I'm winging this a bit but I really want to reach out to the conservatives who've returned here for continued conversation. I'm hopeful that they will honestly consider what I'm offering up.

All of these worries largely center around Trump, but they also relate to his supporters in congress and his political base. I do wonder if they share any of my concerns.

I worry that...

we've undermined our relationships with longstanding allies

in the eyes of Trump's base we've undermined the essential role played by a free press and independent judiciary

science has been called into doubt (Climate change being the paramount example)

civility is not considered essential

lying doesn't matter

many Republicans would be in favor of postponing the 2020 election if Trump demanded it

many Republicans hold favorable views of Russia

we're going down the path of authoritarianism at a time when it's gaining even greater traction in Poland, Hungry, Turkey, Italy, Brazil...

we can't discuss reasonable gun safety steps such as background checks

race relations are getting worse and the president loves to stoke the fire

women's reproductive rights are likely to be greatly diminished

the Supreme Court will increasingly favor corporations over individuals

a huge tax cut to the rich donor base resulted in exploding deficits which may well result in cuts to the social safety net

we're not looking at the losses in employment that will hit the blue collar worker as AI and automation continue to take off

we have a rage-filled, ignorant, intellectually incurious president who has the power of nuclear war within reach

our nation is often in media silos in which shared news isn't the norm

I worry that the public is largely unaware of my worries and that they can be manipulated by a few images on the television which will reinforce their worst fears of "the other" (race, immigrants, Dems, etc.) and will happily follow dear leader down any path he wishes them to follow.

I'm sure the conservatives have legitimate worries of their own about the left. I do, too, but they just don't keep me up at night like the ones I've offered up. Thoughts?

Peter T.