I write this on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. There are others who can write about his legacy better than I, but on this day I found the desire to respond to two letters that were written to the Gazette after the election.

One writer was clearly happy with the results and asked those of us not happy with the election to stop crying in our beer and help work to make it so America is no longer being laughed at by the rest of the world. The other writer was shocked at the election and felt that those of us equally shocked need to make an effort to talk with, and understand, people who had voted for Donald Trump, and find a middle ground.

To the person who wants me to work to make sure America is not being laughed at, all I can say is that although I look at Fox News to see what they are presenting on their website, that is not reality. If I only read or listened to Fox, or Newsmax, etc., perhaps I too would believe that former President Joe Biden had tanked the economy (not true), or was laughed at by leaders of other countries (not true), and worse. But I do not.

I am willing, if President Trump does something that I think is right, to say so, and I will not engage in the thinking that if my person does it, it’s fine, if the other side’s person does it, it is wrong. Still, I know that a mass deportation of immigrants will not reduce the price of eggs, nor will denying basic rights to trans people lower the price of gas, and tariffs will not either.

To the person who wants me to understand Trump’s voters, I am happy to talk to and listen to anyone. I spent many years of my life as a teacher and worked with families across the political spectrum. I worked with my students to find a middle ground when there was one to be found.

But … there is no middle ground between being racist and not. There is no middle ground between being a misogynist and not. There is no middle ground between being homophobic or transphobic and not. There is not middle ground between being antisemitic and not.

In the interest of keeping the U.S. from being laughed at, or in finding a middle ground, I will not … throw truth under the bus. Throw LGBQIA+ people under the bus. Throw immigrants trying to find safety and a better life under the bus. Throw Jews or Palestinians under the bus. Throw the concept of DEI under the bus. Throw people of color under the bus, especially Black women who have consistently been the ones to lead the way toward justice for all.

King said that, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” So I will continue to try to love those I agree with and those I do not. And I will not throw hope under the bus but instead hope that the arc of the moral universe does, indeed, continue to bend toward justice.

Peter Lamdin lives in Pelham.