What happened to civility?

I realize that Montana is a very RED State. My sister lives in Tennessee, which is also a red state.

She and I can’t agree on politics because I’m not willing to agree that the election was stolen. There is no evidence that it was, just former president Trump and all his supporters.

I’ve learned that because of social media and news outlets that are parroting the big lie, people believe what they choose, which is, “us against them.”

My sister claims to be a conservative, and she says her beliefs differ from mine. She said, “We just have to learn to respect each other’s opinions and live our lives accordingly.”

I told her being a conservative is great! I truly believe this. It’s the extreme right who is the problem. I’m not a liberal, but I am a moderate. I will vote Republican if I believe he or she is the better candidate.

In 2016 when Donald J. Trump ran for president, I voted Republican, however I voted for John Kasich, the former governor of Ohio. It was my belief that he was the better candidate. He’s a decent moralistic man with a great record.

During the presidential debates Kasich was the only candidate that didn’t sling garbage at the other candidates. There was no name calling or belittling of his opponents. His message was on unifying Americans rather than dividing them.

I don’t like Trump because of who he is. He is mean, nasty, narcissistic, corrupt, dishonest and arrogant. He led this country by dividing us. Never once did he try to unify us. It was his way, and if you don’t agree, you’re fired. Or you’re a loser and many other insulting names he uses to describe anyone that doesn’t agree with him.

In August 2020, Trump told a crowd of his supporters, “the only way we’re going to lose is if the election is rigged.” There was no way we’re going to lose. Who’s going to vote for this guy? The only way they’re going to win is that way. And we can’t let that happen.

President Trump planted the seed three months before the election that he can’t lose. He continued repeating those words time and time again along with his supporters. He can’t accept the fact that he lost. He has no grace. He lost, fair and square.

After what happened on January 6, 2021, the Republican party is no longer the conservative party that it was. Truth and denial about what happened from the majority of the Republican congressmen and has taken precedence over conservatism. Now they are the far, far right. Spreading the BIG LIE that the election was rigged and the truth about what happened on January 6 was just another day of tourism at the Capitol.

There are some conservative Republicans who have spoken out against THE BIG LIE (not enough) and they’re being punished for their integrity, and morality, because they’re true Americans and hold truth above corruption. They’re not a bunch of quacks that live in an alternate reality.

The extreme right is the party of Trump. It is no longer the Republican party. Trump calls other Republican critics RINOs (Republican in Name Only). The way I see it, it is exactly what has happened to the party of Trump. Unfortunately, it has become a very dark reality.

They’ve become a bunch of bullies. What happened to civility? Don’t get me started on COVID-19 either. How political did that become? Our rights and democracy are about to be taken by sore losers.

Matthew Lindsay,

Thompson Falls