My high school English teacher might have had a love-hate relationship with the phrase “hurt people hurt people,” challenged by its poetic symmetry yet grammatical ambiguity. My hesitation in putting it on a bumper sticker is that it could easily be mistaken for an imperative. It isn’t. A less succinct — but clearer — version would read: People who are hurting often hurt others. 

President Donald Trump recently cast the Democrats as “the party of hate, evil, and Satan.” This incendiary language serves a dual purpose: it presents an easy target for political scapegoating while deflecting attention away from critical issues afflicting the nation. This tactic of blaming an enemy — real or imagined — has become a hallmark of authoritarian regimes throughout history and is a dangerous practice that undermines democratic discourse.