Hate

It seems to me conservatives view liberals as misguided or uninformed, while liberals view conservatives as pure evil. Thus, conservatives deserve all the hate directed their way. And hate is poured out lavishly and endlessly.

Conservatives view the Constitution as the rule book, the source of all guidance for how government is conducted. Liberals view the Constitution as an old starting point, now obsolete, which now can be re-shaped, like a piece of wet clay, into whatever direction present fads suggest. Or rather, however liberal elites dictate.

I believe hatred of Donald Trump has intensified because of five key reasons:

Donald Trump is not a liberal. Donald Trump has very conservative ideas and values. And very key: Donald Trump loves America. A lot of liberals hate that. Also: Donald Trump favors capitalism. A recent Rasmussen survey indicates most liberals don't.

If President Trump and his administration can indeed make significant advances to make America great again, that will dramatically demonstrate how ineffective and incompetent our politicians and leaders have been for decades. So, not only do Democrats and Republicans hate President Trump, they are highly motivated to keep him from succeeding. They are working frantically to assure his good work for the American people is completely thwarted.

If he is committed to "draining the swamp" (it seems he is), lots of politicians are worried silly because they know they are a key portion of the swamp that needs to be drained. Further, many know they have engaged in improper and illegal activities, so they may not only be drained, they may be toted off to jail.

Donald Trump is not beholden to special interest groups and wealthy contributors who want and indeed used to have a say in political decisions. So he can act as he sees fit to improve America. He does not need to twist or distort policy to placate those he is obligated to . . . because he is obligated to no one. This intensifies the hatred of all those accustomed to exerting their behind-the-scenes influence.

Many individuals have gone "all in" with hatred of Donald Trump. They don't have the strength or wisdom to change their positions even though it's now clear President Trump is indeed making America great again. So, they choose instead to hate even more.

Hatred of Mr. Trump is not just simmering in the minds of his detractors. It is bubbling uncontrollably and spraying forth like a geyser. Particularly those in Hollywood can't stop themselves from unleashing their hate and bile.

The Cast of the New "Star Trek" Film, Including JJ Abrams, Chris Pine, and Simon Pegg:
"Never has there been a presidential candidate who stands in such complete opposition to the ideals of the 'Star Trek' universe as Donald Trump. His election would take this country backward, perhaps disastrously."

Johnny Depp -- Actor, producer, and musician.
"When was the last time an actor assassinated a president? I want to qualify, I am not an actor. I lie for a living. However, it has been a while and maybe it is time."

Louis CK -- Comedian, writer, actor, and filmmaker.
"Please stop it with voting for Trump. It was funny for a little while. But the guy is Hitler. And by that I mean that we are being Germany in the '30s. [. . .] He's an insane bigot. He is dangerous."

Margaret Cho -- Stand-up comedian, actress, fashion designer, author, and singer-songwriter.
"Just the nastiest. @realDonaldTrump, you literally have no moral fiber. You're like no-ply toilet paper. Just trash."

George Clooney -- Actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and businessman.
"[Donald Trump is] a fascist; a xenophobic fascist."

George Takei -- Actor, director, author, and activist.
"Trump is a cancer on our democracy. He must be rejected by all patriots, for the good of our national identity and values."

Peter Fonda -- Actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda and younger brother of Jane Fonda.
"We should rip Barron Trump from his mother's arms and put him in a cage with pedophiles."

Jennifer Lawrence -- Actress. Her films have grossed over $5.7 billion worldwide, and she was the highest-paid actress in the world in 2015 and 2016.
"If Donald Trump becomes president, that will be the end of the world."

John Legend -- Singer, songwriter and actor.
"He lies with a kind of cavalier frequency. He's spread bigotry and hatred and division on a regular basis. He shows no interest or understanding for any sort of policy depth, and I feel like he's uniquely unqualified to be president."

Ariel Winter -- Actress.
"America, you have failed. What the actual f--k. Devastating. I won't recognize @realDonaldTrump as our president, ever."

Robert De Niro -- Actor, producer, and director.
"He's so blatantly stupid. He's a punk. He's a dog. He's a pig. He's a con, a bulls--t artist. A mutt who doesn't know what he's talking about, doesn't do his homework, doesn't care, thinks he's gaming society, doesn't pay his taxes. He's an idiot."

Kathy Griffin -- Comedian (?) and actress.
"F--k him [Donald Trump]. And Don Jr. and Eric, or as I call them Eddie Munster and Date Rape."

Cher -- Singer and actress.
"[Trump is a] consummate liar, [he's] insane; a sociopathic narcissist. I just wish he'd fall off the face of the Earth." Also , she compared Trump to Stalin and Hitler. "Support him? I'd rather chew glass. Let's throw Trump in a volcano."

Rosie O'Donnell -- Comedian, actress, author, and television personality.
"I spend like pretty much 90 percent of my waking hours tweeting hatred towards this [Trump] administration."

Amanda Seyfried -- Actress, model, and singer-songwriter.
"Didn't think I was capable of feeling hatred like this. The biggest insult to our country is this snorting piece of garbage."

Steven Patrick Morrissey -- Singer, songwriter and author.
"If there was a button here and if you pressed on it, Trump would die, would you push it or not?" Der Spiegel asked Morrissey, a singer from the 1980s with "The Smiths." "I would, for the safety of humanity. It has nothing to do with my personal opinion of his face or his family, but in the interest of humanity I would push."

Michael Moore -- Filmmaker.
"Historians in the near future will mark today, March 28, 2017, as the day the extinction of human life on earth began, thanks 2 Donald Trump [and his climate policies]."

Note that not a single Trump policy was cited as wrong or flawed. There's no discussion of issues. All that emerges is raw hatred. Blind hatred. President Trump is hated because . . . he's President Trump.

But it's not just the loony left elites in Hollywood who have lost their senses.

National Review -- (In an article titled: "Witless Ape Rides Escalator.")
"[Donald Trump is a] ridiculous buffoon."

Salon -- News and opinion website.
"[Donald Trump is] nothing more than a blowhard reality show hack who lucked and scammed his way into fame and fortune."

Seth Meyers -- Comedian, writer, political commentator, actor, and television host.
"[Donald Trump is] clinically insane."

Mollie Hemingway -- Conservative political commentator.
"I hate Donald Trump, people who love Donald Trump, people who hate Donald Trump, and media who cover Donald Trump."

Erica Tempesta -- New York-based journalist.
"You [Ivanka Trump are] trash, like your father."

Jamil Smith -- MTV's senior national correspondent.
"There are a variety of ways that Trump could kill us all. The slowest, surest, and most likely way he'll do it is via climate change."

John Brennan -- Ex-CIA director.
"Donald Trump's press conference performance in Helsinki rises to and exceeds the threshold of 'high crimes and misdemeanors.' It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump's comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin."

Joy Behar -- Host on ABC's "The View."
"[Donald Trump] wants to cut clean water. He wants to stop helping old people and public education so we can all be as dumb as he is!"

ExpatGirl -- Blog writer for "Daily Kos."
"I hate Donald Trump. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Him. He is racist. He is sexist. He is vile. He is incompetent. He shames America daily. He hurts people daily. He has put America in harm's way. I. Hate. Him. F--k. Trump. F--k. Trumpism. F--k. DumbassBottomDwellersWhoSupportHim. F--k. The. GOP. That is all."

Maria Chappelle-Nadal -- Missouri state senator.
"I hope Trump is assassinated!"

Joe Scarborough -- Co-host on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"[Donald Trump] is not a healthy, normal, well-functioning man."

Scott Pelley -- "CBS Evening News" anchor.
"Is it appropriate to ask whether the president is having difficulty with rationality?"

Maycie Thornton -- Buzzfeed's Director of Social Media
"Maybe someone will assassinate him."

Stephen Colbert -- "The Tonight Show."
"[President Trump's mouth is nothing more than a penis] holster for Putin."

Keith Olbermann -- Sports and political commentator and writer.
"[Donald Trump is] a jackass, demagogue, liar, idiot, despot, simpleton, traitor, schmuck, buck-passer, puppet, lunatic, toddler, fascist, jerk, schmo, schnook, dope, dipstick, lamebrain. . . This pitiful excuse for a human being is the thug bent on destroying the freedoms of this country as we know them."

Ana Navarro -- Republican strategist and political commentator.
"[Donald Trump is] not only unfit to be president, he's unfit to be human."

But it goes far beyond hate. People around the country are not only spewing hate, they're thinking about actually killing Donald Trump, and they're documenting their threats on the Internet!

Plays have been written about killing President Trump. Cartoons have been written about killing President Trump. Songs have been written about killing President Trump. Now, anyone can buy a T shirt that says "Kill Donald Trump." This sort of hatred is unprecedented!

Some unwilling to sign up to kill Donald Trump, said they would actually kill themselves if Donald Trump became president. This kind of hatred borders on insanity!

There were millions of Americans who were terrified (I believe justifiably so) of what would happen if Barack Obama was elected president. However, these folks didn't spew hate and vow to kill him. Or themselves. They swallowed hard and braced themselves for the actions of someone seemingly intent on making America not great at all.

I think there's an important lesson in all this. The party that claims to be caring, tolerant, compassionate, and loving . . . isn't.

There's a clear political divide in the country. And it appears to be growing. What will bring us together? We can conclude it won't be the Left.