LETTER: Silence is complicity
Kudos to Gary Stout for his recent op-ed of suggestions Democrats should employ for the future. All are reasonable except one. He urges us to “not waste resources attacking Donald Trump’s character.” This is bad advice, because we all need to be reminded of the content of his character that includes prejudice, immorality, and lack of empathy.
For me, his complete disregard for honesty is the worst. The truth matters in court and in life. Words have consequences. Lying has consequences. Some of Trump’s false statements about people have led to their receiving death threats, but he just shrugs that off. Evidence is not necessary as long as he says it, so it must be true that Barack Obama committed treason, which is ridiculous.
I doubt U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, who has represented people in court, would stand for a person being convicted on hearsay, yet his silence on Trump’s lies speaks volumes. Regrettably, far too many of Trump’s loyal followers think these pronouncements are funny or they pass them off as “that’s just Donald.” Lying is not funny, nor is it something we should teach our children is inconsequential just because it is normalized by the president.
Democrats need to keep reminding our Republican friends that silence is complicity.
Bob Willison
Rices Landing