For the last couple of weeks, the country seemed fascinated by the “Blackface” scandal in Virginia. The state’s Governor, and other local politicians, seemed befuddled. “Maybe” they painted themselves in Blackface at various times in their past? Deplorable, yes, but this incident should renew in all of us, at a time when the President of the United States is a none too subtle racist, how little we have done as a nation to move racism from being a cancer to a benign relic of our past.

As a Jew in America, I grew-up hearing the words “Never Again” anytime violent and/or verbal onslaughts were launched against Jews. Jewish organizations and the Jewish community in general, regularly organized public campaigns and statements condemning such attacks. Whenever comparable type assaults were directed towards people-of-color, less intense cries of protest and concern were tragically common among the general populace. Why less intense? To this observer, the answer is obvious: racism is so ingrained in the United States that it is regarded as normal. As a topic of conversation, almost banal. What else is new? Since the onset of American slavery and then the Civil War, our racism has always been evident, an implicit—and too often explicit—part of life in the United States. Those hateful seeds are buried deep, difficult to root out. Tragically, the effort to remove them remains muted at best.

The Republican Party,  and especially its leaders, have used the race card to achieve electoral success, and we have too readily let them. So, why have we not intensified our resistance to Republican enabling of Trump’s racism? For some answers, let’s begin with our “hater-in-chief.”

The Trumps started early. Donald’s father attended Ku Klux Klan rallies and the Trump Company tried to avoid renting apartments to people of color. In just the few years since Donald began his Presidential campaign, he has directly attacked the Disabled and, especially, Muslims, and Hispanics. Remember, too, his term for countries in Africa: “shithole.” He also defended white racists and Nazis marching in Charlottesville, Virginia.

With this record of hate as background, Trump has refined the use of bigotry as an instrument of his Presidency. His war on immigrants  became a means to focus attention on an “enemy.” These “invaders,” are primarily  non-white, Hispanic and Muslim, accused of “illegal entry.”  He has ordered their children to be seized at our southern border and, at every opportunity, publicly identifies them as the reason why we are facing a “national emergency.” But, again, where is the massive public outcry of dissent and opposition to this would-be strongman and his enablers?

We are in the throes of a real national emergency, one catalyzed by Trump and the Republican leadership. To help overcome this threat, work stoppages and daily, public demonstrations should be used to demonstrate that normalcy cannot coexist within a climate of hate.  America, despite its racist past, must rally appropriate resources to remove this cancer from the body politic. Otherwise, it will continue to corrupt America, as slavery and discrimination have done throughout history.

As a first step, I suggest that widespread public teach-ins about hate, race, and other relevant topics be conducted by educators, the responsible media, and America’s tested moral leaders. Corporations and the business community should sponsor such events. They should be available to everyone, based on an understanding that only thru education and non-violent dissent will we be able to successfully end the real national emergency we are facing.