Jack Heinsius: The dangers of handing a bully more rope
A man worthy of the office of president once rallied this nation at a very dark time by telling its citizens that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
The new occupant of the White House advises us to fear everything and everyone who does not look, love, act and, most importantly, think like he does. This is standard practice with bullies and dictators and if you do not realize that Donald Trump is both you really haven’t been paying attention. In a dangerous world fear is prudent, but when it is used to turn us against each other or to pretend that we can hide from the world it becomes the danger itself.
Many professional and amateur contributors to The Bee’s op-ed page advise giving Trump the benefit of the doubt; allow him to try out his policies. Giving the Trumps of the world more rope only makes hanging more of us an easier task.
Jack Heinsius, Modesto
This story was originally published February 14, 2017 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Jack Heinsius: The dangers of handing a bully more rope."