several American cities protesting Trump’s executive order. One of the banners was directed at the first lady, Melania Trump. It read “Impeach Donald, Deport Melania.” She immigrated to the US from Slovenia in the mid-1990s. Hollywood actress Meryl Streep, during the recent Golden Globes ceremony, used her speech to highlight the importance of foreigners to the American culture saying that American society was a ‘bunch of people’ from different parts of the world. Precisely speaking, all the world’s societies are the same. Bringing in laws that tear apart such societies in the name of race and region would only adversely affect the nation. Just like Pichai said, Trump’s order would ‘create barriers to bringing great talent to the US’. The Modi government in India is secretly planning to grant citizenship to non-Muslim immigrants from neighbouring countries. Trump’s order ending immigration and Modi’s new law in the making is one and the same. In short, any acts of insanity in our country that beats Trump’s lunacy, would be no surprise.

The above laws and mandates trigger apprehensions about the world’s future. At the same time, the protests against Trump’s order inside and outside the US excites those who believe in virtues. Progressive thinkers and peace seekers should therefore be more vigilant and more united.