KADNER: My Trump friends drive me crazy, but it goes both ways

SHARE KADNER: My Trump friends drive me crazy, but it goes both ways
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Supporters of President Donald Trump gather on a Saturday in March outside Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. | Alex Brandon/Associated Press

Some of my best friends are Trump supporters.

They are intelligent. Some are academically gifted. Others are better with their hands and could build a shed or replace your plumbing. They go to church on Sunday, would help a stranger in trouble and, contrary to what some seem to believe, do not have horns and pointed tails.

Some of these people claim they did not actually vote for Donald Trump, but still support him. Others say they voted for Trump only because he was the alternative to Hillary Clinton.

They despise the people who criticize the president, especially those of us in the news media.

OPINION

Where does that leave me? I don’t know. And that bothers me. It also bothers me that so many of my liberal friends so easily dismiss the opinions of the Trump backers and sound so self-righteous when claiming the high ground for themselves.

I confess that I count myself among your number.

My friends who back Trump tell me he is no worse and probably better than Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and or Barack Obama. All of those Democrats have lied. All of them have thumbed their nose at the laws of this nation.

My friends also made it clear that they are tired of people telling them what they can say and even what to think. If the liberals had their way, people couldn’t drink soda pop without paying a tax because sugar is bad for them. What right does the government have to decide what people should eat or drink?

Whenever Americans  exercise their right to free speech, someone is calling them a racist, a sexist or a bigot. You have to be “politically correct” or you can lose your job.

The government wants to take away the right of people to carry guns, but authorizes abortions. Yes, the courts are misguided and part of the problem in this country.

Muslims and atheists have rights, but Christians can’t put a nativity scene inside a government building or post the 10 Commandments in a courtroom without it becoming a federal case. Millionaire football players do not have to respect the American flag.

Illegal immigrants get access to free public schools and health care, yet cities like Chicago refuse to help immigration officials who want to identify and deport them, these friends say.

Donald Trump has given voice to many of these complaints, but they did not originate with him.

I have lost my temper while talking to my friends about Trump. I think it is important to note that I have written that Donald Trump is “OUR” President. People can criticize him. But we elected him and he represents us, the entire nation. That’s the way it works in a democracy.

Such statements do not satisfy the Trump supporters. I am a liberal and they know it. Therefore, I am the enemy.

The Trump backers believe the investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election is an effort to discredit Trump and discount the votes of people who supported him. It is a conspiracy by the liberals and the government establishment, which includes the FBI.

The federal government is financially and morally bankrupt, the Trump supporters say. The Clintons and Obama used their authority to turn this nation into a socialist country.

Unless something changes, the American Dream, where every person has an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination and individual initiative, will come to an end.

You may scornfully respond that the dream was mostly a fantasy for women and minorities throughout American history. As far as I can tell, such arguments are ignored. And soon the conversation, if there has been one, will end. There’s no point in talking.

I disagree. I will continue to argue with my friends and hope they will forgive me for losing my temper or holding a different point of view.

Intolerance is not a virtue and is always practiced by those convinced they are in the right and better than others.

Trump will leave office one day. But his supporters, and there are millions of them, will remain our neighbors and, I hope, our friends.

Email: philkadner@gmail.com

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