Democrats don't hate their country

I had the unsettling experience of reading Donald N. Baker's most recent letter to the editor. Since before I could vote I have identified myself politically as a Democrat but never have I thought of Republicans so lowly as to believe that they hated America, despite how many times we have been let down by their administration in the previous years.

I have always thought everyone came to their political persuasion by their own means, simply doing their best to vote in a way that would protect themselves and their family in whatever way they saw necessary. I suppose that's because I don't hate America, its system of democracy or its people.

With all the attention the Democrats are getting this year, I can see how a staunch Republican like Mr. Baker would be worried that perhaps his political favorites would not be of the majority this November. However, I never would have envisioned that someone would create such a hateful and mistaken manifesto of the Democratic platform purely in hope of creating some kind of red scare toward Democrats.

Everyone knows that no political platform, liberal or conservative, is as simple as the step-by-step denunciation Mr. Baker spent over a month putting together. I'm offended that conservatives could feel so disgusted toward such a large percentage of the American population. The only thing that can be worse than hating America is hating so many of her people and their freedom of expression.

For years, conservatives have tried to offer up a simple explanation for the complicated ideas offered by liberals, but we see now that they have yet to offer a simple solution that works. They've offered us metaphors and exaggerations. They have even offered us the comfort of denial to skirt the anxiety of dealing with issues that are not black and white. Now that Americans are willing to demand more from their political party, conservatives are ready to claim that anyone who thinks differently must hate America.

If there is any dislike to be felt or seen in this situation, it may indeed be for unbearable conservatives like Donald Baker, but he need not flatter himself by associating his self-righteous opinions with America.

Jasmine Nicole Bruns