1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am fucking angry. And I think every American should be, including YOU! At a rally in Nebraska last night, President Trump reportedly talked about Iran “taking out” Los Angeles and San Diego and described the destruction as a “small price to pay” for ending the war. And the crowd cheered. They cheered at the prospect of American cities being destroyed. They cheered at the thought of American families being killed. There are moments when politics has to end and morality has to begin. This is one of those moments. I am demanding that you publicly and unequivocally condemn President Trump’s remarks—and condemn the crowd that cheered them. Because silence is not neutrality. Imagine if a Democratic president had said that the destruction of Los Angeles and San Diego was an acceptable price to pay, and a Democratic crowd had cheered. Would you remain silent? I hope not. American lives should not depend on which political party occupies the White House. Los Angeles isn’t an abstraction. San Diego isn’t an abstraction. They are American cities filled with American people—children, parents, teachers, nurses, firefighters, workers and families. Those people are not a “price.” We can disagree passionately about Iran, war, foreign policy and the president. But there should be one line that no political party crosses: American civilians are not expendable. No president should normalize the idea that the destruction of American cities and the deaths of millions of Americans are an acceptable bargain. And no political movement should cheer it. So I am asking you to do something that should not be controversial: Condemn the statement. Condemn the cheering. Defend the value of American civilian life. Do not hide behind partisan politics. Do not wait for someone else to speak. History remembers moments like this. It remembers the people who spoke. It remembers the people who acted. And it remembers the people who heard what was happening, understood the danger, and chose silence. Silence is not neutrality. It becomes part of the historical record. You took an oath to serve the people of this country. Serve them now. Speak clearly. Stand up. And make sure that when history looks back at this moment, your name is not on the list of people who saw what was happening and decided that political convenience was more important than moral courage. History is watching and So are we.