I read John Facella’s Forum column, “Patriotism is not limited to one party, so stop throwing stones,” published May 1. I, too, am not loyal to any political party. I am loyal to values that I hold dear, such as honesty, integrity, freedom, fairness, kindness, peace, democracy, the even-handed application of the rule of law, and especially equality, as we live in a very diverse nation. I will criticize anyone from anywhere who undermines these values.

Facella apparently gets his news from only right-wing sources, as he somehow contorts reality into believing that both Republicans and Democrats are equally unpatriotic. They are not, as the prior opinion piece of Susan Chichetto, “Patriotism is not loyalty to one person,” so aptly conveyed.

It is patriotic to call out perceived misdeeds of any elected official. Trump, however, calls anyone who disagrees with him a Never Trumper, as if that negates their position. But no one is born a Never Trumper. They only arrive there after observing his behavior, which is divisive and damaging to the country and the values that many of us live by.

True, there have been good ideas from both sides in the past, but the current Republican party has sold itself to the devil Trump, including his Big Lie of a stolen election. They are hell-bent on imposing their way on the rest of us, even through violence if necessary. That is repugnant and antithetical to all the values I hold dear, and what makes all of them unfit to hold any office that requires loyalty to the Constitution.

Susan Bennett
Portland