While expressing the opinion that Americans are “caught in the crossfire’’ of the Democratic and Republican parties, Diane Hessan writes, “The American people deserve better than this.’’ Really? Most Americans get their information from social media and local television news.

Such “news’’ is riddled with lies, half-truths, distortions, and missing details.

How many citizens do the more difficult, but necessary, task of researching when uncertain of the truthfulness of an issue? The answer is: very few.

We live in an age of propaganda. It threatens our democracy. Our president presents alternative facts. Until we as individuals seek out fact, we deserve the current quandary in which we find ourselves.

Rick Magnani

West Sayville, N.Y.