I am tired of the truncated reports, innuendos, half stories, one sided analysis, un-information and propaganda that we get in the news. One should be wondering when all the reports from most of the media are saying the same things from the same point of view.

You have the right to disagree with President Trump on any issues. You have the right to believe that deregulation and tax cuts that triggered an economy allowing the lowest unemployment in many years and especially for minorities was wrong and that it should be the government to provide for people instead of giving them the dignity of being in charge of their own lives. Of course, the pandemic has hit this rebounding, and we can only hope to see the end of this crisis.

You have the right to disagree with prison reform that allowed the release of minor offenders, especially minorities, and to believe that those should remain in jail.

You have the right to think that the opening of dialogue with North Korea was a wrong move and that we should keep the nuclear tension.

You have the right to believe that we should not stand up to China, and that it is OK to let them steal intellectual property, and implement tariffs without any opposition from the U.S.

You have the right to oppose the shut down of flights from China and eventually other countries to keep people from spreading the coronavirus and believe that it was racist.

You have the right to oppose the use of military medical vessels to help cities like New York or Los Angeles to relieve the burden on hospitals and think that the military should not be involved.

You have the right to criticize the president for wanting to open the churches, while abortion clinics and liquor stores were never shut down, and believe that it is ok to kill babies while complaining about the death toll from the virus.

But you do not have the right to hate the President and those who support him, under the excuse that you think he and those who voted for him are racists, sexists, homophobes, or even traitors, fascists or whatever, even though you could not find any evidence of these, and just want to believe lies and group think and made up stories. We can argue with each other and share our different ideas, but name calling, and insults do not advance ideas.

Hate is blinding you and darkens your soul and prevents you from an open mind; look at what is really happening. Hate does not resolve any problems. It makes them worse.

Under the control of hate, your mind is not willing to accept anything but reinforce your hateful thought process.

President Trump is not perfect, none of us are, and he may be pretty direct sometimes, and should be criticized just like any other politician and leader.

This is the American way. But we need to keep some common sense, an open mind, and some critical thinking, and accept that not everyone thinks the same way. Of course those statements applies to the current situation with the President, but it applies also to all parties, right or left, but the current level of hate and the allegations have reached a point that I believe was never seen before.

From the poem by Mary T Lathrap “…just walk a mile in his moccasins before you abuse, criticize and accuse…”

Frederic Dardant

New Iberia