Words in a recent Summit Daily News column: Radical right wingers. Defund the FBI. Fox News, Newsmax, OAN (One American News) and other right-wing sources have a no commitment to the tenants of journalism.

No mention of radical left wingers, defund the police or ABC, CNN or MSNBC and their lack of commitment to the tenants of journalism.

Our only guardrails are to sue those who lie and shout the loudest? I am sure the out-of-work lawyers would love this income infusion.

For the bureaucratic Washington establishment (both sides), lying has become a matter of principle. They generate half-truths or untruths. Truth exists, but it is censored, denounced or misnamed like Inflation Reduction Act.

Why are some lies bad while others are good?

There is a Russian concept called vranyo where everyone knows a lie is being told and everyone knows the liar knows that they know.

This person asks: What can we do differently? How about turning down the vitriolic rhetoric? How about stop preaching to and start listening to each other? How about stop thinking that your ideas are the only right ones? How are we going to do that by preaching only to our own choir?

I think we all can support a race to the top instead of the bottom.