In our current Trumpian moment, anyone who criticizes the Dear Leader or his subservient toadies is targeted for bullying. Defiant ones are discredited as evil communists or socialist left-wing radical extremists. This is now the norm for undermining any attempt at civic discourse. Speaking for myself and other wild-eyed extremists that I know, we would love to be proud of a government that:

• Provides generous humanitarian assistance. America First should mean that U.S.AID leadership is always first in offering worldwide, compassionate aid where needed.
• Builds collaborative relationships with allies – securing partnerships in participatory democracies and interdependent economic systems. Nations that are mutually supporting are less likely to descend into conflict.
• Rejects and denounces antidemocratic, authoritarian dictatorships such as Russia’s war criminal Poo-Tin and other cruel, inhumane international tyrants.
• Welcomes legal immigrants seeking freedom and a chance for better life circumstances, acting in an appreciation that aside from our Indigenous brethren, we are all children of immigrants.
• Accepts science that confirms global warming as an existential threat and actively pursues transitions to green energy solutions that will preserve a livable climate for our children and grandchildren.
• Leads in sponsoring groundbreaking medical research and government patronage of health care services for all as a basic human right.
• Defends our Big Beautiful Constitution and actively respects the checks and balances within our three branches of government.

If these are shared ambitions, please wear your radical, extremist hat proudly – and vote accordingly. Let’s make America dignified again.

Neal Guyer lives in Thomaston