To the Editor:

Late night talk show hosts serve up unrelenting mockery of President Trump and their audiences roar with laughter and cheer their approval.  It seems no caricatures or name-calling goes too far.

But it’s all too similar to Trump’s own rhetoric, full of boasts and insults, exaggerations and accusations. And his audiences roar their approval.

It’s outrageous rudeness from both sides. Sometimes it seems we’ve elected Homer Simpson as president. I don’t think we can expect things to improve. Trump has been highly successful at dominating the narratives and manipulating the media. He’s the main purveyor of fake news.

And what real news do we get? What do we learn about what’s happening in Yemen? What about the economics and politics in Africa? In South America all we learn is that some frightening immigrants are fleeing something.  What are the ramifications of Brexit, especially in Scotland? And what are the policies of the right wingers in Europe? And who’s going to tell us that the recent North Korea agreements are no different, and in some points worse, than all the preceding agreements?

We all suffer in ignorance while Trump and the comedians yuk it up. There’s a frightening lack of information in all this foofaraw. Nobody explains plans or strategies. Nobody gives solid reasons for actions. Nobody pretends to have long term goals. It’ s all, “Trust me,” or “We’ll see.” And then the slogans continue.

I’d like to just ignore all the tweets and the agonizing attempts to explain them, but there are real actions and real consequences to consider. All we can do, I think, is to try to be kind and rational in our own conversations, especially those with people who disagree with us. If they start to parrot either Rush Limbaugh or Rachel Maddow, question them about what they really think and why they think it. Listen thoughtfully. And be polite.

Words do hurt and hateful words lead to real cruelties. Let’s not add ours to them.

Judith Peplinski
Stevens Point