Saturday, June 16, 2018

Justifying Trump's Lack of Decorum

A Far Right FB friend posted "a piece defending President Donald Trump’s lack of decorum and dignity in office". It was originally "spread widely online, attributed to Dr. Marshall Kamena, the Democratic mayor of Livermore, California:" Snopes: He Fights It turned out that it was actually written by a Far Right comedian.
 
Of course my friend made the mistake of writing this with the post... "I leave it here for your honest and open consideration." Which normally would be fine, except that I took it as a open invitation to comment. 😁
 
Now the reason I am posting this is to help people understand the perspective of Trump True Believers. From the comments we exchanged, these folks truly believe:
  • the piece is 100% true and factual
  • that the "Liberal Tribe" is evil, underhanded and corrupt
  • the media is complicit in furthering the Lefts power
  • that achieving their "ends" (ie Conservative Judges, Power to the States, Christian Based Laws, Weakening of the Federal Government, etc) pretty much any justifies any means. (including Trump)
  • Other
My thoughts after participating in that exchange are similar to when I enter a discussion with folks from the Far Left:
  • Is there any way for the Far Left and Far Right to ever "just get along"?
  • If not get along: at least accept that neither side is good or bad, right or wrong, etc
  • With cable news and social media "echo chambers" and "their rock throwing" continually reinforcing the views of the extremes, is there any way to bring our citizens back together?
  • I don't hold out a lot of hope as long as Tribe Liberal and Tribe Conservative continue see and paint each other as enemies of the USA... 😨

12 comments:

  1. Is there any way for the Far Left and Far Right to ever "just get along"?

    My view is that extremists are more committed to extremism than they are to ideology. That help to explain why they are switching sides all the time. What they believe matters far less to them than the way they believe it.

    --Hiram

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  2. I disagree, most folks on the far left and far right I have met are locked into their position no matter what they read, see, etc.

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  3. It is annoying to me the false equivalency between far left and far right, as one side is much more reality based and one side supports their views with a pack of lies.

    I see myself as part of the moderate left and do see issues with many policy preferences of the far left but at least their views are more fact based.

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  4. Laurie,
    Unfortunately... That is exactly what these Far Right folks think of themselves, their beliefs and what they say about the other "tribe"...

    You have listened to Jerry for years, do you think he considers "Tribe Conservative" to be the one that is mistaken and lying?

    Since I reside somewhat between the tribes... It reminds me of when 2 of my daughters used to get into an argument... Both were absolutely certain that they were in the right, and that the other sister was the problem.

    It is very frustrating, that many American adults are equivalent to my girls when they were teenagers with partially formed frontal lobes and hormones were raging through their bodies. :-(

    Here is another opinion piece regarding Trump Charity...

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  5. I disagree, most folks on the far left and far right I have met are locked into their position no matter what they read, see, etc.

    Not a sense I have. Look at health care policy. In order to get something done, we adopted a Republican policy. On the border wall, we offered quite a lot. I can't think of a lot of policies on which we are locked in.

    Conservatives are opposed to relativism, something I am perfectly comfortable with. Among other things, that opposition makes it very hard to make deals.

    --Hiram

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  6. Laurie,
    This comment exchange from FB seems enlightening to me.


    "A number of good points about the Left. But remember Trump spent his whole life and many of his millions supporting the DNC (including donations to the Clinton Foundation). So he's hardly representative of the "right" or a "conservative" or any of those things. He's a populist and he stands for Trump. He sees pandering to the "right" as the current best way to do that, and if those on the American right are okay with that and willing to buy that ticket for as far as it'll ride, I suppose I can see the logic. But if it were me, I'd do it with my eyes open." TM

    "He’s not republican or Democrat. He’s a pragmatist (problem solver). Just what we needed!!!" LB

    "I agree with TM, Trump serves Trump... LB, I hope his wants align with yours for the most part.Just curious, what problems do you want him to solve?" G2A

    "Immigration, nuclear threats, religious freedom, right to life, putting America first, draining the SWAMP!..." LB

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  7. Laurie,
    With that in mind, how much latitude would you give a Democratic President who was making progress on:
    - Implementing strong gun control
    - Ensuring LGBT citizens were treated equally
    - Implementing universal income and healthcare
    - Allowing illegal residents to become citizens
    - Shrinking the US Military
    - Raising taxes on the Rich

    Does that help your perspective of why folks accept this devil with open arms?

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  8. We have a president who is not a role model. We have a president who no parent would want his children, particularly a boy to grow up to be like. We have a president who you wouldn't want to invited to your home. We certainly have a president who you wouldn't want working on your campaign. And yes, he isn't big in the decorum department either.

    --Hiram

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  9. Now you are speaking for yourself...

    I think many "movers and shakers" and "true believers" would love to spend time with Trump.

    Though I doubt that many of them would want to be personal reliant on him for anything important.

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  10. I think many "movers and shakers" and "true believers" would love to spend time with Trump.

    Trump has always been something of an outcast, in the world of movers and shakers. He doesn't get invited to their parties and he doesn't understand why. This exclusion, this sense of inferiority is what drives him. For Trump, it's as if they communicate in a language he does not speak. This quality of being the outsider is in fact something that appeals to his voters who also feel this sense of exclusion. There is a sadness about Trump. He is a guy who so wants to be accepted and admired, but never is.

    --Hiram

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  11. Do you have a source to back up that opinion?

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