Let’s all tone down the political rhetoric

I am a regular reader of the Daily Local News, and it is with dismay and disgust that I read your Friday, Feb. 19 headline concerning the vandalism of the home of Michael Van der Veen, one of former President Trumps’ Impeachment lawyers.

Eggs were thrown at his front door, and a big red arrow painted on his driveway with the word ‘traitor’. His office was picketed by protesters, and worst of all, he claimed to have received over 100 death threats, probably via our most toxic means of communications these days, social media.

Being a main stream liberal myself, I am no fan of former President Trump, who in my mind has demeaned the office of President in many ways, and coarsened the idea of political debate to the level of hurling personal insults. He has given permission for the worst impulses of his followers to do and say despicable things .... as in attack the Capitol building, and send death threats to public officials like Brad Rathensberg in Georgia who were just doing their jobs to certify the election in Georgia.

This is why it is so distressing to see these kinds of actions committed by ‘my side.’ Everyone, including Trump, deserves to have legal representation. This is one of the cornerstones of our democracy, and to send death threats to his lawyer who is just doing his job is not just wrong, but outrageous.

One of the great hopes I have for the new Biden administration is to tone down the political discourse from the last 4 years. It is President Biden’s natural tendency to reach out and respect his political opponents, and I am hoping he can lead by example.

My mother, who passed away 8 years ago this month, was a kind, thoughtful and considerate person who would welcome anyone of any religious or political background to have a conversation in our home. One of her favorite sayings was, ‘let us use with care those living messengers called words.’ May we all take my mother’s wish to heart.