To the editor:

President Biden has been appealing for unity in the country. Meanwhile…

Ultra-liberal monopolistic social media giants Facebook and Twitter have barred Trump and are undertaking a relentless all-out effort to shut down the accounts of conservatives from their social media platforms.

Book publishers are pledging to not publish any book authored by anyone with any connection to Trump or his presidency. So much for freedom of expression. In the past haven’t the Democrats declared themselves as being the champions of diversity?

Conservative speech, long a target on liberal colleges, is being attacked with renewed vigor by liberal professors, flexing their muscles more now that they have “their man” in the White House. Harvard students want Harvard University to revoke the diplomas of any graduate who is a Trump supporter. Businesses are being shamed, threatened, and intimidated into dropping business dealings with Trump supporters and are being asked to not only not hire Trump supporters but to fire those who were supporters. Colleges are asked to deny scholarships to Trump supporters. Members of Congress have requested Republican Trump supporters resign from the House or Senate. I suppose those demanding these actions look in the mirror and declare themselves to be “nice” people. Right?

Those demands are just a few examples of the aggressive retaliation being taken against Trump supporters. In the last few weeks, a common theme on CNN and MSNBC has been guest columnists and wannabe journalists calling for the silence of Trump supporters and suggesting they need to be “deprogrammed”. On HBO, Katie Couric, a former co-anchor on the Today Show on NBC, discussed how to “deprogram” Trump supporters. A Public Broadcasting Service lawyer called for “re-education” camps for children of Trump supporters. All because Americans exercised their right to vote for the candidate of their choice (Trump) and Trump haters don’t like it. Is that what Trump supporters deserve? Maybe you don’t care about such retaliation as long as it doesn’t affect you. Some of those 74 million Republicans, Independents, and maybe even some conservative Democrats (yes, there are some) who voted for Trump may be a relative, friend, or neighbor.

Prior to the January Senate runoff elections in Georgia, Chuck Schumer said, “Now we take Georgia, then we change America”. Republicans lost both runoff elections, leaving the Senate controlled by Democrats. The first time Schumer feels Republicans are “uncooperative” (by his judgement) he will throw a fit and then may well eliminate the Senate filibuster. The first time the conservative Supreme Court rules in any way that is upsetting to radical, ultra-liberal left-wing Democrats, Schumer will throw a fit and then may well add 3-4 justices to stack the Court. These two actions are sure to unify the country.

Biden will face challenges combatting that element of his party that rejects his call for unity as they wage retaliation against Trump supporters. Will Biden be able to control the woke crowd that is out for revenge? Will Biden be able to tone down the rhetoric? Does he really want to or is he just paying lip-service to 74 million Americans in his call for unity?

Chuck Peterson

Fort Dodge