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Letters to the editor Nov. 23

| November 24, 2024 12:00 AM

In this together

Some of you may have read the Nov. 17 opinion article by Roger Koopman about “political philosophies,” which proceeds to give bad faith definitions of both liberalism and conservatism. 

Let’s look at actual definitions of both liberalism and conservatism from Merriam-Webster:

Liberalism: A political philosophy based on belief in progress and stressing the essential goodness of the human race, freedom for the individual from arbitrary authority, and protection and promotion of political and civil liberties.

Conservatism: A political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing the importance of established hierarchies and institutions (such as religion, the family and class structure), and preferring gradual development to abrupt change

This partisan slop that Koopman and others (including Democrats) throw to all of us is childish and unproductive. Our neighbors who think differently than us are not our enemies. We should not treat political philosophies as a source of cheap gamesmanship to keep people angry and scared at one another.

We’re in this together — we are not enemies, no matter how badly Roger tries to convince you we are. Let’s focus on cold hard policy ideas that provide real material relief to the struggling working and middle classes, and not on niche cultural grievances.

— Dakota Whitman, Whitefish

Unity is earned

In his Nov. 12 letter to the editor, Chris Zarcone calls on us to display a purple 47 because “now is the time to get onboard and support” President-elect Donald Trump “as one unified group.” 

His request reflects a dangerously warped understanding of our responsibility as citizens of our precious democratic republic.

We have no duty to support Trump just because he won the election, with less than 50% of the vote. Like any president, if Trump wants unity, he must earn it, by abandoning his viciously divisive, racist campaign rhetoric and instead responsibly serving the interests of all Americans.

Yet, his cabinet appointments so far show he intends to do precisely the opposite. By naming delusional miscreants like Matt Gaetz, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Stephen Miller, Tom Homan, Pete Hegseth, and Tulsi Gabbard to critical positions, Trump has demonstrated his insatiable drive to surround himself with henchmen whose ironclad personal loyalty will eliminate all temptation to follow the law or respect the rights of the people. Instead, they will help Trump weaponize federal law enforcement like never before, wreck Americans’ health by following superstitions and baseless conspiracy theories, terrorize communities of color, and surrender our foreign policy and intelligence secrets to Vladimir Putin.

As a veteran, Zarcone either misunderstands or has forgotten the oath he took, when he swore to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Trump has said publicly that he wants to “suspend the Constitution” and behave like a dictator “on day one.”

Those of us who see Trump for the enemy to the Constitution that he really is must resolutely oppose him until he is no longer a threat. The very last thing we should do is sheepishly “get onboard” with him in the name of some purple hallucination of unity.

— Edward Salmon, Columbia Falls