Editor,

Many of us are frustrated by the silence of our representatives when it comes to calling out President Trump on some of his outrageous statements and actions. I often imagine myself standing in front of a senator or congressman, waving my fist and shouting; “If you don’t say something, you will lose my support!”

But then I calm down and take a more objective view. Calling out our president is only one of the many issues facing citizens today. It’s important to maintain a balance when judging elected officials. Specifically, what have they done to improve my life and the lives of my neighbors? Certainly, one can be forgiven for remaining silent if one has performed admirably in other areas.

So, I decided to do a little exercise which I highly recommend you do also. I took a sheet of paper and drew two columns. On the left I listed Trump actions that upset me, and, on the right, I listed the accomplishments of my representative that improved my life. As an example, here is my assessment of Senator Thom Tillis:

The following are things Trump has done to upset me that Senator Tillis has been silent about:

• Starting a trade war with China that has harmed local farmers and manufacturing workers, threatening to push us into a recession.
• Pulling our troops out of Syria and exposing our allies, the Kurds, to violent ethnic cleansing.
• Calling neo-Nazis “good people.”
• Loosened environmental rules that were meant to mitigate the warming of the planet that my children and grandchildren will inhabit.
• Blackmailing an ally under threat of a Russian attack to dig up dirt on a likely opponent in the 2020 election.

The following is the list of the senator’s accomplishments that have improved my life and the lives of my neighbors:

Jeffrey Zalles

Southport

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