Consensus Requires Reason

To the Editor: 
As a relatively new reader of the Herald, I have found Art Hall’s recent columns intriguing, despite our disagreements. I trust that his intentions are sincere but contend that his reasoning is off. My motivation for writing is that I contend that Hall’s stated motivations and end results are not conformable, and he is demonstrably mistaken in several recent columns. 
Since my last letter on Nov. 30, a piece of the Ross Ice Shelf the size of Delaware appears to be about to break off.
Whether from a Christian or secular point of view, we will only solve our many problems in America if we agree to proceed by rational discourse and policy decision making. Since neither of us has much say in policy making, we are limited to rational discourse, our votes, and respective circle of influences.
Whether it is President (Barack) Obama’s policies, the state of the Democrat Party, distribution of wealth, health care, anthropogenic global warming, the recent elections, or any other issue addressed in his columns, I see no difference between his statements and what comes from the writings of the far right and Fox News, excepting for his inclusion of Bible quotes and assertions regarding a consensus, which seem rather empty when he seems to be reading only the home team’s newspapers.
There can be no consensus when one side is advancing indefensible claims. It would be one thing if we were talking about football, but the subjects of discussion (see those mentioned above) have a direct influence on the health and life of a significant portion of our population who are receiving the shaft. Trivializing or outright denying their conditions or misconstruing the politics or blame related to their conditions is neither Christian nor rational. Allow me to address his recent claims.
The Electoral College is disproportionately skewed in favor of red states to the point that in two recent elections the winner of the popular vote by a non-trivial margin has lost the presidential election. Movement to the “exurbs” near metropolitan areas, expensive conscious efforts at partisan redistricting (REDMAPPING), fake news (“lock her up,” “pizza gate,” “Comey gate”), a misguided (under-educated, frustrated, and confused) red state electorate, and voter suppression are what allowed Donald J. Trump to win the election in a perfect storm against reason.  The Trump campaign claims of a landslide were greatly exaggerated and, together with their smear job on Mrs. (Hillary) Clinton, show that they are more about messaging than truth.
Regarding poverty and health, it is not the case that Hall claimed that conscientiously people want a completely flat distribution, it is more of the case that 1 percent of America’s wealthy citizens own 40 percent of the wealth and the bottom 80 percent own only 7 percent of the wealth.  There is no rational argument for this, except for those who confuse Ayn Rand with Jesus Christ (e.g., Paul Ryan and Rand Paul). Many of the 80 percent cannot afford dental work or have to choose between medicine and food. Their children cannot go to college, yet even in communities here by the shore, we see dramatic differences in wealth.  The party that is facilitating and consciously strengthening these conditions is the Republican Party, and this has been the case since the 1960s at least. We literally now live in an oligarchy, which may be American but not Christian.
In conclusion, my suggestion to Hall is to expand and diversify your reading list and reconsider your logic.