To the Editor:
Recently, we in the Gasconade County Democrats Club suggested that the corrosive, gut-level divide in our country is deeper than mere policy differences between the left and right, and is more about how truth is being presented and received.
This isn’t the way publisher emeritus, Don Warden, sees things and he came out of semi-retirement to say so.
Fair enough.
In fact this is the kind of back and forth that our series of letters hopes to encourage. Simply put, if we can’t bring into the open the forces that alienate us from one another and from our best selves, then we may be locked into a state of confusion and distrust that will destroy us.
So, let’s consider Mr. Warden’s comments. On televised network bias he says he mostly watches FOX and feels he gets balanced reporting but understands the left leaning CNN is strictly one-sided. He adds “I been told that channel brags that they do not allow any Republican viewpoints or other divergent comments to permeate their airwaves.”
Well, whoever informed Mr. Warden failed to recognize Rick Santorum, Ana Navarro, SE Cupp, Scott Jennings, and David Urban who are regularly invited on CNN to present their conservative viewpoints. Therefore, someone, either carelessly or with ill-intent, misinformed Mr. Warden and spread an inflammatory story.
This is exactly how wedges are driven between us and how neighbors, who used to settle their differences respectfully. now glare at one another with contempt. It needs to stop, we are playing into the hands of our enemies.
We also find Mr. Warden’s generalizations about our party less than accurately applied.
He employs the old “tax and spend” label to brand Democrats while blithely ignoring the expected 1.1 trillion Trump deficit for 2020 which would be the largest since 2112. Yes “tax and spend” is relevant here, but it’s the permanent tax break given to the wealthy in 2017 that is bloating our deficit along with large CYA spending like the hefty farm bailout made necessary by playing chicken with tariffs.
Today’s plastic politics demand an updated screening of our old assumptions, slogans, and loyalties. We have to be better than bumper stickers.
As to Mr. Warden only briefly referencing Donald Trump’s cutting business and environmental regulations and his ability to “get results” we feel a full airing of those wide open topics is a discussion for another day. We in the Democrats Club appreciate that while the Wardens, Don and Dennis, hold views that frequently clash with our own, their overriding commitment to the principles of journalism and fair debate makes possible the frank dialogue which is essential to keeping our minds open and neighbors neighborly.
On the fairness of the impeachment process we feel we’ve made our points clear in the previous article and leave that review to thoughtful individual examination which, in essence, is all that we’ve ever been advising.
These are treacherous times.
We need to have eyes open to the fluid circumstances that surround us, the fairness of how they are presented, and our own tendencies toward convenience over conscience.
That shouldn’t be too hard for any of us to swallow.
