Letters

Right is wrong

Oct 14, 2009

Barack Obama is our fairly-elected president. Yet some of those who did not vote for him are now attempting to render him ineffective by shouting, slandering, lying, distorting and otherwise unfairly opposing his every attempt to make the changes we elected him to make. I guess these people didn’t succeed in making “liberal” a dirty enough word, because now he’s a “socialist.” Their hatred is palpable. Their attacks are illogical, irrational and so spitefully angry that they undermine the way our democracy is supposed to work.

When I was younger I used to watch William F. Buckley on television. He was a conservative whose views I generally opposed, but he was articulate and courteous. He engaged his invited guests in skillful debate. They were equally articulate and courteous liberals, many of whom I was watching and listening to for the first time. Yes, a conservative actually introduced me to liberal thinkers. Can we no longer engage in this kind of process, sharing viewpoints, open to changing our minds or learning new ideas, with no screamed insults, lies or distortions, to reach conclusions and solutions we can all live with? I’m beginning to doubt it. If I weren’t so frightened, I would be disgusted.

John Wythe White
Haleiwa

Celebrating Hawaii, nature, culture and wellness for over 35 years!

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