EDITOR:

When asked by one of his parishioners why we should love our enemies, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is said to have answered that we must do so because anger begets anger, hate begets hate, and violence is always returned with violence for, as it says in the Letter to the Galatians, you will reap what you sow.

Recently, Donald Trump was injured when the bullet of a would-be assassin creased his ear, bloodying him. Tragically, several of those attending the rally where he was speaking were seriously injured and one of his supporters was killed.

Mr. Trump has trafficked in hate and has sown mistrust and division among us, apparently basing his personal philosophy and his political agenda upon the belief that might makes right, and those who work for justice, equality, and peace are weaklings who deserve to be bullied and abused.

Regrettably, it seems that the years of fueling the fires of anger, resentment, and hate have come back to him in this brush with irrational violence and death.

I had hoped that he would be shaken by the attack, see the light, and turn away from his deep-seated tendencies to belittle and denigrate others, fostering and spreading the fear, anger, and hate that fuel the fires of resentment and division between Americans of different races, religions, cultures, classes, and backgrounds.

Unfortunately, within days, he was right back at it, lending support to baseless rumors and conspiracy theories that blame his enemies and political opponents for the attack.

A decent and principled man might have found in his narrow escape a note of grace grounded in the realization that we are all fragile and vulnerable creatures, who awaken each morning to the gift of a new day through no power or merit of our own. Sadly, he does not seem to have made that connection to our common humanity.

Instead, he has doubled-down on his persecution complex, exaggerating both the extent of his injuries, while bragging of miraculous internal powers of healing. Almost in the same breath he turned to self-pity and claims of martyrdom.

It’s disturbing behavior from someone running for President. It seems that this self-centered, self-serving, and mean spirited man is all Mr. Trump truly is. I see no evidence of a better, more high-minded person hidden anywhere within him.

God help the United States of America and all of its people, especially women and children, the poor, those with dark skin, those who worship other gods, or who have come here seeking freedom and a new beginning in a land with the promise of freedom and justice for all.

Dr. Daniel M. Young,

Escanaba