Where true danger is

Wayne Knowles of Shannon Hills writes that the “Democrat Party is rapidly becoming a Socialist Democrat party” and that socialism is “an enemy of our constitutional republic.” He further states that his military service forbids him from supporting Democrats, who he seems to consider “the enemy.”

As a liberal Democrat, I could just as easily accuse the current Republican Party as reshaped by Donald Trump of being a neo-Nazi nationalist party that is clearly a threat to our constitutional republic.

I assume Mr. Knowles does not accept Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or VA benefits and that no one in his immediate family has done so. More than half our federal budget goes to fund these social programs that benefit the great majority of the American people.

Mr. Knowles’ outrage at the Democrats seems to have sprung from the way he and other Vietnam veterans were treated by the “liberal left” when they returned home from duty. I participated in anti-war marches during my college days in the ’60s but never once insulted returning service men and women. My older brother served bravely in Vietnam and I respect him and his peers for their service.

I could not disagree more with Knowles’ contention that the purpose of the military is to kill and destroy “the enemy.” The military oath states in pertinent part that it is the oath giver’s duty “to support and defend the Constitution … against all enemies foreign and domestic.”

I submit to Mr. Knowles that the greatest threat to our Constitution is not the Democratic Party, or socialism, or women and children seeking asylum at the border—it is the man behind the desk in the Oval Office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. That is where we need to build the wall. DAVID ELI COCKCROFT

Little Rock