Saturday, September 12, 2020
Pro-Trump / Anti-establishment
Contrary to many of the accusations regularly directed at those who support the current president, I’m not “crusading” for the guy. I don’t “worship” him, as some suggest when denigrating those who support his policies. My stance is more defensive. The vitriol from the left toward Trump and his followers becomes more absurd with each passing day. When I hear the level of disrespect constantly uttered by the White House Press Corps along with the kid glove treatment of his opponent, it just further entrenches my support for Trump and his policies.
After the last election, people like me were finally given the chance to see the government’s overbearing authority reined in somewhat. A punitive authority that had accrued over the last century in the guise of “progressive” ideology.
Warts and all, Trump is sincerely taking on the unbridled power of a centralized government that has spun out of control. Regardless of how noble one’s motivations may be for supporting such a beast, a powerful state is a danger to all, and there is plenty of history to back that claim. The “deep state” government bureaucracy, education, establishment journalism, entertainment, social media, and tech industry are all basically “on the same page.” Their method is to squelch free speech and free thought and impose restrictive authority on a society that was once relatively free — “for their own good,” of course.
You can often judge someone by their friends...or by those who hate them. A lot of people hate Donald Trump. A lot of people like him as well. It’s probably accurate to say that the number of people who actually despise him vs. those who are enamoued with him are about the same — about 30-40% of the voting public, which leaves another 30% or so who are indifferent or undecided. Amazingly, this is a pretty standard Democrat/Republican divide. To see it in context, in spite of all the hyperbole and passion, Donald Trump‘s approval among the population is about the same as Obama’s was, albeit from a different support base.
It’s incredibly rare to hear anyone from the Trump-deranged camp actually list specific reasons why they oppose Trump’s policies or how he has negatively impacted their life. It’s always the kind of things one hears in grade school. “He’s stupid,” “he’s mean,”...adding nonsense like, he’s a “Nazi,” he’s a “fascist.” And of course....”racist!” One should remember that Reagan, Bush, and candidates McCain and Romney were also supposedly “racist nazis” — the go-to talking point of the Democrat party (which seldom has real legitimate points to make). Add to these monikers placed on Trump, a host of baseless urban legends repeated by media partisans, and one could be convinced that he truly is the Antichrist.
By all means, list why you think taxes shouldn’t be reduced for anybody, why you think power should be focused further in a centralized authority in Washington, why there should be more controls, regulations, and punishments for citizens trying to pursue liberty and happiness. Why farmers should be fined out of business because a government agency had been given authority over people’s private property. Tell us why you side with establishment power centers in media, academia, journalism, and the state’s intelligence institutions (the CIA, and FBI, etc). Tell us why Trump’s action regarding prison reform and funding of black colleges is “stupid” and the wrong policies to persue. Tell is why Americans’ should let anyone come into the country and be funded by taxpayers for their education, healthcare, and livelihood.
Tell us why it’s good for a republic to allow powerful tech monopolies to censor free expression. Why police should be eliminated and public property destroyed. Why mobs should dictate quality of life and communists and anarchists should be defended over common law-abiding citizens.
Most of all, tell us why you think that decades of Democrat rule of major cites and decades of encroaching state power over people’s personal lives is preferable to the reforms and economic prosperity unleashed the last few years (excepting, of course, the Corona interlude).
For a lot of people, Trump’s bombastic personality is an issue. In simpler times, when there was little difference between candidates and parties, such appraisals were enough to sway a voter to one side or the other. “_____ said ____” “One time (he or she) did _____.” ...Partisans can do this with anyone running for office. For me the bottom line is, what kind of government do we wish to maintain...or morph into? America’s constitution is an incredibly rare document and it’s even more rare that, for the most part, society has adhered to its standards — until recently. The events and personalities that established American political life only converged once. It’s not likely that the world will again assemble the brilliance of 18th century enlightenment thought in such a way as to establish such a high degree of mass-prosperity and human advancement.
I have intelligent friends who really think this election is just another “pendulum swing,” where one party temporarily steers policy in one direction to be later tempered by an opposing view. I beg to differ.
All the issues of the day ultimately boil down to some very basic concepts; collectivism vs. Individualism, centralization vs. dispersed and contending authority, controlled, censored, and punished expression vs. free open expression and creative dynamism.
The Right, for at least several decades, was primarily the voice of traditionalism (some would say excessively so) monied interests, and exclusiveness. They were probably always a bit more patriotic and attentive to practical considerations. The left in America was “liberal,” believing in expanded social programs and a largely libertarian cultural stance - a belief in free expression. Ideological positions sometimes muddled practical considerations but, in the end, both parties ultimately espoused their positions on “bread and butter” issues.
This is no longer the case. Aside from an overly religious niche, most conservatives are basically libertarian in their world view. They are the remnants of 19th century classical liberalism. On the other side of the spectrum, a radical left (“progressives”) has come to dominate.They are now control freaks who demand obedience to what is essentially a statist philosophy that seeks to eliminate free and open society for the values of a commune with compulsory membership.
Trump has been under unrelenting assault from these progressive forces in collusion with media and the entrenched power players of Washington. From a Trump supporter’s view, the media’s daily lies about him are grotesque exercises in unfairness. My favorite example of this blatant dishonesty is when several establishment outlets reported that he called “immigrants” “animals” when he in fact responded to a woman’s comments about the gang, MS-13 (who butchered her child) — MS-13 ARE animals. Recently, Trump’s off-the-cuff question to doctors present about the feasibility of using some type of disinfecting agent internally was stated by Brian Williams as “suggesting people should ingest cleaning agents.” Later, several partisan “journalists” and other entertainers worded it as, “telling people to drink bleach.” Many in the media now think nothing about reporting blatant fabrications when referring to the president’s comments or actions (there is a long list of these distortions and fabrications).
Returning to the “norm”
There are many people who are looking forward to the end of the Trump administration. Of course the dignified way of doing that would be to vote in the next election and hope that a lackluster statist and his token “person of color” leftist sidekick pull off effective acts of voter fraud.
When business “as usual” returns, we can have a Hillary or Jeb Bush style establishment drone return authority to the state and global institutions. At that point many may begin to look back on the good old days of limited government and more importantly, self government with a more critical eye regarding what serves America’s interest best.
One thing is absolutely certain, when Trump is gone, the state and it’s boot-licking allies will seize power back and this time they will not let it slip from their hands again. There will be no effective opposition to the government’s party. Won’t that be nice.
Conservatives need to stop suggesting that Democrats will possibly introduce socialism or simply “ban guns” etc. The ultimate risk of letting these rabid ideologues get their social jack boots in the door, is dictatorship. There is virtually nothing in their goals, stated or otherwise, that supports the continuation of free constitutional self-government. They have become indistinguishable from communists. The society they produce will not be Sweden, it will be Cuba.
Coming soon at an America near you; an open border, cities flooded with non-assimilating aliens, overstretched social resources, a violent communist insurgency in the streets of major cities, and the world preeminence of the Communist Party dictatorship in China.
Everyone should form their own well-considered conclusions, vote, accept the outcome, and insist that the outcome is an honest one. Beyond that, cross your fingers, pray, or find a good place to hide.
