Willful ignorance

I recently got into a war of words on FB with a friend from high school, who is now a very pro-Trump Twin Cities pastor. And I find myself, once again, wondering what I’ve missed in trying to decipher this strange dynamic existing between Trump and his followers.

For the sake of comparison, in terms of corruption and malfeasance, the one who usually comes to mind is Richard Nixon - until Trump, the poster child for devious, power-hungry presidential shenanigans; Nixon – a brilliant man in some ways whose personal demons always seemed to get in the way of whatever common decency he possessed.

Yet even Nixon had a public persona that came across as reasonable and reassuring – a phony facade to be sure, but that was the public perception. Donald Trump, on the other hand, hides nothing – all his multitude of flaws are front-and-center, for all to see. He makes very little attempt to hide who he is, or what he is, because he doesn’t think he has to. In his warped, deluded mind, he thinks it’s ok to be a misogynist, a narcissistic bully, because that’s what makes him a real leader, a real man. He reaffirms this virtually every time he speaks, and it’s mind-boggling to me that there are still so many who can’t see this. It’s as though we’re looking at two different men.

The term that keeps coming to mind is ’willful ignorance’, seeing and hearing what you want to see and hear, despite what your eyes and ears are telling you; like those who viewed the Jan. 6th riot and saw only peaceful demonstrators, ‘tourists’, as though they were viewing entirely different footage than everyone else – willful ignorance.

But with his insistence on showing us his true self, no one can come back after the fact and say, “boy, he sure had me fooled”. No one will EVER have that luxury, not with Donald Trump – what you see is what you get, and if you fail to see the painful truth, then that’s on you. And, if he’s re-elected, unfortunately it’ll be on the rest of us as well. 

Lynn Scott
Soudan, Minnesota

Beware the power elite

The peasants cry out, “ My Queen the people have no bread!”

The Queen responds, “If you want to get Donald Trump re-elected go on saying what you’re saying!”

The queen was trained for that very moment to drop that line and then muster a punitive hard scolding face that turns into an admonishing stare.  Such stagecraft. Hurrah my lady! We love your vibes and your ad campaign! No one cares about policies any more than they might about ethics or morality. You go gurl! 

Beware the power elite with the extended hand because in their other hand is a cudgel. They care little for the poor or the working-class let alone the rural poor working-class. Their main concern is to maintain their own privilege and worldview that is predicated on the exclusion of others.  The others being about 95% of the world’s population. The repubs have figured out that the American people are a bit like that little emotionally deprived monkey in the bahavioralist lab clinging to a terry-clothed armiture sucking on what dollar sustenance is afforded them. So the whole electoral shit show is between two groups of liars taking soundings to measure the current depth of the misplaced hopes and desperation of the American people and burnishing their next lies to engage them enough to make them vote. Terry cloth or rubber nipple.  That’s called freedom and democracy ‘round here.

Rick Kurki
High Bridge, Wisconsin

Lies and more lies do not change the truth

What do you think is happening at our southern border? Do you believe, as Trump said at the Republican national convention, that migrants are killing hundreds of thousands of people a year? Or that, as he also said, countless rapists, murderers and terrorists are being welcomed at the border? Do you believe there is a “migrant crime wave”?  Some news outlets have been endlessly spreading this notion that there is a devastating crime wave and migrants are responsible.

The truth is, if you are willing to sit back and consider it, crime is down significantly in the U.S. 

You may ask  “What about fentanyl flooding into the country from the border?” The truth is 90%  of the fentanyl coming in was confiscated from legal crossings and 91% from U.S. citizens.  The percentage of arrests at the border from fentanyl was .009%. 

You can believe what you may but it doesn’t change the truth.

Martye Allen
Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin

Just a few things that don’t add up

1. If an illegal immigrant wants to commit crimes in the United States, would they be willing to walk a thousand miles, day and night, with only their children and only what they can carry on their backs, just because they think, (Hey, wouldn’t it be fun to steal or attack rich Americans,? I just know I would never be caught, jailed, or deported, because committing crimes in America is easy!”

2. Why do Republicans keep telling voters that Biden (is) “ruining the country” even though FactCheck.org and PolitiFact report that Biden has actually outdone Trump in many ways, some of which, when measured against Trump’s pre-pandemic years, have resulted in better economic policies anyway. Just as Reagan’s Fed head also accomplished, after insisting on raising interest rates to stabilize the economy!

3. Why does Trump claim that he managed the pandemic perfectly even though he purposely weakened the CDC’s Coronavirus testing guidelines by throwing a monkey wrench into the science-based recommendations from America’s top Infectious disease experts? – simply because of Trump’s self-protective agenda – which, according to Trump’s White House Covid Response Coordinator, (Dr. Deborah Brix), “was used specifically to reduce the amount of testing being conducted for at least 3 months.” Trump also blocked requests from the CDC to conduct public hearings that would’ve “accurately” warned the public about the risks posed by the Coronavirus?” And Trump also refused requests from the media to be interviewed in April of 2020?” Additionally, Trump spread his condemnation of masks far and wide, while failing to correct a preposterous myth about covid vaccines carrying computer micro-chips used to make Americans into slaves?--probably because, even if Trump did not believe this outrageous claim, he was well aware of the political benefits he might gain by allowing such a bizarre myth to spread!

4. Every day Trump complains about being persecuted by the Justice Department, or about being convicted in in a kangaroo court run by a hanging judge, as well as claiming that his First Amendment rights are constantly being denied. Does he really believe that complaining in front of TV cameras, while his outrage is broadcast on numerous cable channels, as well as on hundreds of websites and newspapers across America and the world, proves that the DOJ is plotting to silence him?--Weird, considering that if any  Russian citizen disagreed with Putin’s State-controlled media lies, he or she could be murdered or tossed into jail for decades?

5. Why did Trump immediately oppose Biden’s sensible science-backed recommendations, while suggesting the use of dangerous alternative treatments to cure Covid?--like injecting disinfectants? And, why did Trump endorse so many harmful cures, even though both the CDC and FDA told him they wouldn’t work?--Again, the answer is simply that if Biden’s management of COVID-19 reduced deaths, Biden would look good. And Trump’s incompetent efforts to deny and deny, would make him look very bad. So, if Biden’s policies were proven to be sensible and effective, Trump’s incompetence and ignorance of science would only Make him look stupid. This same dynamic plays a role in all of Trump’s refusals to acknowledge the solid evidence provided by Climate Scientists, and his rejection of factual information about man-made climate change worldwide!

6. Finally, let’s all acknowledge the fact that Trump is not being prevented from investigating election fraud! For God’s sake! He has been allowed more than 60 opportunities to appeal his “steal the vote” assumptions in court, many of which were presided over by judges that Trump himself had appointed--and all of them were dismissed for lack of evidence! He has also been allowed to order several recounts, done by people and agencies whom he wanted to hire. Yet each recount uncovered absolutely no significant cases of voter fraud!

Trump’s rights and beliefs have been protected perhaps more than any other President’s! Yet his followers accept his claims about being persecuted by the DOJ as gospel truth, while for more than 4 years Trump has refused to accept his loss according to the peaceful transfer of power.

Peter W. Johnson
Superior, Wisconsin