I received quite a bit of listener/reader feedback in response to last month’s Political Theater blog. I guess it touched some nerves.
One funny thing is this: If I take a look at all the feedback (a few dozen messages in total), it’s clear to see that each person who wrote in is either Pro-Trump or Anti-Trump.
What I mean is that there were no neutral or independent messages indicating a general dissatisfaction with both prominent political parties. Nor were there any messages that were directly Pro-Harris – although the Anti-Trump messages were, I guess, a little Pro-Harris in nature by default.
It seems that Trump himself, as a character, is the ideological dividing line these days. That means that, in truth, most people who care about politics these days are technically Trumpers of one form or another.
Me being me, I figure this must be by design. Packaging up everyone’s beliefs into a cult of personality is just a little too neat and tidy for my liking.
Trumper Voices
Another funny thing is that all the Anti-Trump messages were quite short. Usually just a sentence or two. But most of the Pro-Trump messages were long, detailed, and sort of evangelical in nature.
I get the feeling that the Anti-Trump Trumpers are content to discover and quickly agree with any information that disparages Trump, while the Pro-Trump Trumpers have a more complex cosmology that compels them to convince me that I should get on board with The Donald because it’s the right thing to do.
Due to their brevity, I’ll take a swing at bundling all the Anti-Trump messages, paraphrasing them as follows:
Hi Phil. I’m not surprised to learn that Trump’s shooting was faked. He is a liar and a criminal. He’s also a racist and a misogynist. He is dangerous and he doesn’t deserve to be President.
It’s not easy to bundle up all the Pro-Trump messages like that. Each one was a special snowflake. Instead, I’ll provide the following, verbatim, single example that represents the general theme (which I gather to be, in large part, a copied message that’s making the rounds in social space or whatever):
Hi Phil. You are right. Our government has become so miss guided [sic] and lost the basic principles of governing. It had [sic] become a government for liberals or a government for conservatives. If you wonder why I’ll vote for Trump. [sic] I shake my head sometimes with Trump and X, but to all those who say . . . “I’d vote for anyone but TRUMP . . . I can’t stand him!!!” or “I can’t believe you’re voting for Trump!!!” Well folks listen up!!! This is not a Jr. High or High School popularity/personality election!!! I’m not just voting for the person, I’m voting for the platform & policies!!! I’m voting for the second amendment. I’m voting for the next supreme court justice. I’m voting for the electoral college, and the Republic we live in. I’m voting for the police, and law and order. I’m voting for the military, and the veterans who fought and died for this Country. I’m voting for the right to speak my opinion and not be censored. I’m voting for secured borders. I’m voting for the right to praise God without fear. I’m voting for freedom and the American Dream. I’m voting for good against evil. I’m not just voting for one person, I’m voting for the future of my Country and our Constitution which was written based on Biblical values and protects our freedoms under God!!! What are you voting for??? God Bless the United States of America!!! [7 American flag emojis inserted here.] Copy and share this with everyone!
Phil’s Two Cents
It’s great to know that people are thinking about this stuff and willing to take the time to share their thoughts. Dialog is important, essential.
But I have to admit: It’s also a little depressing.
Reading each of the messages gives a queasy churning in my lower gut. It feels to me like each camp within the predefined boundaries of the cult is a little cracked in their own special way. Nonetheless, I replied to everyone, individually, to keep the spirit of conversation alive.
To the Anti-Trump Trumpers, I replied along these lines (once again, this is just a paraphrase that fairly represents the length and tone):
Hello ____. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Dialog is essential, I think. Reading, speaking and listening helps us make sense of the world. The “Trump character” has served to focus a lot of attention, for sure. But it may be that there are dangerous deceptions at play across the board – on both sides. I hope we can all think, love, and act far outside the Trump-shaped Box that’s been presented to us to contain our thought space. What I mean is this: Perhaps we can find someone who would actually make a good President (and simultaneously find a way to elect him/her), rather than just settling for whatever half-wits and also-rans remain after the process of elimination. I look forward to hearing back from you.
To the Pro-Trumpers, I replied along these lines (this reply is specific to the verbatim message above, but it also represents the overall vibe of my replies to this camp):
Hello ____. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Dialog is essential, I think. Reading, speaking and listening helps us make sense of the world.
Although you speculate that this isn’t a high school popularity contest, I can’t help but wonder if it is, in fact, exactly that. The “Trump character” has served to focus a lot of attention, it seems. And maybe this has been by design.
That said, I agree that voting for Trump is probably a sensible, practical solution in the current political environment. But I’m probably not saying this for the reasons you’d guess.
Unfortunately, “voting,” in its current sense, represents an action akin to voluntarily paddling a canoe that’s rapidly taking on water (the water being Marxism). Sadly, we’re only offered two types of paddles: a thing that looks vaguely like a paddle-shaped contraption that might actually propel our canoe if we really lean into it (the Republican paddle), and a misshapen stick that is recognizably futile (the Democrat paddle).
In all the fuss over choosing the best paddle – and in all the energy spent criticizing those whom we think are making the wrong paddle choice – people are losing sight of the real problem. The problem is not how to keep our canoe moving with paddles in hopes of making it to shore (e.g. spending our way to a balanced budget, fighting our way to peace, etc.). The problem is figuring out how to have a sea-worthy craft that will stay afloat regardless of how or where we decide to paddle it.
Last time around, Trump promised to install a bilge pump (quite literally, he promised to “drain the swamp”) to start removing water from our canoe. He did not succeed. In fact, it would seem that we’ve taken on even more water. But at least Trump drew some people’s attention to the fact that we’re taking on water in the first place – and maybe he slowed the flow a little, the number of gallons per minute – which is something, I guess. This time around maybe Trump will be able to do better, assuming that’s what he really hopes to do (which I have my serious doubts about, as you may have gathered).
I think it may be worth noticing that the fundamental problem is not being addressed by either paddle peddler. Paddle buyers beware! Even the best paddle (and/or bilge pump) is not going to help much. What’s needed is a major repair of our canoe (our Republic) to stop the leaks, plus a preventative maintenance plan to stop any new leaks from forming. If we just take the time to dig out the original owner’s manual (our Constitution), dust it off, and read it – assuming people can still read cursive – the guidelines for taking care of our canoe have already been spelled out pretty clearly. Sadly, over time, the owner’s manual has been purposefully and/or unwittingly edited and misinterpreted. So, we need to get back to trusting and following the original text.
And it should go without saying: Anyone caught scribbling notes in the owner’s manual and/or trying to drill holes in our hull should be thrown overboard. If they love water so much, they should enjoy a nice swim!
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Interestingly, I haven’t received any follow-up messages to any of my replies.
So it goes.
– “Phil”
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