The other day, a piece of mail came to our home with a huge “Donald J. Trump” in the upper left-hand corner of the envelope. On the reverse side was the address of the Republican National Committee. It was an appeal for money.

The first line of the letter reads: “The Liberal elites, the Fake News Media and the Marxist Democrats hate America – and they hate you.” The writer of the letter had underlined the words “they hate you.” I was shocked by the violence of those words. How often is this repeated a day in texts from the RNC and by the personalities on Fox News?

Hate has no home in Maine. I have dear family members, friends and acquaintances who are Republicans, Democrats and independents. We love each other, care about our communities and do not choose to hate anyone. A democracy requires listening, understanding and respectful disagreement over policy.

If the RNC were an extremist fringe group, I could ignore it. But the RNC is the leadership of a major party in a two-party system. Did the Maine Republican Party open a multicultural center in Portland knowing that the RNC is sending out messages that promote hatred? Would the leadership of the Maine Republican Party tolerate the spreading of lies about their fellow Americans?

If thoughts become words and words become actions, what are the consequences of cultivating hate?

Theresa Quinn
Portland