The most critical issue facing us in the 2020 election isn’t immigration or health care. It is the need to heal the deep political fractures that have formed between us over time, but never more severely than during this last presidential term.
Every four years, about half of the American public is confronted with a person for whom they did not vote taking the mantle of president the United States. This is built into the system and is a painful but necessary part of a democracy. Republicans under Obama, Democrats under Bush, were forced to grimace and endure a shift in policies away from what they believe are best. But this time is different.
In my opinion, President Trump has made division and hatred a central point of his presidency and his campaign. Read his never-ending tweets where he pours out anger, derision and self-pity. He seems to hate anyone who opposes him, which would mean he hates half of the American public. This is not a man who can do anything other than drive us even further apart.
Remember, all these outrages occurred when he is still facing reelection. What will he be like if he has the sanction of a second term and nothing to restrain him?
For the sake of our nation, I beseech you not to inflict four more years of this unbridled divisiveness on all of us. Let us try to begin healing the divide and recognize once again we are all Americans. Please.
Jim Hillebrecht
Latrobe