by Rod Williams- I wonder how many Trump loyalists believe that in August of this year Trump will be reinstated as President? Anyone? Show of hands? Have most Trump fans regained touch with reality or are they still off in fantasy land?
Months before the election when I would mention that the election might be close or that Trump might even lose, I met assurances that I was wrong. Reports of his unpopularity were simply "fake news,'' polls could not be trusted, and after all look at the number of "Trump" yard signs and the size of his crowds at Trump rallies, I was told.
As the election drew closer, the assertions that there was no way Trump could lose grew louder. I didn't know if it was typical political wishful thinking, posturing, and keeping up a good front or if people really believed it. It is quite common in politics for people to express assurances that they are going to win, even when indications are they are going to lose By doing so, the faithful will go vote, and maybe something will happen at the last minute to damage the opposition and your team really will win. And, if you lose it will not be an embarrassing loss. So, I expect a little bravado bluster, but this seemed different.
After Trump's loss on election night, I was told, "wait until the recounts" and "wait until the courts rule." When that did not change the outcome, it was, "wait until the electoral college meets." That did not produce a Trump victory either.
Then it was, "wait until Jan. 6." They were sure Congress would block accepting the electorial college results and sent it back to the states. That didn't happen.
True die-hard Trumpinistas don't give up, however. On Facebook, the day of the inauguration I had people telling me that Trump would instead be inaugurated. That what we were seeing was some ruse and theater and that something was happening behind the scenes.
Now, the true believers and apparently Trump himself they believe that after “audits” of the 2020 elections in Arizona, Georgia, and a handful of other states have been completed that the results of the election will be reversed and Trump will be declared winner and take office.
So, how many people believe this? If many people really do, that is dangerous. It is dangerous to our democracy when a large number of people are delusional and follow a delusional leader.
A book I read a long time ago which is on my list of top twenty books every conservative should read is a book called "The True Believers," by Eric Hoffer. In this work, Hoffer examines how people can be caught up in a movement and suspend critical thinking. He talks about how at the end of world war two Japanese hold-outs would not accept and believe that Japan actually lost the war. He writes about how western communist sympathizers refused to believe the stories of Bolshevic atrocities and the gulag of prison camps and totalitarian terror of the Soviet Union despite widespread reports by victims, defectors, and reliable observers. He says there is a certain commonality to mass movements whether politically of the left or the right and whether political or religious. I need to read the book again. I think it explains the Trump phenomenon.
In a recent article in National Review, Charles C. Cooke writes of the Trump delusion and has this to say:
The scale of Trump’s delusion is quite startling. This is not merely an eccentric interpretation of the facts or an interesting foible, nor is it an irrelevant example of anguished post-presidency chatter. It is a rejection of reality, a rejection of law, and, ultimately, a rejection of the entire system of American government. There is no Reinstatement Clause within the United States Constitution. Hell, there is nothing even approximating a Reinstatement Clause within the United States Constitution. The election has been certified, Joe Biden is the president, and, until 2024, that is all there is to it.
That sums it up. He is right.
Top Stories
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment