Choice of two evils

I had a conversation with a friend about the current state of the Republican Party. A ReaganBush Republican, he said that Donald Trump has pushed him to consider Democratic presidential candidates. I recognize that his sentiment is not unique, and a number of suburbanite Republicans might agree with him, preparing to break rank next fall.

I will write what I told him. First, the evils of Donald Trump’s presidency have been grossly overstated by bad- faith partisan actors. Contrary to what some congressmen might believe, the administration is not holding undocumented immigrants in “concentration camps.” Anyone who suggests otherwise has a perverse misunderstanding of history or an ignoble desire to profit off of mankind’s most sinister hour.

Furthermore, many detractors fancy calling the president a “fascist,” but these critics have little understanding of the word: Mr. Trump has never jailed a critic, or seized control of the economy or forcibly usurped power by violence.

Nevertheless, for Americans like my friend, 2020 will be a choice between two evils. But what of this second evil? It’s the greatest atrocity of our time: the senseless taking of innocent lives thousands of times over every year, abortion.

We must prioritize those issues so grave that they demand immediate action. I will bear the moral consequences of compromise, the insults hurled at Trump voters and the friendships threatened or lost in order to inch closer toward the inevitable end of this barbaric and murderous institution. I hope you can find the strength to do the same. DAN FREEMAN Mount Washington