This is not a post about President Trump - it is about his name. Say what you will about him good or ill, one can't deny that the mere mention of his name will bring about a strong reaction. And typically a lengthy one at that. It's like a popular song - whether you like it or not - of which you only need to hear a scrap of it and it plays in your head all day long. Except, instead of playing in your head, all one needs is to hear the name "Trump" and someone else will go off all day long.
I get that people are passionate about the president - so much so that no calm discussion can be had about him. Listen to the radio, open the paper, read a Facebook feed etc., and there will be a steady diet of news about him more than about anybody else I can remember.
Recently I was with a group of people who were not shy about their extreme dissatisfaction with our president. Every time his name was mentioned, even by an otherwise ignored radio, the room would burst into an uproar. There were so many things about which to talk - sports, art, what taco stand is the best - but it all went on hold for ten minutes to focus on someone they agreed numerous times that they disliked. I'm even wary of writing this that someone out there will assume my position on the president and rake me over the coals for it - or are perhaps just angry that I associated his name with this comic.
One day I broke away to go for a walk and came across this piece of lawn art:
As I was preparing to take a picture of it, a man rode up behind me in his automated wheelchair and started asking me questions. "What is it? Is it a giraffe? Isn't too big?" As he was riding away I saw the sign on the back of his chair:
I decided not even to bring the sighting up as funny and ironic as it should have been whether you like him or not.
It's not that there are not things about which just about anybody could complain. And it is good to get it out there. But isn't there a point when it is not being productive any longer?
5 comments:
And don't forget that the word "trump" is also a verb that is used often, such as when journalist Cathy Newman asked Dr. Jordan Peterson something like, "Why does your right to free speech trump the right of a transperson not to be offended?"
I agree, Father, especially with your final cartoon in this post. 30 years ago or so, a lot of people were polarized on how they felt about President Reagan, too (and Pope St. John Paul II, for that matter). And later, Presidents Clinton and Bush. But the difference is that people who felt differently did not automatically label one another as a hated enemy. I do not know what has become of us, and how we got to this place, but I will be very grateful when the day comes when we regain our manners and civility toward one another. Very best blessings to you and all here - Sue, OFS
Look at it this way, if Trump had not been elected, two new Supreme Court Justices would tilt the balance toward pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage and so many other sick laws.
Those of us who have been around for the last half-century aren’t always comfortable considering our share in the mess which has been made. It is easier to smugly condemn those who do not conform to the liberation theology view of Christianity which has infiltrated our churches over that time.
The Catholic Church is never so timely as when she is timeless. A Chestertonian paradox which suggests that those of us who focus on recent years and decades are much more likely to become rigidly old-fashioned than those who think in terms of centuries and millennia.
I suspect the bitter group with which you spoke, Father, was mostly comprised of people who still think guitar Masses and liturgical dance are cutting edge theological expression.
It takes courage and introspection to admit that perhaps the evidence shows that we have been terribly mistaken in our political and personal opinions for many years. People resent being proven wrong time after time. Yet, we obstinately cling to failed policies and the people who promote them. I wonder if the group to which you spoke held the same assertive view of the previous president or the social justice bishops who presided over the atrocities of recent years?
It is good to finally have you back writing after your time off, Father.
Amen! I would love to have someone to talk about God the love of my life with to. But everyone wants to talk about - - - instead
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