We’re lost in the whirlpool of partisanship

I usually read all the letters to the editor in the Maryland Independent. I understand that it is a forum, with the paper’s opinion at the top of the page. The forum part of it is sometimes liable to have inaccuracies.

I know people can write what they want, but it is inaccurate to write that President Trump was elected by the majority. He lost the popular vote by almost 3 million votes. He won the electoral college vote, which is the way we elect our president and vice president. So, he is the winner.

That conceded, President Trump’s administration has not yet inspired confidence in the majority of the citizens. His Tweets of unsubstantiated rumors tarnish him and the programs he campaigned on.

More to the point is the fact that we can’t seem to pull ourselves out of this political whirlpool of partisanship. There may be statesmen somewhere but they can’t seem to find their voice. Somewhere in the name calling and pandering so hard to party supporters and denigrating the motives of political opponents, we have become lost.

We need to stop writing and saying someone isn’t a Christian/ Jew/Muslim unless we can look into their soul. Since I am confident no one alive can do so, let’s stop it. Just stop it.

Likewise, we need to stop impugning other people’s motives unless we can use their own words to show their motives aren’t in line with their actions. The legislator who says he opposes regulations and votes against them shouldn’t be considered as other than principled. On the other hand, the legislator who says he wants clean water for all and votes against regulations to control water pollution should suffer our scorn.

Each of us needs to decide what we want from our government and vote that way. Do we want morality, lower taxes, more services, balanced budget, economic nationalism, free trade, a better environment? How much of one are we willing to surrender to get another? An educated citizenr y is the best defense of liberty.