The political vitriol in our country has about reached a point of idiocy.
It is so bad that Saturday night I was called a Nazi, not once but multiple times. And what was my sin that led to such destructive words? I dared to point out that in my opinion political violence is wrong no matter who instigates it.
How dare me.
Now before I reached that point, I did firmly and repeatedly denounce white supremacists, Nazis and anyone else who thinks one race is greater than another. But since I dared suggest political violence was wrong, left or right, I was a Nazi.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. By all appearances I am a white man, but like many, there is more than meets the eye. The greatest percentage of any race in me is Native American. My great grandmother was 100 percent Cherokee. My grandma was then 50 percent, my dad 25 percent and I am 12.5 percent.
I married an Italian woman with some Jewish blood. So by Adolf Hitler’s standards, I would be impure and should be put to death.
But nonetheless I am a Nazi.

I would bet other than Native Americans there are virtually no pure people left and it is becoming more and more common to see Native Americans marrying outsiders. Love does not recognize race and it never should.
My second sin, and possibly greater than the first, is apparently that I don’t wish harm on Donald Trump. Trump was never my first choice when voting for president, but he won and is our president. He has done some things I like and some I detest. But apparently to some if I don’t despise him with every fiber of my being, I am a Nazi.
And of course that is a bunch of crap. I grew up as a military brat, and I don’t remember there being such a thing as different skin colors until I was in middle school. My friends were of all races, all backgrounds, all religions. There was no segregation on base.
I never heard of racial issues until I started going to public school, and even then race meant nothing to me. And it still doesn’t.
But violence does. Whether you’re an avowed white supremacist or a radical leftwing anarchist, political violence should be a nonstarter. Whether you’re a psycho running over innocent people in your car or a crazy man shooting up Republican members of Congress, you should face swift, decisive and lifelong consequences for your stupidity.
The anger in politics is out of hand. We are Americans. Americans can disagree on the government’s role in healthcare without hating each other. We are Americans.
As Americans we can fight to elect those we support and still go out for dinner after the elections results come in.
Let me make this clear. Donald Trump is not a Nazi. He is no Adolf Hitler. He is not charismatic enough not persuading enough to pull that off. Just like Barack Obama was not a Muslim. What they both are is men who make mistakes and make decisions they think are best for their country. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are wrong. That is called being human.
If you take nothing else out of this, please remember what I’m about to write. Whether you’re a white supremacist, a left-wing anarchist, a hate-filled church or a Muslim preacher who wants to kill Jews, I support your right to share those views publicly, clearly and emphatically.
In fact, I encourage it.
Here’s the reality, in our country, freedom of speech protects the right to say even the worst things. So if white supremacists want to meet, by all means let them. Let them spew their hate and vitriol for all to hear.
In the end, the vast majority of us decent people in the middle will recognize just one thing — they are idiots. And every time they open their mouths, they will reinforce that notion and will further isolate themselves as the whack jobs they are.