The term “Trump Derangement Syndrome” is often used by supporters of President Donald Trump to discredit virtually any criticism of him. It is a convenient slur because it allows someone to sidestep the actual criticism of Trump by suggesting that the person making the criticism is mentally flawed.

In fact, a “deranged” person is worse than just “wrong”: he is mentally incapable — in fact, dangerously so. Using this slur is a convenient way to dismiss a person rather than confront what they actually say. As such, it is completely dishonest.

The slur has become so common today that it is frequently referred to by the acronym TDS, as in the phrase “Your TDS is showing.”

Using the term Trump Derangement Syndrome is juvenile. Every time I hear it, I am reminded of arguments I remember from middle school. Someone would disagree with someone else in the playground, and the response would be, “Well, you’re stupid.” Or, “Your mother wears army boots.”

Even in middle school, I could see that responses like this were simply avoidance. The person using them apparently couldn’t think of anything substantive to say and retreated into a dismissive insult. It didn’t work then, and it doesn’t work now.

Does anyone actually have something that could be called Trump Derangement Syndrome? Perhaps. There are probably a few people who just hate everything about Trump and would never be able to concede that he could say or do anything positive. When Bill Clinton was president, there were a few Republicans who just couldn’t stand him. His voice put their teeth on edge. And I suspect there are a few Democrats who hate Trump in the same way that those few Republicans hated Clinton.

Still, there was a lot that Clinton did that was wrong, and today — whether or not you support Trump — one needs to acknowledge that he is doing a lot wrong. All presidents do things that should be criticized, and all need to be called to account for their mistakes.

The Trump Derangement slur should be discarded, even by the staunchest Trump supporters. My advice is this: If you suspect someone is wrong about something, don’t pin a label on him. Rather, challenge him to support what he is saying.

Criticize the argument, not the person. But don’t dismiss someone just because he says something you don’t like.

Republicans and Democrats alike need to learn how to substitute listening to one another and engaging in constructive argument for hurling insults at one another. They need to abandon the “ad hominem fallacy,” a classic logical fallacy in which someone insults a person rather than addressing the argument they are making.

Our country needs to move away from its current habit of confrontation and instead embrace a new spirit of engagement. We need to abandon the idea that we always know who is right and who is wrong before we even hear what someone has to say. Listen to those with whom you disagree and refrain from the temptation to respond to them with insults. That doesn’t make them listen to you, and it leaves you feeling confident that you are right, only because you have not really paid attention.

There are a few people who suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, but there is no way to know if the person you are speaking to is actually one of these people unless you ask questions, such as: Why are you criticizing Trump in this way?

What leads you to believe he deserves this criticism? What are the facts that you have to support your criticism? These are fair questions, and anyone criticizing Trump needs to be able to answer them in order to be taken seriously.

And by engaging someone with whom you disagree in a respectful argument, you might just learn something yourself. Who knows?

The term Trump Derangement Syndrome is nothing more than a convenient label that some use to discredit others without really engaging them in argument. Charlie Kirk set an example for all of us by demonstrating the power and virtue of direct engagement with those who say things with which we disagree. He saw that it was more important and relevant to address what someone said, rather than who said it.

We do ourselves and those with whom we argue a disservice if we limit ourselves to labeling them.

These are difficult times, and the country is deeply divided. If our true goal is to make America a better place, we can all make a start by abandoning emotionally charged insults like Trump Derangement Syndrome and focusing our efforts on constructive engagement with others.

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ABOUT THE WRITER

Solomon D. Stevens is the author of “Religion, Politics, and the Law” (co-authored with Peter Schotten) and “Challenges to Peace in the Middle East.” He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

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