It is not betrayal to reconsider — it is citizenship

By Myra Dean

I try not to respond to MAGA supporters with anger, because many are my neighbors, friends, relatives, and fellow Americans.

Myra Dean

I know I have not always listened as well as I should, and I genuinely want to understand what they see and what they fear that makes them believe Donald Trump and his MAGA followers are the answer. Most of us, regardless of party, want safety, opportunity, fairness, and a country our children can be proud to inherit.

I struggle because my perspective is that Donald Trump is a true threat to the things we all value.

I understand that people are busy with family, work, church and daily responsibilities. Few have the time to investigate every claim or candidate in detail. Many Republicans voted as they always have, trusting that their party still stands for limited government, personal responsibility, constitutional order, and the rule of law.

That is why I can understand how Donald Trump’s public image took hold. “The Apprentice,” backed by money, editing and skilled production, presented him as a decisive and successful businessman. For many viewers, that image felt credible because it was repeated often and confidently.

But at some point, loyalty to a party or leader has to give way to loyalty to the country itself. If the facts, the rhetoric and the actions no longer match the values we were taught to respect, then it is not betrayal to reconsider. It is citizenship.

No one wants to feel they were misled. I would not want that either. But changing one’s mind in light of new evidence is not weakness; it is integrity.

Many former MAGA supporters are already stepping away. Groups such as Leaving MAGA and VoteVets show that people can make that transition without giving up their principles.

There is still room for Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and people with no party affiliation to stand together for constitutional government, decency, truth and respect across political lines.

If today’s politics no longer reflect the America you believe in, you are not alone. There is a place for you in a broader, principled coalition committed to protecting the country we all share.
Many of us are already meeting together based on our shared values and beliefs to end the divisiveness and to strengthen the things we all agree on.

Now is the time to reach across old divides, listen with humility, speak with honesty and stand together for the Constitution, the rule of law, and the common good.

We do not have to agree on everything to defend the country we all love. We only have to choose unity over division and courage over silence.