Anyone who suffered through high school chemistry remembers the litmus test. It’s an ultra-simple method of determining whether a liquid solution is acidic or alkaline. You dip a strip of purple paper (called, surprisingly enough, “litmus paper”) into the solution. If it immediately turns red, the liquid is an acid; if it turns blue, it’s not acid but alkaline.

It’s that simple. No need to determine what chemicals are in the soup. The litmus test gives us the instant definitive yes or no answer we need, acid or not, case closed. And with a red vs. blue label — how spooky is that?

The litmus test process turns out to be a remarkably apt metaphor for political thinking, and never more so than now. In this new Trump era, political positions are established, tactics formulated, and public views seeded — particularly on the Left — based on a single criterion: Whose side are we on? We no longer concern ourselves with the substance of the matter, with intrinsic right or wrong, with common sense. The litmus test is dirt simple: If they like it, whatever it is, we hate it. Period.

Today, Donald Trump is at the epicenter of every political litmus test. Essentially, everything Trump says, does, or plans to do prompts instant disagreement by the Left, along with aggressive resistance and energetic efforts to convince the public that he’s dead wrong. The president’s address to the joint session of Congress two weeks ago provided an unmistakable demonstration. As Trump foretold in his opening remarks, nothing he said that evening, even the feel-good sentiments, elicited even grudging assent. The Democrats who were present (many boycotted) sat stone-faced throughout, grousing and waving silly signs.

Democrats tried some post-address cleanup, arguing that their behavior was standard fare for the party not in power. Wrong. It was disgraceful — and revealing.

The political litmus test mentality goes beyond Trump himself and extends to his associates and virtually all issues of the day. Interestingly, the inanity of basing policy and positions solely on what the other side thinks reveals some magical turnabouts. Examples:

Elon Musk (before Trump). Not long ago, Elon Musk was the hero of leftists, emblematic of everything they hold sacred. He is the inventive genius who turned the concept of mass-produced climate-saving electric vehicles into reality, pioneered medical breakthroughs, led much of America’s space exploration, and generously contributed to left-wing causes. The Left’s litmus test on Musk? Solid blue; we love him.

Elon Musk (after Trump). Musk, the world’s richest man, is now seen as the ultimate oligarch who finagled his way into the Trump orbit for his own greedy purposes. Today’s litmus test evaluation: solid red, pure evil, and hated as much as (maybe more than) Trump. Widespread Musk hatred now OKs fire-bombing Tesla facilities (they’re called “protests”) and raucous audience cheers at the financial damage to his business.

Government waste, fraud, and abuse: For decades, politicians (both Left and Right) have vowed to find and eliminate it. But now that Trump’s DOGE is in the game, opponents assert that the DOGE findings are exaggerated or just plain untrue — and that the harms of their heavy-handed methods far outweigh the puny benefits. Today’s litmus test finding? Waste, fraud, and abuse are no big deal.

The threat of oligarchy: Until Joe Biden’s farewell address, few knew what the word meant, and no one gave it much thought. Democrats raking in big bucks from sugar daddies (George Soros and others) was fine. Today’s litmus test on oligarchy? Bingo: It’s Elon Musk, and it’s a threat to democracy!

So where does that leave us? The litmus test analogy may seem silly, but it’s sadly accurate. I’m hard-pressed to think of a more stupid way to make weighty judgments, although a coin flip might be as effective.

Pick a topic. Here’s one among many: We learn that tens of billions in taxpayer money is being thrown away foolishly via abuse of vehicles like USAID as directed by unelected, unidentified bureaucrats. But the litmus test demands resistance, so Democrats spin up public discontent, find sympathetic judges to stand in the way, and find ways to keep throwing taxpayer money away — all because the abuse was found by DOGE (BAD!), under the direction of Elon Musk (BAD!!), who works for Donald Trump (BAD!!!)

How about a more sensible approach? Why don’t we — all of us — support the president we elected for the reasons we elected him? Trump and his team will succeed in some areas (they’re already doing so), so we can celebrate their successes as a triumph of elected government. In other areas, they will surely stumble (on tariffs perhaps?), and on those matters, both sides can challenge responsibly and call for course corrections.

Advice for Democrats: If you want to win back the voters who went the other way in 2024, support what’s working and be selective and constructive in your objection to that which is not.

And advice to Republicans: Don’t slip into the same reflexive litmus test mentality as your Democrat rivals. The Trump agenda is taking on huge issues and facing rough waters ahead, such as on matters involving foreign policy (Ukraine and Russia right now, and the Middle East, Iran, and China right around the corner), the economy (taxes, spending, entitlements, trade/tariffs), and how to deal responsibly with the nearly 20 million illegal aliens in our country, largely courtesy of the last administration.

On these and other matters, we all, not just Republicans, need all the help we can get. Let’s knock off the inane litmus tests and start pulling together for the good of our nation.