"Megalomaniac", "Paranoid", "Borderline psychotic", "Schizophrenic", "Narcissistic personality disorder", all these names were attached to the candidate by members of the American Psychiatric Association. "A warmonger", "not fit to be president", "bigot", "racist", "unstable", all these names were attached to the candidate by the news services. "His supporters are Nazis", their extremist fascism is rampant", "a whole crazy quilt collection of absurd and dangerous positions", are names attached to his followers by the same press. Does this sound like what you see? Does this sound like the current situation? Is this what you have been reading in your news and on TV, if you still can watch it? Are you nodding your head along with me, you might find it surprising to know that these are headlines from 1964.
The Trump "phenomenon is alive and kicking. Despite what is becoming a concerted effort by the RNC, DNC, national media (was that repetitive?), Black Lives Matter effort, pro-illegal immigration groups, and others, The Trump train seems to roll right along crashing through barricades and smashing all former records by pulling in a broad coalition of those who believe that their voices are no longer heard in the Crystal Palace. It's hard to imagine the sums of money spent, and the energy used to try and stop this rolling quote machine that has all the power brokers wetting their diapers when they think that life as they know it may cease to exist. Imagine yourself if the people actually had a voice representing them in Washington. Imagine that elected officials cared about the ones who elected them instead of the ones who were slobbering massive sums of cash all over any desire of their heart. You think Martin Luther King had a dream.
The first paragraph mildly describes some of the concerted efforts to stop the nomination of one Barry Goldwater. The grand old party pulled out all the stops to derail the election of Goldwater as the GOP representative for president. He made it through the convention only to fail horribly in the general election because of lack of support from his own party. It amazes me to read about things like this where the whole idea of party position and electioneering is to get your candidate elected over the other party's candidate. All the while on college campuses and in the streets of our bigger cities, unrest and activist ran rampant because of social experimentation and a largely unpopular war going on in a place very few could find on a map.
Edmund Burke was a statesman, author, political theorist, and philosopher who served in the British House of Commons and was a great supporter of the American colonies and their experiment. He wrote with passion and was largely misunderstood by those in power who promoted social experimentation. He is the presumed author of the quote, "those who don't know history are destined to repeat it". He emphasized Christianity as the vehicle of social progress and saw things in the American Revolution encouraged him to think that humanity was evolving toward care for each other. I'm not sure what he would believe about the America today but the atmosphere has become so unpleasant that our very thoughts are under attack. We claim to know history but it is pure human frailty that causes us to cast the past aside as yesterday’s rubbish.
Most of ya'll know my feelings about Trump. His greatest quality is his association with no political party. He seems to fit the part of brash American that is portrayed laughingly in most movies made since the '60's but I believe he is part everything that made America great once. I'm not an intellectual, deep thinker, calculating, or have any designs on power, but I do pay attention. I read about and see the machinations behind the scenes of the powers that would be America. I believe I discern their motives in pitting us against them in their bid to hold on to that power. Dr. Ben Carson, whose motives and character withstand impeachment, has spoken out against the powers that be and for Trump. It affirms my belief that I'm right. History, in its repetition, will tell out. Until next week. ags
