Donald Trump was criticized for “attacking” the mother of a deceased Muslim American soldier who stood next to her husband when he attacked Trump at the Democratic National Convention.

“If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say. You tell me,” Trump said, in an interview with ABC’s “This Week.”

This is not an “attack.” It’s simply a question. Trump was probably referring to the fact that in Islamic culture, women are denigrated and required to play a passive role, compared to men. How is that an attack? Shouldn’t leftist, progressive women who generally support feminism be concerned about the subservient, clearly unequal role for Muslim women?

The father of the American soldier did, however, attack Trump. So why shouldn’t Trump retaliate in some way? Why are Republicans always supposed to be selfless gentlemen, while Democrats get away with endless insults and attacks on anyone who disagrees with them?

The father said that Trump has never made sacrifices, like his family has. How can he know that, and what does he define as a sacrifice? Presumably, a sacrifice consists of giving up your life in battle. But nobody in Hillary Clinton’s family has done that. If the failure to make a sacrifice, by that standard, rules out your ability to be president, then Hillary Clinton should be ruled out, as well.

Hillary Clinton makes her money via the acquisition of and – through her husband and the Clinton Foundation – the shameless trading of political power for money. Donald Trump has made his money in the private sector. Granted, we don’t have a fully private sector, and government has its hands in just about everything, particularly at the high level of business where Trump has operated. Nevertheless, the fact remains: Trump could not get money if willing customers did not pay it; Hillary gets all her money only through exercising pull (almost always dishonestly) through the political system.

Why is Hillary Clinton not on the defensive for not making “sacrifices” when her whole life and career has been about nothing other than the narcissistic pursuit of power – and its financial exploitation – for her own sake?

By the way, self-sacrifice is not the American way; or at least, it should not be. America’s founding premise was the individual’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In America, it’s all about the sovereignty of each person’s life, so long as that same right is respected in others. Donald Trump, while not perfect, is closer to this ideal than Hillary Clinton ever could be. Hillary Clinton, in fact, represents the precise opposite of what the Declaration of Independence considered the ideal, as well as what this grieving father (and his religion) claim should be the ideal.

Making lots of money in the private sector, with only willing customers, is a glorious, highly American thing. Making money Hillary’s way is what our Republic was created to prevent, to say nothing of celebrate, like her supporters do.

Selfless servitude? Martyrdom? Those might be the ideals of Islam. And those are the “ideals” corrupt power-seekers like Hillary Clinton count on us to sanction when we elect people such as her into office.

To paraphrase Ayn Rand, whenever there’s someone claiming a need to sacrifice, there’s always somebody else nearby ready to collect your sacrifices. Rest assured: Muslims and fascist politicians like Hillary Clinton stand ready to collect those sacrifices.