The Price of Freedom is Eternal Vigilance

It has been a policy of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation, one that predates me, not to comment on political issues unless Archbishop Tutu has voiced a public opinion.

That all ends today.

Yesterday, I watched in horror as the President of the United States held a news conference and said for the SECOND TIME that both sides were to blame for the tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia. He also claimed that some of the neo-Nazis and White Supremacists present were very fine people.

Time after time since taking office, the President of the United States has attacked minorities from almost every group. But with his statement today, he voiced his personal support of a racist, lunatic ideology an ideology that has no place as part of the American discourse.

Our focus at the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation has been inspiring young people to be change makers for peace. But one thing I have learned through my work both with Archbishop Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, is that sometimes you have to fight for peace. As Archbishop Tutu has said, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Now, more than ever, we Americans must be ever vigilant. We must stand up to hatred in all of its forms, even when, and I would argue ESPECIALLY when, that hatred comes from the President of the United States.

Please join me in standing up for all that is good in this country. Let us show the President of the United States that racism and xenophobia and transphobia and sexism and homophobia are not part of the American fabric.

Together we can show the world that the American president is not what makes us Americans.