To the editor:
I follow politics the way others follow sports. Even if I cannot vote as I am not a citizen yet, only a relatively recent immigrant. Thus, I read with interest the article by Brian Jones on presidential signs (BTW, in my building, in the heart of Newport, there are TWO Trump signs).
I thought that it was very illustrative his two-paragraph summary of the case (according to Brian) that each side has to vote for their candidate. I always told my children that a fundamental test of good faith in the pursuit of Truth is that we should be able to articulate each side of an argument honestly. And by “honestly” I mean, picking the best arguments in support of each position. Caricaturing the other side makes you become a propagandist, not a seeker of Truth.
I trust what Brian says for his own side. Basically, he profoundly dislikes Trump at a personal and visceral level. Fair enough. Although I believe that some of his statements seem to be based on subjective opinions and the presumption that he can know Trump’s inner thoughts I don’t disagree that Trump (as Biden) has many personal flaws. Also true, that he and Biden have many virtues as well. We are all just human.
But the way I see it, this is a contest of two ways of seeing the world, not about two personalities.
I believe that individuals should be judged on their own merits, not because they belong to certain favored or unfavored groups. I believe in the family as the fundamental building block of society. I believe in respecting your elders and your community. I believe in the Constitution and that America was built on fundamentally good principles and that revisionist history destined to sow division is a dangerous game. I believe that “rule of law” means applying it without regard to the subject. And that is what “equality” means. Not pursuing equal outcomes which is unjust, unfair and evil. I believe in private property, free markets and that the government should get involved only where smaller entities (individuals, families, companies, civil society, religious institutions) cannot achieve the desired goals. I believe in the sanctity of life and that killing unborn babies is evil. I believe that science is the pursuit of objective knowledge about the workings of the physical world, not a tool to pursue “Social Justice”. I believe that government bureaucracies should not be able to abuse their power to favor their own political preferences. I believe that the vast majority of the Media has lost interest in reporting the news and instead are trying to impose their opinions on others by manipulating them to favor their side. I believe that teachers should educate, not indoctrinate our kids. I believe that you cannot judge Law Enforcement as a whole by the actions of a few bad apples, and then insist that the actions of more than a few bad apples cannot be used to judge the “peaceful protests” (on this I go back to my first point. Each individual on their own merits: neither the Police or the truly peaceful protestors should be judged by actions of others). And I could go on.
Trump is not perfect, but, despite his flaws, he has done a lot for these principles. That is why I support him.
All the best,
Isidro Beccar Varela
Top of the Hill – Newport, RI