Today Mr. Trump came out and said that we should ban all Muslims from entering this country. You go, Donald. I’m glad your urge to discriminate has found a platform. It’s easy to see how such a statement could become a political rallying cry. After all, we now live in a world where your neighbor might very well be a jihadist, determined to kill you for your beliefs and heritage. Congratulations on spreading the fear.

I want to tell you something about my country, Mr. Trump. In my country, we don’t discriminate based on beliefs. We don’t exclude. We don’t hate (or at least, if we do, we know it is wrong, and we try to overcome it.) We are not radicals, and we don’t want to join them.

But it would be in our best interest to remember that this country was founded by radicals. Radicals who believed that all men (and women) are created equal. Radicals who believed that we could build the greatest country in the world with the weak and the poor that other countries didn’t want.

My apologies to Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs, but there is a reason for every grain of sand. Not just the white grains, not just the tan grains, not just the black grains. Not just the soft ones on the beach, or the sharp ones under the ocean. EVERY GRAIN. That includes the evil ones. The ones who wish to do harm. Mr. Trump can vilify them. He can plan to ban them. He can convince the simple people that he can keep them safe. But it’s bullshit. There is no protection except to learn to live together and understand one another. Any other solution does nothing but propagate the hatred that is so tempting in this dirty and difficult world.

Here’s to the country that I live in and believe in. Please, Mr. Trump, find yourself another country to be part of.