The world of politics per se is something I stay away from....until....
Until a contender for our nation's highest office makes a statement that is blatantly untrue but will without question be accepted as truth by his followers.
During a CNN interview, in an attempt to discredit one of his opponents, Donald Trump refers to Ben Carson's admission of once having had a "pathological temper." Then, to show just how serious this is, Trump goes on to say, " 'That's a big problem because you don't cure that...That's like, you know, I could say, they say you don't cure — as an example, child molester. You don't cure these people. You don't cure the child molester.' "
Even through Trump's semi-incoherence, his meaning is clear. And if I had to bet, I would bet that he believes what he said. This puts Trump firmly in the company of so many other ignorant and uninformed individuals, persons who know what they think and have no intention of considering any other viewpoint. Trump even tries to bolster his statement by appealing to the ubiquitous "they"--"...they say...."
I have never found "they" to be a particularly reliable source of information.
We all know people like that. We quickly realize that reasoning with them or appealing to them to do some research is just wasted effort because they aren't interested in research or what it shows, and attempts at reason and logic go far over their heads.
However, this man wants to be our president.
Shouldn't the person seeking the presidency of the United States seek out some facts before making generalized statements that have no basis in truth?
This comment is so sad because it truly does represent Mr. Trump's views regarding "them". Unfortunately, since he does believe that "they cannot be cured," the policies he would pursue if elected would certainly be longer periods of incarceration for those convicted of sexual related offenses since "they cannot be cured." I guess the saddest thing for me is that so many people (including registered citizens) mistakenly support Mr. Trump. His bombastic statements about kicking out millions of illegal immigrants is another example of his pandering to our prejudices and fanning the flames of us against them. I personally hope that this episode will awaken those who are blindly following Mr. Trump because he's a tough guy.
ReplyDeleteI imagine he would hire someone to gather the facts and studies. Everybody says stupid things. I have the benefit of being a practicing student of psychology and philosophy and can pick up on these little things. But the reality is that Don Trump is not a shrink or a psychological professional so he will get the facts if he ever cares enough to need them. It's my life. I am both the offender and the professional. Sounds like an oxymoron but it has helped me. To look at both sides of everyone's perception is never actually Fact.
ReplyDeleteAnd I nominate Shelly for President. Washington DC would be shocked by hearing the truth, something foreign for them.
ReplyDeleteeAdvocate
"Will without question be accepted as truth by his followers". Just as all politicians lie and push more bills to "Keep the children safe" in order to capture votes from the ignorant, Donald Trump has made the same attempt with this untrue statement.
ReplyDeleteSloan44
To Anonymous at 9:30 a.m. 11/14/15: Please rewrite your comment; I cannot print it as is because it violates my "keep it respectful" comment policy. Thank you.
ReplyDelete