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| A (cynical) gift for connecting |
A friend in an email to me recently accused me of "hating" Donald Trump. We sometimes hear the term "Trump haters" from GOPers who are trying to restrain their own instincts for being critical of the president. The response to my friend was easy to make. "Hate Donald Trump? I don't even know him."
The skeptical view is based on my interpretations of observable facts. Trump definitely weaves the illusion of his caring about people. It has become essential to his appeal, as he eschews dry policy discussions and normal professional outreach to the people. He is actually schooled in professional entertainment. Maybe such skills have never been more important, given the frantic and hyper-competitive air in our media today.
This is critical: Many years ago we had a restrained media ecosystem in which the news divisions were not expected to make money. They existed out of a feeling of conscience or even because the FCC required it. The media in those days would have been skeptical of someone like Donald Trump pretty quickly. His charlatan or corrupt side would have been exposed and he'd be rendered a sideshow.
The media have become so wild and unfettered today, a guy like Trump who can cynically massage the media emerges to be taken seriously. Would Trump's most ardent supporters want their own kids to grow up with Trump's character? Well of course not.
The rationalizing by the most ardent Christians (at least in their own mind) is most puzzling to wrap your arms around. This element of Trump support, along with the likes of Lindsay Graham should perhaps be put under a certain lens. I suggest a regional lens. Not enough is being said about this.
People from below the Mason-Dixon Line have, shall we say, recognizable spots. They can tend to be impulsive.
We're hesitant to talk in such terms because it seems prejudiced. I have no problem feeling at least some prejudice against Deep South people (the prevailing race naturally). At the same time, I'm willing to be patient and to try to see people's true stripes. It has been said that "intellectuals" are defined in essence as people wanting to understand why people behave the way they do. It does not mean they are simply "smarter." So I put myself forward as an intellectual because I always try to understand the basis for behavior.
So many of the evangelicals who go to excruciating lengths to support Trump are from the South. What state is Lindsay Graham from, that mercurial personality with tics we'd never see in a Minnesota politician? He is from South Carolina. So while we in the North would never countenance such a guy, we are forced to take him seriously because of how he stands before us in the media. Compare him to the very solid and consistent thinker Amy Klobuchar.
Consistency and patience are traits we associate with people above the Mason-Dixon Line. Why am I prompted to think this? Partly it's because of a very old book I came across once, interpreting Civil War history. The interpretation was with analysis and words that wouldn't be expected today. A major term was "slave power conspiracy." The term once had great currency. But I never heard it when I was growing up.
Unionists feared the South because of the "advantages" it had from free labor in the form, of course, of the slaves. But one chapter I remember in particular focused on sheer regionalism and generalizations that could certainly be written off as stereotypes. A truly scientific basis would seem impossible to present. I personally buy it. It suggests that Southern people are impulsive by nature, and in the context of secession it is folly, because the South never had the resources to prevail. Even then it seemed the South was fighting the inevitable forces of history. There was no future in slavery.
Gut feeling vs. sheer strength
Southerners felt resentment in their gut and took up arms, while Northerners in effect took a deep breath and then methodically put the wheels in motion to crush what it called "the rebellion." "Rebellion" was a politically-tinged word. The South talked about "the war of northern aggression." Well, we certainly had to become aggressive in the final analysis. We took our time. We planned. We saw the long-term picture while impulsivity ruled in the South.
I am not generous enough to say "our Southern brethren."
I can't help but focus on regionalism now in the present, as I see the likes of the various anti-intellectuals doing Trump's bidding. Such evangelicals, charlatans and opportunists see a way of advancing their own interests.
This is an age in which "the news division" makes money. "Everyone seeks eyeballs" and there's a natural tendency to see what way the wind is blowing. Lindsay Graham seems to be doing that almost desperately. There are times when he gropes to adopt reasonable conclusions based on what is going on. The next day he succumbs to the "populist" and ignorant forces around him.
Southerners will never be comfortable with Washington D.C. So ironic that Trump is this amoral guy from New York City. Evangelicals seem to be following a siren song.
Franklin Graham of North Carolina thought the 2011 tsunami in Japan might be a signal of the Second Coming and Armageddon. Paula White preaches in Apopka, Florida. Robert Jeffress is a Southern Baptist pastor with headquarters in Dallas TX. Ralph Reed was hired by Pat Robertson as executive director of the Christian Coalition in Virginia Beach, Virginia. We all know about Jerry Falwell Jr. of Lynchburg, Virgina. Doesn't "Lynchburg" make you flinch?
To heck with this "prophecy"
Is Trump with his military decisions subtly trying to set the stage for a far-reaching conflagration - yes, a war - that serves a purpose of ushering in the "end times?" Evangelicals believe the end times are soon, right? Well, I don't want that to happen. My late mother would want me to live out the rest of my life in a pleasant environment.
I'm reminded of the "Lightman" character in the movie "WarGames" (1983) who was pleading with the reclusive scientist. The scientist saw the walls caving in on humanity. Lightman as the voice of a more hopeful youth pleaded "I want to live."
I shake my head to think U.S. Southerners are having a way too disproportionate voice in our public debate. Why don't we hear more talk about regionalism, the fundamental differences between Northerners and Southerners? The latter evolved through a time when there was no air conditioning. Think about it. No really, think about it. Sometimes a non-scientific assertion will appear to have merit. We are in a time where we need to be grasping some answers. Or maybe Armageddon will really happen.
Threat to a great faith
The Southern evangelicals might be causing a great curtain to fall over Christianity. Polls constantly show that people are departing from the organized Christian faith. Let's ponder the reasons. How often do we even think about "Northern pride?" It's time.
Do not watch Trump on TV and think for a second that he connects to you, despite the illusion. He "leaves us laughing" and then he retreats into darkness, paranoia, insecurity or shock, the shock of realizing he's so skilled he actually got elected president. It is time for us to feel true fear.
Lindsay Graham's behavior is becoming more bizarre even as I proofread this blog post, on October 22, 2019. Heaven help us all.
The shrewd Hillary Clinton is trying to beat the Republicans at their own game, as she engages in conspiratorial ideas. This regards Tulsi Gabbard. This might give the Info-Wars people pause. Gabbard would get lots of votes because she's a "looker," a quality that cannot be cited in the media as it's non-P.C. Let me say she's especially a looker when wearing white! Well, this makes as much sense as the support for Donald Trump, doesn't it?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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