Recently a dear friend of mine called me a “Hateful Liberal” and threatened to terminate our friendship because I don’t agree with her opinion that Donald Trump is a truthful or qualified president.

I found this very distressing for multiple reasons.

For one, I would hope that a friendship cultivated over twenty years would be stronger than a political disagreement.

Secondly, I was perplexed by the label “Hateful Liberal.”

I have voted for Democratic candidates, Republican candidates, and Independent candidates over the years. Did I vote for Donald Trump in the last presidential election? Most definitely not.

In his campaign Trump lied repeatedly, made racist and sexist statements, bragged about committing sexual assault, made fun of the disabled (of which I am one), and allegedly colluded with a foreign government in attempts to get elected. He lost the popular vote by more than 3 million votes – so I was not alone. And, even if I was in the minority, I would still stand by my opinions.

Here’s what I stand for:

Racial equality.

Gender equality.

LGBTQ rights.

Protecting the rights of the disabled.

Investing in education.

Cutting taxes on the poor and middle class while asking the upper 1% to pay their fair share.

Protecting Social Security.

Protecting Medicare.

Protecting Medicaid.

Universal healthcare.

Do these positions make me a liberal? Yes. I have no issue with the label liberal. To be honest, it’s a badge I wear with pride.

I just don’t understand why Trump and his supporters throw it at people as if it were an insult.

What I didn’t appreciate in my friend’s attack on me was the term “Hateful Liberal”. It’s a term Trump’s camp has coined to try to perpetuate their myth that liberals are somehow evil.

There is nothing wrong with having liberal political views. So, since labeling people with mindsets like mine as liberal didn’t elicit the negative feelings Trump desired, he added the word “Hateful” to the moniker.

Name calling is what Trump has done throughout his public life, so it comes as no surprise that he feels it necessary to attack those who speak the truth about his lies. He doesn’t like it when unbiased media report the facts that paint him in a negative light. So, he calls them “liberal media” or “fake news.”

Isn’t it funny how we didn’t have any “fake news” before Trump?

But, I digress. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Mine is that Trump is a disgrace. Should that be the grounds for ending a friendship? I certainly hope not.

Peace. Love. Trust.