Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Trump voters stay loyal because they feel disrespected


Photo courtesy Leftopia 

According to an article in The Washington Post, liberals' disrespect of Trump's supporters is making those supporters back his presidency even more, despite the fact that they are, as a group, more likely to suffer as a result of his policies, his incompetence, and his lack of fitness for the office he holds.

 
I have a difficult time respecting people whom I perceive as abandoning everything this country is supposed to stand for, who refuse to acknowledge blatant lies that the people they support feed them on a daily basis. tRump has a near-flawless record of appointing people who are either wholly ignorant and unsuited for their jobs, or are committed to destroying the departments they are supposed to lead. He clearly admires fascist dictators, yet spits in the faces of our once-devoted allies, and his supporters accept this.I want very much to respect my fellow citizens of every political stripe, but respect has to be earned. tRump's supporters don't earn respect by being complicit in the destruction of our society; they demand it and get their feelings hurt when we cannot justify giving it to them. It seems to me that they are willing to hurt their own interests and those of their children and grandchildren, rather than acknowledge the reality of what they are supporting and the very real damage that is being done. And beyond that, it is absurd for tRump's supporters to expect liberals to show them the respect they typically refuse to show their more progressive co9unterparts.

This is the quandary that progressives face; if we don't give tRump and his supporters the respect they demand, their collective will is hardened and their allegiance to tRump is strengthened. But in order to give them the respect they demand, progressive voters must abandon their own sense of right and wrong, and give legitimacy to a president who repeatedly demonstrates a willingness to ignore the law and commit acts of treason for his and his genuinely wealthy supposed peers' enrichment and benefit. We are expected to lie, and to give legitimacy to lies, and if we fail to do so, tRump's base will push even harder for a party that is bent upon the destruction of our democracy. I cannot help but wonder; how do THEY define "enemies, both foreign and domestic?"