I tried to watch the Trump speech

In fairness to Trump, I haven’t sat down and watched an entire speech.  I don’t like that.  I remember when David Letterman had Bill O’Reilly on his show.  Letterman went on a tirade about how awful The Factor was and the terrible way Bill acted.  Bill fired back and asked if Letterman actually watched The Factor.  After a little himming and hawing, Letterman admitted he didn’t.  The audience chuckled, but it was more than embarrassing.

There is something to be said about actually going to the source rather than getting our information from second hand accounts.  Especially if those second hand accounts are clearly biased and have ideological axes to grind.  So I sat down, a bowl of Chex Mix at my side, and decided to give Mr. Trump a chance.  I made it until around 11:00 PM.  At that point, I couldn’t see staying up for more.  There was something ‘off’ about the entire performance.  Perhaps I’ve been conditioned by the media coverage and punditry, but I kept seeing whiffs of Nuremberg Rallies as I watched the reaction to Trump’s speech.  Except that it didn’t seem that enthusiastic.  It seemed like enthusiasm on cue.  The few times the crowd went crazy were the times I wish they hadn’t.

I understand why some are going to hold their noses and vote for him.  If you are a traditionalist, a conservative Christian, someone who values the heritage and the traditions of the United States and Christian West, then obviously Hillary and the Democrats pose a more direct threat.  The growing ease with which liberals shrug their shoulders and say ‘of course businesses that don’t cater to homosexuals should be fined, you can always keep your beliefs to yourself’ demonstrates the dangers with continuing on the Clinton/Dem track.  After all, even the most tyrannical terror states allowed you to keep your thoughts to yourself.  Sometimes those who survived were those who retreated into their own minds to avoid the horrors around them.  That’s hardly a selling point for an educated generation.

On the other hand, you have Trump.  A man who embodies almost everything that traditionalist, conservative Christians who value the heritage and the traditions of the United States and the Christian West have fought against. Trump exemplified the avarice of the 80s, the young Boomer who took the deregulation of Reaganomics and ran with it to its Mammon venerating conclusion, while heaping piles of hedonism and decadence on the mix.  Half of his policies reflect a philosophy conservatives are against, and the other half make no sense.

I guess the question is how far we can go in compromising our principles for a greater purpose.  If you are that traditionalist, conservative Christian, then the bet is Trump will be able to do little actual damage, being constrained by ever weakening checks and balances.  He may advocate policies against everything conservatives stand for, but he will not be able to act.  And hopefully he won’t do so much damage that the GOP never again gets near the White House.   Compared to this, the single, purposeful push of Hillary and the Democrats to rewrite the US and its heritage and values is the greater threat.

It’s hard to say.  I really don’t know.  More or less just rambling.  I know it was a strange feeling last night, and not in a pleasant way.  I know the Democrats will have their convention and there will be no controversies or scandals, unless it has to do with the GOP.  Apart from an election primary season, when was the last time anyone heard of a liberal Democrat involved in a scandal because of something he said or she advocated?   As such, the Democrats will come off as together, professional, polished, streamlined, mature and competent.  Nothing they advocate will be questioned by the media, nothing they stand for will be challenged.  If there is any scandal at all, it will involve radical segments unhappy with the clear and obvious coalition that joined together to ensure a Clinton nomination.  Otherwise, all will be right with the world.  Perhaps that, as much as anything, is why conservative and traditionalist Christians are willing to support someone like Trump.  A single lose canon might look less threatening than a well coordinated artillery battery cunningly aimed at the heart of the nation.