Do Better is an op-ed column by writer Lincoln Anthony Blades that debunks fallacies regarding the politics of race, culture, and society — because if we all knew better, we'd do better.

On October 4, after four American Special Forces soldiers — Sergeant La David T. Johnson and Staff Sergeants Bryan Black, Dustin Wright, and Jeremiah Johnson — were killed in action during an operation in Niger, the White House was suspiciously silent for almost two weeks. The administration finally addressed their deaths during an October 16 press conference, where Trump used the opportunity to demean President Barack Obama by saying former presidents refused to acknowledge the families of slain soldiers; a claim that was patently false, intentionally deceitful, and was called out by politicians and Gold Star families alike.

For citizens of all races, religions, and political leanings, many consider the absolute apex of love of one's country to be the soldier who risks and ultimately sacrifices their life on the battlefield. The president allowed 12 days to pass without even acknowledging these deaths, even on social media, yet Trump did manage to find the time to tweet over 100 times, 19 of them regarding patriotism, and never once did he acknowledge the soldiers or their families. When Trump finally got around to it, he callously told Sgt. Johnson's widow, Myeshia — the mother of their 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son, and pregnant with their third child — that her husband "knew what he signed up for." (Trump denies saying this.)

An American president who prides himself on being fiercely patriotic, touting ideals like "America first" while routinely citing military bravery as the ultimate symbol of Americana, was tasteless towards the family of a soldier who gave up everything in service of his nation. As Myeshia traveled with her now-fatherless children to Miami International Airport to await the arrival of her husband's body, she received a call from the president. She was accompanied by Representative Frederica Wilson (D-FL), who said the president did not utter the fallen soldier's name once during the entire conversation, leading Myeshia to tearfully tell her, "He didn't even know his name. He kept calling him, 'Your guy.'"

Sgt. Johnson was a black man, and his wife's experience gives insight to a wider trend of treatment of minority families in the military by Trump. After his October 16 press conference, the families of other black military men who died honorably in service of their nation came forward to say they didn't receive any correspondence from the president. After the death of 22-year-old Specialist Etienne J. Murphy in Syria on May 26, his parents did not receive a call from Trump, even after his mother, Sheila, wrote him directly to explain the difficulty she faced in dealing with the death of her son.

After 30-year-old Sergeant Roshain E. Brooks was slain in an artillery blast on August 13 in Iraq, his father, Uvince, said, "This guy is a liar. When I heard what he said, it got me so mad. I called my daughter and said, 'Can you teach me to tweet? I wanna tweet at Trump.' That's the only way to reach him." While Trump has also overlooked white Gold Star families such as Whitney Hunter, the widow of 23-year-old Army Sergeant Jonathon Michael Hunter, who was killed by a suicide bomber in August, there is a troubling pattern with how Trump addresses military members from marginalized communities.