More than seventy years later of that summer in 1944, it was another gorgeous summer weekend in 2017 in Charlottesville. Words spread through the social media that protesters would converge on this small town to protest the recent removal of statues of past confederate leaders from civil war era from various parts of the country. To the dismay and horror of local residents, on first night, hundreds of white youths and their leaders, belonging to various underground right wing extremist groups of neo-Nazi, with names like White Supremacy and KKK marched through the downtown carrying lighted torch as a show of intimidation, reminiscent of Nazi brown shirts. Next day, they appeared in bright daylight wearing swastika-emblazoned red armbands, while waving Nazi flags and chanting racist and xenophobic slogans. They carried arms that they used mercilessly on counter protesters preaching peace and harmony. While, the rest of the country shook in horror and revulsion, the thugs had a friend in a high place. Current strongman preached them bigotry well during his election campaign. Even now, he could not denounce their presence and violence unequivocally, always vacillating between his past and present statements.
While surviving veterans from the D-day invasion wonder “For which ideal we fought for?” the rest of the country takes a deep look into the mirror and it doesn’t like what it sees. While preaching others, this country lost its own moral compass.