Trumped by Khan
Richard Fulton
Besides Michelle Obama, I believe the most effective speech at the Democrat convention was that of Khizr Khan, father of a Bronze Star hero killed in Afghanistan on April 4, 2004.
You might recall that he and his wife, Ghazala, were upset about the blatant anti-Muslim rhetoric of Donald Trump in his campaign during the primaries.
Mr. Khan is an immigrant citizen, as was his son, who has been successful in America and proud of his citizenship. He even graduated from Harvard.
He and his family shatter the stereotypes of both Muslim Americans and immigrants. Yet Trump had been unable to acknowledge this fact and continued to be condescending to the Khans by hinting that they would not let Mrs. Khan speak at the convention because Muslim women must be silent.
She has spoken, briefly, since in interviews, but breaks up every time she has to contemplate the death of her son. She reflects the unending grief of every Gold Star family, especially the mothers.
So what is it about those who refuse to recognize the service of others in support of the United States?
John McCain was a war hero who suffered badly as a Vietnam prisoner of war. But Trump can only say that he doesn’t praise those who got caught, only those who didn’t.
Even today, there are many still mourning our missing POWs from Vietnam and beyond and want some accounting for their whereabouts, living or dead.
Muslims have served our country in the military even before there was a U.S. Constitution. Bampett Muhammed served under George Washington from 1775-1783. Nicholas Said served in the Union Army, for example.
More than 150,000 Arab Americans served in World War II.
And, indeed, more than 6,000 Muslims have served in Afghanistan and Iraq since 9/11. At least 14 have died there.
Captain Humayun Khan signed up to serve after 9/11 himself. After four years of service, his family wanted him to come home and go to law school as was his ultimate goal.
Instead, he stayed in the military, saying he thought it his duty to protect the soldiers under his command.
And protect he did.
On that April day he was inspecting his troops when a taxi came riding down the road towards them.
Captain Khan told his troops to hit the ground and calmly walked towards the taxi with his arms up signaling the car to stop.
Instead it exploded a bomb that killed Captain Khan, but saved most of his men. Thus the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He was 27 years old.
Donald Trump could only complain that Khizr Kahn had no right to attack him since he didn’t know him personally.
That constitution that Mr. Khan kept with him for years and brought out to ask if Trump had ever read it seems to me, as it does to Mr. Khan, says something about free speech.
Maybe Mr. Trump hadn’t read it, or at least not absorbed its meaning, after all.
Mr. Khan had asked, famously, what Donald Trump had sacrificed. Trump gave an interview this week in which he bragged about his accomplishments in his businesses.
This, he thought was sacrifice equal to that of the Khans.
But Trump just doesn’t get it.
Trump makes many controversial statements.
He apparently does not know that Russia has taken Crimea by force from Ukraine.
He insults women and uses questionable language in his campaign.
He mocks the handicapped.
Ninety-five more days of this and Trump may well be left with only his core constituency of about 35-40 percent of the voters who evidently can’t be alienated by anything he says.
