Don't Underestimate Trump Supporters!

Don't underestimate Trump Supporters!

I am as bothered by the current Trump chaos as anyone. Like many people, I  am tempted to lump all his supporters into the ‘low-info, stupid voter’ category, who I am now calling ‘Trumplings’. It's evident that Trumplings actually are uneducated boobs who bought into Trump's con, and his ‘Make America Great Again’ scam. It’s just so hard to believe that anyone with a modicum of intelligence could actually believe any word from, or support such a monster as Donald Trump. While it's  true that many Trumplings are moronic fools, I believe it's a huge mistake to classify all Trump Supporters are stupid or unintelligent. 

Notice I have separated Trump people into two categories, i.e., “Trumplings” and “Trump Supporters”.

I think many Trump Supporters are smart and intelligent people, and thereby dangerous. The problem is, so many, most, of these are warped and perverted individuals in their thought processes and suffering from a pitiable dearth of character and ethics, not to mention personal sensitivity. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is an example of the sort of person I am thinking about here. Ted Cruz is another.

Ted Nugent on the other hand, would qualify as a high profile Trumpling, a dumb-assed, low-info, (and narcissistic!) moron. Mike Huckabee and Paul Lepage, current governor of Maine are two more. These are the types Trump himself was referring to when he claimed he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue in NYC and his ‘supporters’ would not care. The pitiful part of that statement is that it is literally true for these types of his enablers!

I believe it's a result of an inexorable propagandizing of their very souls, rendering them completely incapable of considering other viewpoints. I also think they are almost always culturally predisposed for this to happen. Think ‘White Nationalism’ and 'fervent religiosity' as two facets of this type.

A great many Trumplings seem to be of the Christian evangelical persuasion, which to me, marks them as victims of a life-long subjugation of personality to the evilness of a perverted religion in a very similar way as radical Muslimism affects its adherents. And history proves that the Christian version can be every bit as dangerous if left unrestrained. Obviously, not all Christians are Trumplings, but many of evangelical types appear to be. For some reason, many Catholics seem to be as well. I say this as a lifelong agnostic, having no religious persuasion, except perhaps ‘anti-religions’.

I am very struck by the eerily similar way that today’s US radical right-wing so closely mirrors the German and Italian Fascists of the 1920’s, ‘30’s and 40’s. Many of those folks were educated, intellectual, and very effective people with the regrettable flaw of possessing evil souls, if I might use that word. There has always been a sort of right-wing Fascist mentality throughout recorded history, and conservatism has always been its close first cousin. These are the folks who cling to the past, and who can easily be motivated by fear, particularly fear of change, and fear of those unlike themselves. All it takes to get them excited and aroused is some rabble-rouser like Trump (or Hitler) who cultivates and nurses their fears. Fervent nationalism, religion, and racism are very often the first go-to catalysts for fear used by rabble-rousers.

Now deceased columnist, intellectual and conservative icon William F. Buckley perhaps described conservatism most succinctly:

“A conservative is a fellow who is standing athwart history yelling ‘Stop!’ “

The more I read, the more I see the world throughout history has had a roughly equal complement of Yin/Yang types, conservatism versus liberality. There seems to be a roughly obvious balance today, though the pendulum does tend to swing back and forth over time.

Nazi Fascists of the past had plenty of the stupid, sheep-like followers too, who bought into the Hitler’s mythical scam of ‘The Fatherland’ and ‘Lebensraum’, and not at all unlike how Trump’s ‘America First’, 'Make America Great Again', and ‘Build That Wall!’ slogans motivate his own obscene hoards today.

My point is, I believe it's a grave mistake to lump today’s American Fascists into an ‘all-dumb-as-rocks’ category. Many Trump Supporters are intelligent, well-educated people with plenty of energy, patience, and pragmatism - a dangerous mix for any group when they have an agenda, which our own Fascists today surely do. It is very dangerous to underestimate groups like these. The world has already made that mistake once which almost sent civilization back to the Dark Ages. (Twice, if you count the Visigoth barbarians' defeat of the Roman Empire - which actually DID result in a Dark Age!)

Steve Bannon is a good example of the type I mean. I believe Trump himself, is merely a Hitler wannabe, without the cleverness or intellect required. He doesn’t seem to have one-quarter the smarts Adolph Hitler had, thank goodness. Yes, he may be able to read, even read well, but he doesn’t bother. He probably has a good, basic raw intelligence too, but he appears to be too lazy and bored to develop that into any meaningful intellectual power, which is likely a good thing for us all.

In my view, the saving grace of our current national political chaos, of which Trump is but the figurehead, is that it will ultimately be self-regulating, and will very likely result in much needed political change for the better.

That is certainly my hope!

"Side With The Truth Tellers"

  ~ Sir Harold Evans

"Bloom, or Blossom Where You Are Planted"

There’s an old proverb saying,

‘Bloom (or blossom) where you are planted’.

It’s a benign saying meaning you should to try to do your best in the environment you find yourself in. But a corollary to this is contained in a quote from J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur in 'Letters from an American Farmer’, (1782) having, though probably not intended, a somewhat less benign flavor:

“Men are like plants, the goodness and flavour of the fruit proceeds from the peculiar soil and exposition in which they grow. We are nothing but what we derive from the air we breathe, the climate we inhabit, the government we obey, the system of religion we profess, and the nature of our employment.”

I think de Crèvecœur means that men are products of their nurturing environments. Most of us will readily agree. Thus, if a person is the product of a close-minded, fearful, or paranoid culture, they usually, if not always, become so themselves. Conversely, a person raised in a tolerant, open, liberal and more intellectual climate tends to be the same. In other words, we are very apt to take on the shades of our nurturing environments. This has important ramifications for the future of humanity. For if we continue to breed and produce backward looking, intolerant, and fearful groups of people, mankind, and civilizations will inevitably trend backwards to earlier, less congenial times.

The evolution of civilization is then in great danger of regressing. All progress and advancement is stifled and societies tend to lapse into a form of feudalism. The Dark Ages are a prime example of this very phenomenon coming to pass. The onset of the Dark Ages coincided with the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Roman Empire. The people now called ‘Flat Earthers’ gained ascendancy. Not because the earth was then flat, but because their priests and leaders insisted that was so.

After sliding backwards from a ‘classical golden age’, civilization required many centuries to recover, in what is now called ‘the age of enlightenment’. From roughly 1300 AD until well after 1800 AD, even the most civilized and advanced cultures on earth were mired in a climate of fear and repression where the more thoughtful and clear headed people were shouted down when they spoke out - if they were lucky - or burned at the stake (or worse) if they were not. Thus Galileo was forced to ‘recant’ his belief the earth was round - as ‘heretical depravity’,- and placed under house arrest for the rest of his life:

“I, Galileo, son of the late Vincenzo Galilei, Florentine, aged seventy years, arraigned personally before this tribunal, and kneeling before you, Most Eminent and Reverend Lord Cardinals, Inquisitors-General against heretical depravity throughout the entire Christian commonwealth, having before my eyes and touching with my hands, the Holy Gospels, swear that I have always believed, do believe, and by God's help will in the future believe, all that is held, preached, and taught by the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.”

- (translation of the prologue of Galileo’s recantation, 1633, in which he later attests; ‘with sincere heart and unfeigned faith I abjure, curse, and detest the aforesaid errors and heresies’)

After being shown the error of his ways, Galileo must have felt he was one of the lucky ones, because so many others were hideously tortured and put to death in various ways simply because they held opinions not approved by the church. Opinions many of which are now abundantly proved many times over to be the truth. A simple denouncement by anyone of status often resulted in the horrible death of an innocent.

Thankfully, such days are long past, at least in most western cultures. But, they still exist for others, with the Taliban being a prime example. But, I am minded of the excesses of Christianity when I read some of the vociferous words of today’s Christians. Words by people otherwise unremarkable, and who would appear completely normal if one met them on the street. Words like those by the late Jerry Falwell who said, “Christians, like slaves and soldiers, ask no questions”.

And, words like those by *Pat Robertson - who claims his TV programming is seen in 97% of US markets, who said, "Maybe we need a very small nuke thrown off on Foggy Bottom to shake things up." Because of these kinds of intolerant positions, I maintain the only real differences between Christians and the Taliban, is in the specific beliefs, and the nomenclature. The basic approach is the same.

The problem I have with Christianity - and for all religions for that matter - is their absolute insistence a person must accept all their tenets at face value (as interpreted by their leaders) - much like the ‘Inquisitors General’ of Galileo’s time. These are solid beliefs held with no evidence whatsoever, except what is written in ‘The Book’. Most of them are also tracts written 2000 or so years ago by barely literate herdsmen, and passed down through succeeding generations - and interpretations.

Nevertheless, many Christians still insist they be accepted verbatim, without question. A good example is a bumper sticker I once saw:

“The Bible said it, I believe it, That settles it”

And, in some circles, they will still kill you for disagreeing with some point or the other! There's no one so certain as one who holds a strongly held religious belief . . . . . . . And to me, their attacks are a lot like attacking someone because they no longer believe in the Easter Bunny!



* If you want an in depth look at Pat Robertson, here you are

(http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2008/spring/sizemore-christian-aces/)

Christianity - The Biggest Scam and Ponzi Scheme of All Time

So you think Bernard Madoff's 60 Billion Dollar scam was an all-time record? Think again. The biggest scam in history is Christianity, which has been going on now for over 2000 years and shows no sign of faltering. The amounts of money, treasure, lives and destruction involved are staggeringly uncountable.

Christians are commanded to believe in their God, and Jesus Christ, the 'Son of God', from whom the name 'Christian' is coined. They are told in the Bible to believe by faith alone since, "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

In other words, it doesn't matter there's no proof, 'just believe because we say it is so'.

They are told that the all the proof needed is in the Christian Bible, which is composed of two parts - the 'Old' and the 'New' Testaments - as interpreted by their all-too-human Christian leaders:

Jesus, the 'Son of God' referred to the Old Testament as the "Word of God" which "cannot be broken" (John 10:35).

He said, "until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished" (Matt. 5:18).

Paul added, "All Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Tim. 3:16).

It came "out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4).

Although human authors recorded the messages, "prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20-21).

Christians are commanded to believe in the Bible without question, because everything contained therein is the 'True Word of God' under this so-called logic:

God cannot err.
The Bible is the Word of God.
Therefore, the Bible cannot err.
God Cannot Err!

And, when questioned about possible inconsistencies or errors in the Bible - no matter how many or how ridiculous - Christians invariably reply the Burden of Proof (of the error) is on the critic - not the Bible! It's sort of the 'Mother of all Catch-22's'!

This is mirrored in a Christian (I suppose) bumper sticker I once saw:

God Said It; I Believe It; That Settles It!

Is there any wonder the current Christian leader of our country George W. Bush appreciates and uses this approach?

Evangelical Christians - and ALL Christians are commanded by Jesus in the Bible to be evangelical, though not all are in fact - relentlessly seek to * export their 'faith' to others around the world. They spend billions of dollars to 'convert the wicked and Godless', with their de facto definition of 'Godless' being 'non-Christian'. They piously claim to be fulfilling the 'Spiritual Needs of native peoples' by bringing them the 'Word of God' and 'salvation'. In the process they destroyed the lives and cultures of millions of people around the world over the centuries, while robbing them of treasure and sustenance. They have have been responsible for millions of deaths through their forcible 'conversion' and 'perfection' of non-Christians. Like some Islamics, they seem none too concerned if millions of innocent 'heretics' and non-believers must die in the process.

Over a period of about 300 years from 1484 to 1782, Christian churches put to death over 300,000 women accused of witchcraft in Europe and America. Incredibly, Christians later insisted with straight faces, the witch hunts were a 'result of theological misapplication and the people involved were penitent'.

You see, if you are a Christian, you can be forgiven for anything - except disbelief!

We have all heard of the 'Inquisitions' (of which there are four recognized), where heretics and apostates were punished and put to death - often by burning at the stake - for 'heresy' and 'apostasy' , which were defined as questioning, or opposition to the doctrine of the Roman Catholic or Orthodox Christian Churches. Many non-Catholic Christians ('protestants') were victims. Any protestant falling into the hands of authorities in Catholic countries - through shipwreck or otherwise for example, was subject to be tried and punished for heresy or apostasy.

Galileo Galilei - the great astronomer, mathematician and philosopher of the 16th and 17th centuries was tried and convicted of heresy by the Roman Catholic church. His sin was proving the Earth orbited the sun. This ran contrary to church doctrine, which placed Earth at the center of the universe. Galileo's inconvenient fact is also inconsistent with the literal meaning of scripture - and incidentally unreconciled even today, with the excuse that it's all in how scripture is interpreted! Galileo was forced to 'recant' and spent the last years of his life under house arrest.

Incredibly, there are still some Catholics today who muleheadedly insist the church was right and Galileo was wrong, even though they admit the heliocentric ('Copernician Theory') was correct as far as it went. They maintain Galilieo brought all his troubles on himself by being so public with his opinions and proof. In other words they want things both ways in the Christian tradition of never admitting error in the smallest degree. Ever. I assume that must be what a 'perfected' Christian is all about, a la Ann Coulter.

And then there were 'The Crusades' - seven in all, which took hundreds of thousands if not millions of lives. Pope 'Innocent III' (what an ironic name!) avowed salvation could be bought simply by going on a Crusade - to 'convert' apostates at the point of a sword! There was even a (disputed) 'Children's Crusade' of up to 30,000 children and/or poor people who marched towards Jerusalem to 'peaceably convert' the Muslims there. When the Mediterranean Sea did not part as planned, many were sold into slavery or otherwise died. According to contemporary accounts, none returned home.

One overriding theme is evident throughout 'Christianity' to this day, and that is the wealth of the church and its leaders, at the expense of their followers. This is the biggest scam of all time, and still in full flower, with millions of 'victims' willing and eager to contribute, up to everything they own.

Take Pat Robertson for one well-known example. There are thousands of others, with perhaps the greatest offender of all being the Holy Roman Catholic Church.


* "(19) Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, (20) and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world." Matthew 28:19-20