There’s no point in meeting the extreme right halfway

I think that, in part, Diane Hessan’s March 8 op-ed, “Burnout in Trump’s America,’’ confuses cause and effect.

If I am having an argument with someone, and I assert 2+2=4 and they say, no 2+2=76, do I compromise, meet them halfway, and say, OK, it equals 41? Of course not.

Though I agree that some of the change in our politics right now must come from the (Republican) administration in Washington, the rest cannot come from liberals and Democrats. We cannot compromise with fake news, with the destruction of the earth’s environment. The fact is that there is a well-funded effort to overwhelm the American public with nonfacts, phony allegations, personal attacks, and ugly right-wing propaganda. Its purpose mainly is to transfer wealth and power to the upper 1 percent and the corporate sector.

It is not my fault as a progressive Democrat that there is an extreme right wing in this country. Compromising with it will get us nowhere. If they wanted a dialogue, they would not laughingly and mockingly traffic in lies. We need to organize, struggle, and resist.

William Dain

Newton

Look no further than Globe writers for source of voter burnout

No wonder there’s burnout and stress experienced by Diane Hessan’s sample group of American voters (“Burnout in Trump’s America,’’ Opinion). If they read the Globe daily, there is no respite from the constant trashing of Donald Trump. The apoplexy expressed in columns by RenÉe Graham, Yvonne Abraham, Kevin Cullen, and others precludes civil discourse or any objective assessment of current events or policy. Their negative drumbeats smack of nothing but faux rage over trivial matters (his hair, his tweets, his previous incarnations), overreaction to proposals that require congressional complicity, and blatant mischaracterizations of reality (immigration, gun laws, presidential fitness).

A.J. Myer

Stratham, N.H.

High school student is losing her interest in politics

Diane Hessan’s “Burnout in Trump’s America’’ is a perfect description of how the recent political climate makes me feel. Donald Trump’s presidency has changed politics from an important and serious topic to what feels like the drama on a reality TV show. While our country is undergoing life-or-death problems such as the plague of mass shootings, people are focused on Trump’s possible affairs. As Hessan writes, citizens “find it easier to focus on Stormy Daniels than the storm in Syria.’’

I have been interested in politics — mainly social justice — since I was around 12 years old. I always used to have fun expressing my beliefs or opinions, but because of the recent climate, it is getting to feel boring and frustrating. Even Trump voters agree that his presidency is unprofessional and childish.

If the people of the United States of America, including those who originally supported Trump, believe that our politics is becoming a joke, I can only imagine what people from other countries think about it. The current political situation must be changed in order to ensure that this country does not turn into even more of a joke than it already is, and it needs to start with our foolish, immature, and unpresidential President Trump.

Megan Keane

Dedham

The writer is a student at Dedham High School.