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To the Trumpers/MAGA/Conservatives of the country:
Despite everything you are being told by Trump and his sycophants, I am not your enemy. I am your fellow American citizen. We are both citizens of this country. We disagree on many things, but disagreement does not make me your enemy. In a democracy, disagreement is normal and expected.
I do not agree with your position on abortion. I do not agree with your views on guns. I do not agree with your views on religion, or diversity, school choice, or “America First” or any of a number of things. None of those things make me your enemy. They only make me a fellow citizen who disagrees with you.
That means we need to have a discussion. We need to exchange views. We need to talk, debate, even argue. Then, when the time comes to make a decision, we need to arrive at a reasonable compromise. If we don’t, then one of us will get everything we want and the other will get nothing. A compromise is better. For any issue, do you want to lose it completely? I certainly don’t. I’m willing to give ground if we can find a path.
You don’t have to “take your country back.” It didn’t go anywhere. It belongs to you. It belongs to me. It belongs to all of us who call ourselves “citizens.” If you aren’t getting what you want, welcome to the club. In a democracy, none of us do. In a democracy, we have to recognize that there are a lot of views and a lot of wants; nobody gets to have it “all their way.”
That is the greatest danger that your chosen candidate represents. He’s not calling for us to talk, to discuss, to debate. He’s calling for you to hate those who disagree with you. He assigns a childish taunt to anyone who disagrees with him, or thinks he is a bad thing for this country. He is calling for you to let go of your ethical norms and simply succumb to being a troll and a member of his cult of personality.
See him for what he is, and the danger he represents. Resist the siren song of the victim. That is what he is, after all. He’s being “victimized” by the deep state. He’s being “victimized” by the courts. He’s being “victimized” by liberals, by women who have called him out on his sexism, by the press, by former staffers who have turned against him, by Republicans who resist what he is doing to the party and the country. Listen to how often he tells you “it’s unfair.” That’s not the language of a leader. It’s the pout of a toddler. Your instinct to avoid the language of victimization is a good one - so see it in your leader. It’s there.
Reject his call to turn against your fellow citizens. Put down your arms, both physically and verbally. Join back into this grand experiment we call “America.” Together, we can make America great. It won’t be “great again” because America has always been a mixture of greatness and not-so-greatness. But we can work together to make America greater than it is or has been.
Think about it.
Despite everything you are being told by Trump and his sycophants, I am not your enemy. I am your fellow American citizen. We are both citizens of this country. We disagree on many things, but disagreement does not make me your enemy. In a democracy, disagreement is normal and expected.
I do not agree with your position on abortion. I do not agree with your views on guns. I do not agree with your views on religion, or diversity, school choice, or “America First” or any of a number of things. None of those things make me your enemy. They only make me a fellow citizen who disagrees with you.
That means we need to have a discussion. We need to exchange views. We need to talk, debate, even argue. Then, when the time comes to make a decision, we need to arrive at a reasonable compromise. If we don’t, then one of us will get everything we want and the other will get nothing. A compromise is better. For any issue, do you want to lose it completely? I certainly don’t. I’m willing to give ground if we can find a path.
You don’t have to “take your country back.” It didn’t go anywhere. It belongs to you. It belongs to me. It belongs to all of us who call ourselves “citizens.” If you aren’t getting what you want, welcome to the club. In a democracy, none of us do. In a democracy, we have to recognize that there are a lot of views and a lot of wants; nobody gets to have it “all their way.”
That is the greatest danger that your chosen candidate represents. He’s not calling for us to talk, to discuss, to debate. He’s calling for you to hate those who disagree with you. He assigns a childish taunt to anyone who disagrees with him, or thinks he is a bad thing for this country. He is calling for you to let go of your ethical norms and simply succumb to being a troll and a member of his cult of personality.
See him for what he is, and the danger he represents. Resist the siren song of the victim. That is what he is, after all. He’s being “victimized” by the deep state. He’s being “victimized” by the courts. He’s being “victimized” by liberals, by women who have called him out on his sexism, by the press, by former staffers who have turned against him, by Republicans who resist what he is doing to the party and the country. Listen to how often he tells you “it’s unfair.” That’s not the language of a leader. It’s the pout of a toddler. Your instinct to avoid the language of victimization is a good one - so see it in your leader. It’s there.
Reject his call to turn against your fellow citizens. Put down your arms, both physically and verbally. Join back into this grand experiment we call “America.” Together, we can make America great. It won’t be “great again” because America has always been a mixture of greatness and not-so-greatness. But we can work together to make America greater than it is or has been.
Think about it.
, then I win.
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