Dishonor Remains
A man whose reputation as a sleaze & bully preceded his tenure in office by 30 years. A man whose most vocal defenders are TV pillow salesmen, fringe preachers, white nationalists, trigger-happy cosplayers, and those who rabidly clutch pearls over the Constitution being under attack—despite never having read its text. Those who worship the flag as a piece of cloth, neglecting the weight of what it represents as a symbol—a symbol that is perpetually pursuing its ideals of equality and justice for all Americans. For Don Trump’s worldview—patriotism is performance. It’s ssuperficiality. It’s entertainment. It’s half-witted nationalism masquerading as love of country—while despising a majority of its citizenry.
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This man—who long ago turned himself into a cartoon—further transformed into a caricature fueled by incivility, pride of ignorance, and the belief that the cruelty of delivering his message was more important than the veracity of its content.
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Joseph McCarthy. Bull Connor. George Wallace. Richard Nixon. Father Coughlin. Benedict Arnold. Roy Cohn. A sampling of the greatest hits of Americans who abused their office or station, and found out how far they could fall. They wielded power. They all lashed out at the other—questioning their perceived enemies’ love of country. Cruelty was their first instinct. They all fell—and they all ascended an ignoble pedestal in American history.
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Your children’s children will know that you found hope in a man in whose shambling, strongman farce and purposefully divisive identity was apparent from the outset. Who made no attempt to shield who he was—nor who he was known to be for over 40 years in the public eye. An entitled man—who never knew want, nor responsibility—who will join the ranks of the dishonorable human beings above, and for whom January 6th, 2020 represents his most heinous outburst for not getting his way. A temper tantrum, thrown by a person commanding the most powerful office known to humanity.
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The question becomes—will you have the fortitude to reflect on the man’s worldview and see its rottenness??Or will your dishonor remain?
