Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” about a father’s advice to his son begins with the immortal words:
“IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you.”
I think that line suggests a basic question the majority of Americans are facing because of the Trump presidency.
How can we – the majority – keep our heads when all about us are people losing theirs and blaming us?
That, of course, is what Trump voters did in 2016. They voted for Trump who was demonstrably unfit and unqualified, but blamed us – we weren’t listening to them…weren’t paying attention to their struggles and hardships…we were too focused on poor people, minorities and immigrants.
They even blamed us for the corruption in Washington and politicians who looked out for themselves instead of the people they represented, so they wanted a so-called “outsider” like themselves who would “drain the swamp” and bring business expertise to government.
No wonder they blamed the rest of us. They were so disgruntled they couldn’t see straight, or think straight. People like that never take responsibility for their actions.
That’s why they have doubled down on their support for Trump. The worse things get, the stronger their support grows.
But they know the truth. Unless they are completely stupid or have no moral character at all, they know how bad this guy is. They know he lies about everything and would sell his children to make a buck if it came to that.
They know their lives have not improved since he became President. They know his ship is sinking and they’re willing to go down with it, refusing to see that at some point Trump will figure out a way to abandon them and let them go down with the ship alone.
It’s all very crazy. Actually, that is exactly the word for it because “crazy” doesn’t only mean not being mentally sound. It also means lacking in reason, being erratic, out of the ordinary, or unusual.
That fits Trump perfectly. He has no reason about him, acts in erratic ways, has no regard for norms and procedures. It also fits Trump Republicans. They are crazy for supporting a man who is crazy.
It’s enough to make most people’s head spin. There are times when I feel like standing on a busy street corner and screaming at people to wake up.
Every day I shake my head in disbelief over something Trump has said or done, something Republicans have not done, or the percentage of Americans (37%) who support the job Trump is doing.
It’s not easy to remember that these people are the minority and that the rest of us who are keeping our heads out number them almost two to one.
I think that is the key to keeping our heads when they have lost theirs.
Those of us who are Christians have had to think this way about evangelicals. They are a minority of the Christian population, but the news media makes it seem like they are the whole thing.
That is the way it is with Trump and his supporters. They are a minority and their leader has a disapproval rating that in some polls is as high as 60%.
What is more, Trump lost the popular vote by three million at a time when he had everything going for him. We now know beyond question that he is unfit and unqualified to be President.
What is more, as he begins his third year in office, for the first time he is being held accountable for his actions and he hates it because he knows the truth about him is going to come out.
That is why I continue to believe he will not run for re-election. He cannot stand being held accountable for anything. Run or not, though, he will be gone in two years.
I believe that because the majority of Americans are in fact keeping our heads.
We have had enough of the sheer moral ugliness that is Donald Trump and which has disgraced and brought shame to the American presidency.
We will give him that message in 2020 just as we did in the 2018 mid-terms.
linnposts.com 