Letter: Republicans are willfully ignorant

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Editor,

Doug Roulstone’s March 7 letter, “Why do Democrats Hate the USA?,” begins with the statement, “I don’t understand.” He should have just stopped there.

The letter is painfully ignorant and obtuse, but emblematic of a significant portion of America’s population today. The statements he makes to support his question are so inaccurate they don’t merit discussion, but Roulstone’s question itself reveals a shallow and polarized mindset we cannot ignore, because he’s not alone. There are millions of voting Americans whose level of political evaluation stops at slogans written on bumper stickers and red hats. Who are highly susceptible to half-baked conspiracies and accept un-informed opinions over hard facts and science. These are not patriots, these are idiots.

I offer a better question: What are we to do with these idiots? I don’t have illusions about converting them into Democrats; I just wish we could educate them toward more thoughtful modes of thinking and evaluation. So when they vote Republican, they do so with some shred of competence in choosing the better candidates for the job. To get them to pause and consider the simplistic MAGA hyperbole rather than faithfully embrace it with the zeal reserved for chanting in the stands at their favorite sports teams. For those of us in the thinking majority, on both sides, it is truly exasperating to witness the willful dumbing of America. And the world is watching.

Colin Todd

Whidbey