It’s more like a bad dream.

I was afraid of this. The first sniff of what smells like white supremacy in or around the White House came with the appointment of Stephen Bannon as special advisor to President-elect Trump. (Still can’t get used to saying that … President Trump).

ADVERTISEMENT

Bannon’s documented history of bigotry should be a concern to us all regarding his elevated and strategic new position within the White House and in the new Trump administration.

Now, with the appointment of folks like Sen. Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsGOP set to release controversial Biden report Trump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status MORE as attorney general, and Gen. Michael Flynn as national security advisor, both hard-liners, it looks like the race pendulum may be swinging back across the decades, potentially eradicating the forward progress we’ve made in this country to respect all Americans as equal partners in our democracy.

My hope is that I’m wrong.

My hope is that these men will continue in the spirit of American freedom by adding their leadership talents and abilities to further promote American values and at the same time protect America’s freedoms — all Americans’ freedoms.

There is no separation. All Americans are equal. And at the same time, all Americans are responsible and accountable.

There is no doubt that our new challenges today surpass anything we’ve seen in the past regarding national security.

Radical Islamic terrorism is a severe and critical threat, as we have seen here within our own borders, and around the world.

We need to elevate all our intelligence and national security resources to new levels of awareness and preparedness using advanced information technologies.

MORE STORIES FROM THE HILL

Trump's outreach to progressive Tulsi Gabbard paves way for unity

Yes, ban the burqa — it is a national security necessity

Trump gives GOP chance to re-brand — but will they take it?

But at the same time, we must keep a level head and not take token potshots at whatever moves in the shadows.

We must realize where we are on the court regarding why we are a target of global, and, importantly, domestic terrorism, what part we have played in putting ourselves into that position, and figure a way to ease out of it — not blast our way out.

Sept. 11th was the wake-up call. Going after Saddam Hussein was the wrong call. A major politically motivated blunder. A knee-jerk reaction like that, in such a volatile and critical global arena, has opened a can of worms the likes of which we have never seen. We’ll be dealing with this forever.

It was a dumb but predictable move.

I’ll never forget how the Bush administration imposed upon the credibility and honor of Gen. Colin Powell to convince the American people that Saddam had stockpiled “weapons of mass destruction” in secret bunkers hidden in the desert.

But no such weapons existed. Powell was a good man, a potential presidential candidate. The act he was forced to play out damaged his integrity and placed him in a damn or be damned compromising position.

This was a classic example of how the stupidity, arrogance and abuse of power by a faulty administration can impact its people, and the long-term damage it can inflict on international relations.

I hoping that the new Trump administration and its appointees will address the critical issues Mr. Trump has correctly identified throughout his campaign in an American way. With integrity, intelligence, “street smarts,” decisive and swift action. And not take potshots at easy targets for marketing, political and personal career gain.

I hope they stick to the real and present dangers we face short term and long term, here and abroad.

Trump is right about our crumbling infrastructure. Roads, bridges, airports, rail service … all falling apart. He’s right about jobs going overseas. He’s right about crime in the streets, drugs … illegal immigration.

He’s right about the threats to our national security.

But, you know what? Any sixth grader could have told you all that.

Let’s hope we elected the right candidate, because we believed that this hard-nosed, no-nonsense “businessman” could get the job done, unlike the other candidate who represented the classic political insider who made a career and living off of talking about the issues.

So, I’ll continue to dream of that classic American white Christmas … “all that snow” … and I’ll support our new president in his efforts to “Make America Great Again.”

I know what he means by that, or at least I want to believe that what he means is what I think he means. Meaning, hold the course, “speak softly and carry a big stick.”

Get the job done.

Let’s hope the fears of all the years are met with American values and integrity, and the dream of a white Christmas doesn’t turn into a white nightmare.

Kushma is a communication consultant and lives in Logan, Utah.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.