jharris wrote:
Slowman wrote:
jharris wrote:
I didn’t quote since your post was very long.
However, I wanted to reply. Your post has much merit and an interesting view. Although, I would like to believe the President has greater responsibility than Macaroni.
Take an obvious issue of slavery. Do you think people forgot Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves? Was that Macaroni?
There of course are major things that change our lives forever and other policies and laws that may alter slightly and go unnoticed. It’s human nature to have limited memories. Heck, people have mostly forgotten that Covid-19 shut down in March/April was so hospitals could keep up with sick people. Now, we are not wanting people to get sick at all.
The difference between your analogy of the President compared to the cheating wife with a drug problem is that a husband comes home to and deals with the wife personally on a daily basis. Citizens who vote don’t share a home, bedroom, or a meal with the President. All you have to do is turn off the tv and avoid politics on Facebook, or this forum, and you can live your life with no ill effect that the President has poor character. This doesn’t mean a voter is a supporter of poor character or that a voter suddenly also has the identical character of someone they are voting for.
Character is a personal matter. You can choose to be an asshole or not. You don't have to vote on the premise of someone being an asshole or not.
I recall a movie, Patch Adams. The guy said if he was dying and the best surgeon was an asshole. He would choose the asshole.
This logic is why many people ignore Trumps character.
Now, if we had better candidates, that would change everything. Although, we don’t.
i wasn't writing about character. i was writing about democracy. you may choose to overlook trump's character because your politics are transactional. fine. where i draw the line is when trump - or anyone - damages the processes and institutions that give us the right to have these conversations.
you can be a fine man without a love of democracy in you. i hold the king of jordan in high regard, and his father before him, and the people that family rules. you can be a fine person and a fine leader in a country that does not embrace democracy.
but in
this country (the US), we choose democracy. trump can damage his various wives and he can stiff workers through his various bankruptcies. if you want to overlook that, that's your choice. but when he damages democracy - and there is absolutely no doubt about this - then if you stick with him you may be a good man, but the love of democracy is not in you. you may love america, but only in the way that a guatemalan loves guatemala, or a turk loves turkey. in this case america is a physical place to you, your homeland, and nothing more. the american experiment does not resonate with you. this doesn't make you bad; but on the topic of american exceptionalism, this is what is exceptional about us until we cease the discipline it takes to hold onto this form of government.
I appreciate your response. So, people claimed Trump suggesting to use military to handle riots was an abuse of power and military can’t be used on citizens.
Are these citizens patriots and lovers of USA and our democracy? Yet, they can enjoy the freedoms we offer when they offer nothing in return.
I’m close enough to see what has happened. I saw Facebook posts where people were planning to gather and destroy and loot. It was at a property that is a customer of mine and I had a $45,000 piece of Construction equipment in the parking lot. My kids were afraid. They couldn’t sleep. We watched on tv and I talked to my girlfriend about going there to move the equipment and bring a gun. We decided I wouldn’t bring a gun, but I wouldn’t go alone. I went with a friend. Fortunately, I moved the equipment and the police were circling everywhere and they established a curfew.
I watched live online when Kenosha was burned blocks from 2 rental properties I own and looted. A car lot lost over 1 million in vehicles destroyed. I worried if my rental properties were destroyed my insurance wouldn’t cover it and I feared for my tenants. Friends and neighbors were planning what to do if the riots moved. BLM leaders gave speeches to move into the suburbs.
I would have been FOR a quick squash of this situation by any means. 3 days was still too late and now people died in the Kyle Riitenhouse shooting and the area is destroyed. Luckily, the national guard came in and helped remedy. Initially, our governor gave them no power. They were statues watching the chaos.
Meanwhile the Democrats were suppose to be in Milwaukee and they instructed police to not use certain methods of control if people rioted. Police said no. Democrats didn’t come. Hilarious. Looks like they need the police too.
Safety first.
I don’t support defunding the police either.
If that means I support against democracy, you call it what you want.
i, like you, do not support defunding the police (and neither does biden). i, like you, do not condone rioting (and neither does biden). these are issues. these are transitory issues. the much, much more worrisome habits are: taking a wrecking ball to our national faith in our election process; treating the organs of government as if they belong to you, rather than belonging to the people.
you don't see this. you have your near-vision glasses on. i have my distance glasses on. you can't see the panorama. you can't see what jurists and generals, diplomats and historians see, and i mean most of them, regardless of party. i would just ask that you reflect, and ask yourself if there's a larger point, a bigger truth, about your country, and it's just been in your blind spot. ask yourself who you are first. what you value most. and if it's trumpism, then fine. but then be honest with yourself. you do not value a country of laws; a country where the citizens make the leadership choices. you value the tribe, and you cleave to the personage who best resonates with your tribe.
and let's be clear, this is natural. this is the predisposition of our species. it's how most of the world has lived for most of history. democracy is like monogamy: we're fighting against some ancient wiring. trump's appeal is he plays to your wiring. i have lived long enough to know that i really value my wife and family, and my country's operating principles; each offers a better alternative; each is subject to entropy if i'm lazy; each requires air pumped in the tires. trump is like the friend who tells you it's okay to cheat on your wife; nobody will know. JFK cheated on his wife, but was true to his country. nixon was true to his wife, and cheated on his country. trump cheats on everything, especially his country. he's given you permission to cheat. you need to decide whether you're going to act on that permission.
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman