Offended? No wonder our nation is so easily divided

So U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., demands respect while she is just trying to do her job. But it’s OK for her to call Trump’s Cabinet scumbags while they are trying to do their jobs? Please.

(Bill) O’Reilly makes a joke about her hair and he is disrespecting her? O’Reilly doesn’t respect anyone. He is an equalopportunity host who insults friends and foes alike.

And Sean Spicer is castigated for telling a reporter to stop shaking her head? Would that be newsworthy if the reporter was white?

Did it ever occur to anyone that he may have been giving her a hard time because she is supposed to be a news reporter and not a commentator? No wonder our nation is so divided.

Too many of us are searching for a slight, an offense, that we can blow up into a hurricane rather than giving a break to people who may not use their words perfectly all the time.

And do you know what is really sad? Our kids are watching us and imitating this “poor me” attitude.

Come on, people. Cowboy up and stop this reverence for attacking the other guy. Respect begets respect in most cases. Save the vitriol for our true enemies. I bet they love watching our house divide and fall. — Judy Johns,

Russians messed with our nation, and we messed with Mideast

Russia messed with our elections? Of course the Russians attempted to steer the course of our presidential elections just as we have done to theirs. It is a job title in the CIA and the KGB for this class of nonsense.

A world-class chessboard is in play, a gambit for a slight edge in the elections in all countries played by the superpowers. A known example of this is the CIA meddling in the Middle East. Read: Why the Arabs don’t want us in Syria. As Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said, “They don’t hate ‘our freedoms.’ They hate that we’ve betrayed our ideals in their own countries —for oil.” — Mark Nollette, Mesa Contact him: You can reach Steve Benson at 602-444-8035 or steve.benson@arizonarepublic.com

We’re finally seeing why so many Americans voted for the shrewd businessman for president.

His ability to predict where America’s