Dear Conservative,

I originally published this in November of last year, but decided to edit and re-post it for two reasons. First, I have greatly increased my readership since then and am hoping the message will find a much larger audience then it did the first time. Second, through the drillbitnews.com page on Facebook I have become much more acquainted with conservatives, and “core Trump supporters” in particular. This is an honest letter as to why I disagree with you, am confused by you, get angry at you, and still respect, love, and will continue to engage with (most) of you.

I probably should’ve written this letter to you long ago, but I honestly didn’t know where to start. You are my family and my friend, you are my coworker and my boss, my neighbor and a stranger. We’ve tried to have discussions about what’s going on in the country today and they never seem to lead anywhere. It usually starts with me expressing concern about some Trump statement or conservative policy point, followed by you getting defensive and even a little angry. We both decide it’s better for our relationship not to have the conversation at all and so we go back to discussing football and the weather. But I really must tell you some things and so I figure the best way to do it is with a letter. Many of the things I’m going to say will seem critical and even accusatory, but if you were addicted to drugs rather than conservatism I would say this is an…