Sandy Banks on Trump

"Trump's campaign normalized belligerent intolerance," writes Sandy Banks, former columnist for the Los Angeles Times.

"Obama's presidency normalized inclusiveness."

But "Now our wise and thoughtful commender in chief is handing the country over to a thin-skinned, mean-spirited egomaniac who thinks that lobbing insults is a form of governance," she continues.

Thank you, Sandy, for this excellent op-ed piece in today's LA Times titled "Hope exits, hate enters."

She notices that "millions of others, including me" have been told that "we are the problem, that if America could just keep out, send back, lock up or ignore enough of us problems, the country would be great again."

Yet "Now Obama's opponents are asking that we show our patriotism by supporting Trump's efforts."

Our challenge, as she sees it:

"...we have to acknowledge the haters in our midst--and dilute the newfound confidence they feel."

And we need "to focus on the values that have actually made America great, like courage and compassion."

She is hopeful that this nation's young people have had their wake-up call and will work for fairness and diversity.

Millions of them have indeed awakened, will march tomorrow, and will work toward making this presidency an anomalous event leading to a better future.