As I approach my 79th birthday, having lived through nearly eight decades of American political history, I find myself increasingly disturbed by the hostility, bitterness, and outright nastiness characterizing our political campaigns and the attitudes of many American voters.
Political campaigns have never been particularly gentle affairs. From the vicious exchanges between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in 1800 to the bitter political struggles of more recent generations, personal attacks have always been part of American politics. But something seems different today. The attacks have become more exaggerated, more personal, and seemingly more acceptable.
We are no longer simply disagreeing about political policies. We are increasingly questioning one another's intelligence, integrity, morality, and patriotism.
I believe Donald Trump's rise to political power has contributed significantly to this deterioration. Trump did not invent political hostility, but his frequent use of insults, ridicule, inflammatory accusations, and personal attacks has helped normalize behavior once widely considered unbecoming of a president.
And the fact that Americans elected him president not once, but twice, suggests that a substantial portion of the electorate is willing to overlook, tolerate, or even applaud such conduct.
But my concern extends beyond Donald Trump and his political opponents. It is about what is happening to the American people themselves.
Political disagreements increasingly become personal confrontations. Friendships are strained, families become divided, and fellow citizens are labeled ignorant, dishonest, unpatriotic, or even enemies of America simply because they support a different political candidate.
Perhaps most disturbing is the growing tendency to confuse loyalty to a political leader or political party with loyalty to the United States.
Patriotism is not the exclusive property of Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals, or supporters of any particular president.
Loving America does not require agreeing with its government. Nor does disagreeing with a president make someone disloyal to the nation.
Our democracy was founded upon the principle that citizens may disagree, debate, criticize, and challenge those who govern them. Political opposition is not a betrayal of democracy. It is an essential part of democracy.
I recognize that political polarization predates Donald Trump and that inflammatory rhetoric is not confined to one political party. Nevertheless, I believe his political success has contributed to making personal hostility a more prominent and acceptable feature of American political life.
We should be able to criticize political leaders forcefully without dehumanizing their supporters. We should be able to challenge another person's beliefs without automatically questioning that person's integrity. And we should be able to defend our political convictions without treating those who disagree as enemies.
That does not mean overlooking dishonesty, corruption, cruelty, or threats to democratic institutions. Respectful disagreement does not require silence in the face of wrongdoing. It requires distinguishing legitimate criticism of conduct from indiscriminate condemnation of people.
I have long believed in four fundamental principles: Decency, Integrity, Respect, and Truth.
Those principles should apply to everyone, regardless of political affiliation.
As the 2026 midterm elections approach, I wonder whether Americans will eventually rediscover the distinction between political opposition and personal hatred.
We do not have to agree with one another to respect one another. We do not have to support the same candidates to share a common commitment to our country.
And we certainly should not have to hate our fellow Americans to prove that we love America.
The greatest threat to American democracy may not be the political disagreements that divide us, but our growing inability to disagree without despising one another.
Ideas matter more than insults.
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