Today's MOZEN: Agreeing to Disagree.

F LoBuono

A good friend, one whom I do not see eye to eye with politically, asked me a question yesterday. Before I give the question and my answer, a little background might be in order: when it comes to politics, we see things from VERY different perspectives. Simply put, he tends to be conservative and I lean liberal. We disagree often but have total respect for one another. In fact, we actually enjoy one another - a lot. It's one of those relationships where we can agree to disagree and still like each other at the end. It's sort of like Yankee and Red Sox fans - they hate other during the game but can still share a beer after.

Anyway, he asked me "why do those who oppose President Trump actually hate him so much?" He went on to explain that he understands why people may not agree with him politically but not why they are so vehement in their disdain for him as a person? He went on to declare that he rarely agreed with former President Obama but never hated him. He asked with all due respect and was anxious for my answer.

I responded that, for me, it's beyond politics. In a sense, it is personal. And, I believe others feel the same way. As I have written on this blog, I am not a political scientist, lawyer, or economist. Therefore, the focus of my criticism is not in those areas (mostly!). But, as a photographer and journalist, I do believe that I know human nature. And, as such, I do not respect Donald J. Trump as a person. I find him to be a bully, braggart, and a womanizer. And, he lies - constantly. I find most things about him to be abhorrent. His arrogance offends me. His ignorance is astounding. In other words, personally, I would not have him as a friend. In fact, I wouldn't bid him the time of day.

And, because of these personality flaws, he is fundamentally changing what it means to be an American in ways that I also find offensive. He excludes instead of includes. He intimidates instead of initiates. And, his naked greed makes him ugly. In the final analysis, hate may (or, may not) be too strong a word, but I certainly don't admire or respect him.

So, I turned the tables on my friend and asked HIM this question:

What is there to LIKE about Donald J. Trump?

He responded with the standard conservative, Make America Great mantra: Well, I don't like a lot of what he says. And, I don't like a lot of what he does personally. But, he is OUR President and he has the Country headed in the right direction.

So, I guess we wound up back where we started - agreeing to disagree. And, we have over 2, full years to continue. I just hope that at the end of his term we have enough of the America I know and love left to continue the bold experiment in democracy that IS (or, was) our Country.