Liberal. Conservative. Two honorable adjectives.

At least half of those who made America great were called liberals. The other half were called conservatives. They worked together. They discussed ideas. They made compromises. And the nation moved forward.

None of the policies that make America great are either all liberal or all conservative. Wise leaders and wise citizens adopt the best from both sides of the equation. That's one reason for the nation's success.

Now, a few leaders and their misinformed lackeys seek to make half that successful equation unacceptable. For them, "liberal" is synonymous with "evil."

Sadly, too many of those negative voices are heard on my long-time professional home--KSL radio. Lately, I find myself apologizing for KSL to individuals I hold in high esteem. Some are business leaders. Some are educators. Some are church leaders. They complain about what they hear, and their status lends credibility to their remarks. These are not the nasty "liberals" ridiculed so often on KSL radio. They are intelligent, mostly conservative listeners...or former listeners.

Too bad. The programs originated by KSL here in Utah are excellent. No one operates a more balanced, fair and civil talk show than Doug Wright does each morning. And his weekly "Movie Show" is far better than the officious overreaching of movie reviewers on syndicated television and public radio.

Grant and Amanda may be the most balanced and professional morning drive team in America. They offer thinking listeners a meaningful combination of news, information and entertainment. KSL radio's news, traffic and weather product outperforms anything else in the region, and the station's professional radio news staff is strengthened by a large professional television news staff.

But during the afternoon and late evenings, KSL radio sells its broadcast soul for a few pieces of silver.

No doubt, Sean Hannity attracts large audiences. But a large audience for radio these days consists of a few thousand listeners, a small percentage of the total population. Hannity appeals to his audience with ridicule, prejudice, rudeness and anger. Some people find simple-mindedness more entertaining than reason. A prime rule of communication is that we tend to seek those things with which we agree.

Dr. James Dobson, another syndicated regular, pretends to talk about family, but his words are mostly political. He carries so much political baggage that those with opposing viewpoints should demand equal time.

Bill O'Reilly, in the late evening, is not as rude as Hannity, but he consistently ridicules those who disagree, sometimes after they have signed off and can no longer object. Lars Larsen is basically an anarchist who believes the only good thing government does is kill foreigners and put lawbreakers in jail--especially minority lawbreakers.

These broadcasters and their followers brand "liberals" as enemies of the state. Like Hitler's mind-bending propaganda, they tell listeners over and over again that anyone with a drop of "liberal" blood is evil.

Their approach tarnishes KSL's image and colors listener reaction to the high quality broadcast services KSL provides locally.

For 22 years, I was honored to write and present KSL editorials--almost 6,000 of them. I was never asked to say anything mean, disrespectful or unreasonable. More importantly, I can't recall a single time when KSL's ownership tried to impose its will on editorial comments. And so it is no surprise that the station's ownership has refrained from meddling in program schedules.

I certainly don't expect ownership to force changes now. And neither should you. But KSL's board of directors could reasonably express concerns. Members of the board are business men and women. They must hear from the same critics who corner me more often than I like. And listeners or former listeners definitely have influence over management decisions. Don't call or write to Hannity and friends; your effort will only be ridiculed. Instead, write directly to KSL. If you like the programming, let them know. But if you don't like it, express your disappointment. Otherwise, station management looks only at the listening "numbers" and the "bottom line."

The real bottom line is that those who entertain with rudeness, incivility and misinformation do more to hinder American progress than to help it along.

Reason and good manners are more important than financial gain.

--Don Gale

G. Donald Gale is president of Words, Words, Words, Inc. He was formerly editorial director at KSL. He earned a doctorate at the University of Utah and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Southern Utah University.