Is lying and bullying and physical retaliation now okay?

To the Editor:
The definition of "civilized" is: Showing evidence of moral and intellectual advancement; humane, ethical, and reasonable; marked by refinement in taste and manners; cultured.
I always thought we were a civilized nation, until recently. Now I am questioning where we stand and what we stand for. Regardless of your politics, we have been civil to each other. We may not agree on all the issues, but we agree that we have Freedom of Speech (First Amendment). Right or wrong, our values are our own and we should respect other points of view (even if you think they are nutty).
But since last year’s election cycle, it seems that our values are changing in a dangerous way. It seems that lying is okay and bullying is okay and physical retaliation is okay. But it’s not okay with me. Is it okay with you? Forget about who may be doing it — you need to think about this very hard and decide if this is the direction you want our country to go.
Did you know that there is no law about lying in politics? And only 14 states have laws against lying in political ads. We all don’t think our politicians lie to us. But they do and some think that by saying the same lie over and over it’ll become true (alternative facts).
As per my Thought For The Day quote: “It takes great courage to be honest. One of the noblest qualities in a person is the ability to say, 'I am sorry, I was wrong, you were right.'” It doesn’t really matter about being right, winning arguments or having my ideas accepted. It matters more that I am able to recognize my mistakes, take responsibility for them, learn the lesson and move forward with greater maturity.”
The lying, physical abuse and lack of taking responsibility for what we say/do that we are now experiencing in our political system is very troubling to me. We all need to decide where we stand and what we will stand for. Now is the time for us all to come to the aid of our country and not allow such tactics to infiltrate our government. Stand up for decency, Democracy, truth and The American Way.
Thank you for your time.
Karen L. Cohen
Milford