Why are conservatives so frustrated? | GARY COSBY JR.

My email inbox can be very interesting after any column addressing Donald Trump. I am not a fan of the former president and, right now, that seems an awkward position for someone who is conservative. I get called all kinds of names from RINO (Republican In Name Only) to far, far worse.

There is also support coming from people, some of whom I know, some of whom I don’t, that are in general agreement with what I had written. Then there are others who feel that Trump should be drawn and quartered. In other words, writing about Trump really brings out quite a diverse response that reflects where we are as a nation.

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I write an opinion column. You might have a different opinion. Your opinion is also valid and certainly your right to have an opposing opinion is indisputable. I will fight for you to have the right to have an opinion opposite mine. That’s the basis of a free society.

What I find increasingly disturbing is the villainization of people who have differing opinions about how America should be. The left demonizes the right and the right demonizes the left until we are no longer civil about our differences.

I got an interesting email recently from someone who felt I didn’t understand why conservatives are angry. I do understand. Conservatives feel that America has fallen into moral decline, if not outright decay, and it is the fault of the liberalization of our society. Conservatives also point to the increasing authority of the federal government and its tampering in the lives of individual citizens. This was most clearly seen in the Obamacare legislation.

Then there is the whole issue of sexual identity, which is now expressed openly and obviously. Things that were once kept under wraps and not talked about at all, much less flaunted in front of society, get crammed down the throats of the public at every opportunity. I understand the frustration at the issues of the so-called gender-related health care for minors. Of course, abortion is an issue that has been a major point of contention for decades. Then there is illegal immigration, another thing that sticks in the craw of many conservatives.

I get it. I fully understand the issues that cause conservative America to bow up and want to fight. I am sympathetic toward the feelings conservatives have because I feel the same frustrations. But what many of my conservative fellows fail to realize is that liberals feel exactly the same frustrations that conservatives do and on many of the same issues. They feel America is going the wrong way because of conservative stands on those issues.

Here is what I refuse to do; I will not turn those who see things differently into the enemy. Just as I will fight for you to have an opinion that is opposite mine, I will fight for every American to be treated as equally as possible under the laws of this land. I will try to point out things that maybe we are not even attempting to see about people we don’t understand.

I mean, if you don’t have a person on the LBGTQ spectrum in your immediate family, you don’t have to deal with the issue except in getting angry over lawmakers on the left trying to help normalize life for these citizens. If you don’t have a child who is dealing with gender identity, and I truly don’t understand how one can be confused about one’s gender, how can you deny them health care that might save a child from committing suicide because they can’t figure life out?

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If you’ve never had a daughter who had to deal with an unwanted pregnancy or a teenaged son who got a girl pregnant and they have to face such a difficult situation, how can you possibly be compassionate enough to make laws for such a horrible situation?

Many of the issues that we get so worked up as a society have little to do with government and a great deal to do with morality. God help you if you think a politician or a political party is going to solve those kinds of problems.

Think about this; conservative America rose up in horror when Obamacare was rolled out, claiming it an unwarranted intrusion on a deeply personal issue. I totally agree. The government should not be involved in health-care decisions. But, how can those same conservatives then turn around and demand government interference regarding women and LGBTQ health issues?

Surely you see the hypocrisy in that. You cannot have it both ways. You cannot demand the government be out of health care where you are concerned but in health care where others are concerned.

One of the terrible flaws that propels us into an ever-increasing war between left and right is the inability to put ourselves into the shoes of the other person. We want what’s good for us but don’t care what’s good for the other side. That is un-American. We are a highly diverse culture politically, morally, religiously, and racially, but we are all Americans and all Americans deserve to be treated fairly.

Gary Cosby Jr. can be reached at gary.cosby@tuscaloosanews.com

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Conservatives and liberals are frustrated | GARY COSBY JR.