Letters

It would seem that Ed Surgan was somewhat taken aback by the dazzling array of letters from his neighbors castigating his views on the current administration, his acceptance of the methods being used to deport immigrants, and his need to regularly pontificate on his perception of Herr Trump’s brilliance [“Worthy of Debate,” Letters, December 4].

Because he (Surgan) is not exactly a stupid person, and has the ability to string together sentences that might be perceived as those of an educated man, despite their actual content and meaning, he condescends to preach to us as though we were all silly children who cannot see the big picture.

He scolds Steve Crispinelli for name-calling but never complains when his idol looks directly at an accomplished journalist and tells her she is stupid. He has no trouble when the president refers to a brilliant, accomplished governor as “a fat slob,” or a duly elected congresswoman of Somali decent as “garbage.”

Surgan suggests Democrats have been gagging on the “success” of the first year of Donald Trump’s second term. You bet we’ve been gagging — mostly on the agenda of the current administration and the inexplicable acceptance of such bad policy and behavior by what remains of the MAGA constituency. As George Will so eloquently put it, our current state of affairs can be best described as a “moral slum” — sustained by the MAGA stalwarts.

At one point Surgan tries to offer us an analogy of Eskimos crashing “our party” (?) and asking if it would be racist to try to evict them. A bit of incoherence here — is he likening the USA to the GOP, and Eskimos to immigrants? Huh? And, yes — arresting brown people based on the fact they are brown is racist. I don’t know what color Eskimos are.

As frustrating as it is to read his letters (and wish we could reach out and shake some sense into him), the fact is that Surgan is a true MAGA believer. He is one among the base that would no doubt continue to idolize and worship our current despotic leader even if, as he has said, he shot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue. His minions, including Mr. Surgan would still vote for him.

As frustrating as it is to continue to be exposed to the MAGA ineptitude, I am afraid there is no escape. Future historians will spend generations trying to understand how so many Americans, including Mr. Surgan, could have been duped for so long despite the criminality of the current leadership.

But we can take heart — there are clear signs that the pendulum is swinging. There is clearly light at the end of this very dark period in American history. Goodness and mercy are at the heart of this country.

Stay strong, my friends.

Marie Levine

East Quogue