Demand truth and decency

To the Editor:

Recently, conservative Fox News contributors Jonah Rosenberg and Stephen Hayes resigned their positions in protest to Fox commentator Tucker Carlson's special on the Jan. 6 insurrection, “Patriot Purge,” an alternative history that played to former President Donald Trump and his constituents by portraying the violence as a “false flag,” evidently intending to exonerate the participants.

Trump's lies and narcissistic appeals to his extremist followers is a clear red flag warning that our society is headed into dangerous territory and is reminiscent of Adolf Hitler and his brown shirts, as well as Benito Mussolini's black shirts (in fact, Trump's chinout pose reminds me of El Duce). I doubt that Trump has ever read America's most illustrious conservative spokesman, William F.

Buckley, who observed: “Truth is a demure lady, much too ladylike to knock you on the head and drag you to her cave. She is there, but people must want her, and seek her out.” Trump obviously has never met an uncomfortable fact that he couldn't deny, and Republicans and Democrats alike must have the courage to call him out each time he attempts to alter the truth.

We need more politicians like Congresspersons Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger (who are both examples of profiles in courage) and dignitaries like Rosenberg and Hayes to stand up to their peers and party leaders and demand truth and decency. Again, Bill Buckley: “What yells out at the U.S public…is the incandescent hypocrisy of so many people who, in the name of free speech, persecute its practitioners of their opinions…”

Jerome Finnigan

Jamestown