America Faces Home-Grown Terror Attacks—Is Trump to Blame?

I keep meaning to bite my tongue and not get sucked into the abyss of "politics", but this is too serious to pass over in silence...

So far, and the list is expanding every day (almost hourly, it seems), 10 bombs in the United States have been sent, in the past 3 days, to:

• Barack & Michelle Obama
• Bill & Hillary Clinton
• Joe Biden
• Eric Holder
• John Brennan
• Debbie Wasserman Schultz
• Maxine Waters
• George Soros
• Robert De Niro
• CNN

This, of course, is the very definition of terrorism, and the utter collapse of civil discourse, when death threats are used to silence opposing views. Violence is always a failure of imagination and compassion, an admission of moral bankruptcy. What makes these cases more disturbing, is that it appears that the terror is home-grown, or that the US is under siege and has turned against its self.

We have yet to see, of course, if perpetrator(s) turn out to be South American or Jihadi immigrants (as some would like us to believe) but, given their targets —prominent Democrats & critics of Trump— I have my doubts about that.

I wonder, is it a coincidence the Left is under such violent, murderous attack? More to the point, in this divisive, polarized and dangerous moment in US history, how much is Trump to blame?

Naturally, I refer to his ongoing rallies and mean-spirited tweets, stirring up deeper and deeper mistrust between the two parties, referring the media as 'the enemy of the people', while continuing to fan hatred of immigrants and conspiracy theories?

The question is, at what point, does this violence in words become violence in deeds? We've already seen, for example, how he has drawn bigots out of the woodwork, emboldening white supremacists, Nazis, and 'nationalists' as he has self-identified, recently.

To what extent can the president of the so-called free world, be held responsible for the documented increase in xenophobia and Islamophobia that have risen, sharply, since he assumed office?

Does this violence and hatred trickle down from the top? My feeling is yes, and that his irresponsible, vicious tone as well as baffling admiration of dictators is behind these latest acts of terror on US soil.

When fear and loathing are in the air, some unfortunate fool always acts up -- whether it's a mass shooting or, now, these bomb threats. Words matter, especially from those in positions of power, since for better or words they might translate into actions.

Just as even kids in US classrooms are acting out in school, bullying foreigners, emboldened by the adults in their lives (family, politicians, etc) so it might be with artists, eventually - De Niro, of course, is a case in point, given his anti-Trump agenda. Funny, this was (partly) why I left Egypt, to be able to think and speak and live, freely. But, bigots and bullies are everywhere, trying to censor others and shut them down. Sigh We must remain ever vigilant about tolerating hate speech, even at our kitchen table, because this ugliness is what it might lead to...