To the editor,

At a rally in Tempe, Ariz. on Thursday, Oct. 24, presidential candidate Donald Trump called the United States a “garbage can for the world.” He continued, “And every time I come up and talk about what they’re doing to our country, I get angrier and angrier.”

So the “melting pot” we were once proud of has become a “garbage can?” This degradation of our self-image is unfortunately an accurate gauge of how far Trump has taken us down the road of resentment and cruelty.

I think of my grandparents and their various family origins in Germany, Crimea, and the British Isles, and I wonder, did the Kaiser, the Tsar, and the King or Queen unload these ancestors on poor, defenseless America? No, of course not. Oppressive rulers want their populations to stay put at home where they can be exploited. Like today’s immigrants, many of our ancestors were drawn here in search of a better life, fleeing from poverty and oppression.

Do you remember “I lift my lamp beside the golden door?” Do you remember “huddled masses yearning to breathe free?” We dishonor our freedom-seeking fellow human beings, not least of whom are our great-grandparents, by accepting such a squalid view of our country.

Thomas R. Smith

River Falls