To the Editor:
Extremism is killing America. Are you part of the problem? Here is a simple test to see if you are an extremist:
Democrats, do you believe what’s happening at the border is insignificant? Do you think police departments need to be defunded? Is a permanent child tax credit of $300/kid sound policy? If you answered yes to two or more of those questions then you are extreme.
Republicans, Do you think voter fraud is rampant in today’s elections? Do you think climate change is not important to address? Do you think Donald Trump was good for America? If you answered yes to two or more of these questions, then you are extreme.
A generation ago, a divided electorate forced politicians to the center. Unfortunately, Don Lemon, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and Rachel Maddow, among many others, have brainwashed us. Their deceitful lies of misinformation allow politicians to avoid moderating while still remaining popular with voters.
The questions above are easy to verify as truth. Only progressives in congress, that represent small amounts of America’s acreage, believe letting illegals storm the border is good for our country. Similarly, providing incentives for single non-working mothers to have more children is a return to old-time welfare and rightly will never resonate with voters. Blaming America’s police force for a few “crooked cops” is absurd and unfair and Americans would never be better off with underfunded departments to protect our citizens.
Study after study have shown voter fraud doesn’t exist on a significant level. MIT, The Brennan Institute, and even the radical Heritage Foundation found it to be negligible. Still, too many people continue to listen to a psychopath who claims it to be true. A recent study of 80,000 worldwide scientists were asked about climate change legitimacy and fewer than 100 deny it. 99.9% verify that climate change is an existential threat yet “extremists” refuse to acknowledge its significance, sadly often to pad the pockets of the fossil fuel industry.
Media is the primary culprit. Prime-timers on Fox are literally deplorable. These political hacks spew venomous lies that have fed and aided the age of misinformation. Sources like MSNBC, CNN and rag papers like the Daily News are equally deceitful. Furthermore, the amplification power of social media has literally put our democracy in peril.
Citizens must moderate now. Some isolationism needs to be embraced again. Questioning the integrity and intentions of our police forces or returning to wasteful spending is a recipe for failure. Our country needs to reject Trumpism and trust the process of elections. Democracy cannot thrive or even survive if every election is questioned as fraudulent.
It is hauntingly disturbing what has happened to this country in a short period of time. Discussion of a second civil war, airplane violence and utter despising of one another are common events. Our democracy is in peril and moderation is the only way to avoid its carnage in the future.
Alfred Streicher
Sparta