Growing up in the aftermath of World War II, I wondered how Adolf Hitler could have turned so many of the fundamentally decent German people into the vicious, murderous, bigoted force of the Nazi movement.

Now I understand.

Donald Trump has shown me how it is done. His inflammatory rhetoric and his many lies have fed the most violent tendencies of people frustrated by his own party’s unwillingness to get on with governing this country.

This is a would-be president who claims that his “free speech” is being compromised, even as he incites his followers to assault the people who disagree with him.

It is no surprise that there is a rich bigot who wants to be president. What is truly depressing is the popularity of his hateful, divisive message. The mainstream media, a potential source of enlightenment, is enthusiastically sacrificing truth, logic and balance on the altar of sensationalism and ratings-driven profit.

It is sad that what used to be a respectable political party is being dominated by people who apparently have forgotten that politics is not about getting elected, it is about governing this country responsibly for everyone.

Dare I hope that, as the sunlight returns after the equinox, so will the sanity of the American people?

William Berlinghoff, Farmington