What you can do for your country.

Editor,

Mr. Obama could not have struck a more perfect chord in his speech in Tucson today. But the voices on the right who can only achieve economic and political domination of the United States by ruining it have no other instrument they can use to achieve their aims except to monger hate and fear.

The right can't argue civilly because they have no argument. They can only manipulate the emotions of the uninformed with lies.

Mr. Obama is right, as are the good-hearted people in our country who were touched by his speech. But his enemies -- and ours -- are not going to play fair suddenly. They've already said as much.

If you personally are able to influence someone who is under the sway of right-wing media and somehow counteract that poison in them, that is the best thing you can do for our country at this crucial moment in our history.

Re: "Obama Calls for a New Era of Civility in U.S. Politics" (1/13/2011)