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Reflections on a Donald Trump Rally.
Here were some of my impressions from hearing Donald speak live at Billings, MT on Thursday afternoon:
First reaction. Gag reflex. Second reaction. “Wow, there’s a lot of people here”. Third reaction. “What makes these people believe this man?”. Fourth reaction. “This man loves himself a lot.” Fifth reaction. “This man loves himself a lot.”
Why write about this man? People have decided, right? More words seem to have been wasted on this guy than I would have ever dreamed necessary.
So this is it. This is why I write: I love my family, my friends, and my neighbors- even the ones I’ve not met. I write because I don’t like to see them messed with. Even though I’m really tempted to be cynical at times and say “fine- have what you want, we deserve this guy”, I keep coming back to the fact that outside of Jesus Christ, I’ve got nothing. Anything I have that’s worth having is because of Christ. If I understand one bit of truth. It’s only because of Him. If I care about anyone but me, it’s because He cared for others first, and showed me how. So I’ve got no game without Him. He gave me a second chance so I could do the same with others.
There’s another reason related to the first. I had a very unique last decade. It involved some surreal situations that seem to fit more in a fictional movie than a political column and involved meeting a guy very very much like Donald Trump. You simply would not believe how similar.
I watched innocent people exploited in ways you simply would not believe. I saw children abandoned by this man, and I heard him tell people the most creative and spontaneous lies I’d ever heard. And people believed him. Over and over again. Even when they’d been warned, they still believe him until they were left with a bill for everything he stole from them.
I watched friends, Christians, Atheists and agnostics fleeced and exploited by a guy who gave new meaning to the word flattery. He would figure out a person’s passions and deep convictions, and gain their trust by coming off as self effacing and generous. He’d offer to help to gain their trust, and they would. He’d show up and help them with a project, and they believed he was the best guy ever.
Ultimately competitive, he would walk away from the game in a heartbeat if he thought he could lose because it was just a game to him. The fun he had was in making people’s heads spin, in being in control.
Until he stole more than their money. Only later, when they figured out the con man that he was would they realize how badly they’d be burned. Many refused to talk about it with friends because they were hurt so deeply. Many who believed his lies about being a Christian still refuse to talk about it. He gained their confidence and exploited their trust for a game he plays. Ultimately competitive, he would walk away from the game in a heartbeat if he thought he could lose because it was just a game to him. The fun he had was in making people’s heads spin, in being in control. When he got bored, the brighter than life look in his eye that attracted followers became a cold dead stare.
He didn’t get joy from it, it simply amused him for a moment until he met another gullible. The more compassionate someone was, the easier target they were. His fearless and condescending demeanor made people admire him and follow him, and even defend him until they themselves were humiliated by the truth about him when they discovered his criminal past and true treatment of his family.
So as I said, it’s because of Christ, really, that I write about a guy that I really don’t like. I see a guy who’s obviously a liar, but people still love him. They love the fact that he has no shame. Yes, they do. He really has no shame.
Trump packages the lie so boldly that people who’ve grown to hate the typical political speech that’s so couched in carefulness that they’re willing to accept the most ludicrous and obvious scam simply because we want “to win”.
What’s worse is that he’s actually a reflection of us in that way, and perhaps that’s more concerning than anything. His lack of shame shows us our own lack of shame. We’ve become ok with talking like that, and sounding like that, and hating like that. We want an easy solution without sacrifice. We want someone to shout that it’s good to be greedy. It’s not, and many of us know better, but Trump packages the lie so boldly that people who’ve grown to hate the typical political speech that’s so couched in carefulness that they’re willing to accept the most ludicrous and obvious scam simply because we want “to win”.
It would be really good for people to stop, take a breath, and very carefully examine what we believe “winning” is.