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RE: The Official "Damned Trump" Thread
November 1, 2020 at 10:23 pm
The story of our Mad King will live on well past the election
Quote:Donald Trump will never really go away, even if he is resoundingly defeated on Tuesday. Not on November 4, not on January 20, not when he dies, not in a hundred years. He may well be what future generations remember most about our era. Not because of what he accomplished, but because the story of a mad king is an immortal tale.
The phenomenon is rare, which is why it is so captivating.
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What will make the Trump story particularly irresistible for future generations is that it’s not just a comic farce; it’s also of huge significance to anyone who wants to understand the United States in the early 21st century.
Ever since Trump was elected, political theorists have debated whether his presidency is a cause or a symptom of political change. The conventional wisdom is that he is a symptom of a bigger shift. He benefited from trends that were already under way—the disillusionment of non-college-educated white voters, the shock waves from the financial crisis, and distrust in authority. All of this is true, but that argument overlooks the effect that the president’s irrational behavior has had on America.
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However, Trump’s ineptitude and erratic behavior also shaped the trajectory of the country. He seemed incapable of reading a brief and of having foresight that extended beyond tomorrow. He had no desire to actually do the job of president and vindictive toward civil servants who were doing theirs, meaning that much of the government was hollowed out under his watch. He did not feel a responsibility to citizens of states that did not vote for him. And now we are seeing just how irrationally he would act in a crisis, even when his actions hurt his own political interests. He refused to treat the coronavirus as a real risk, and now the country is in its third wave of infections and has suffered more than 19 percent of the world’s fatalities, even though it makes up only 4 percent of the global population.
Voting Trump out of office will probably not decouple the Republican Party from Trumpism. But it could strike a decisive blow against the notion that entrusting the presidency to someone who is so obviously unfit for the role is acceptable. And that is not nothing.
Future historians might conclude that in the end, American democracy was strong enough to survive Trump—that is, if the election takes place without disruption. If Trump wins, then all bets are off. He will feel utterly vindicated and will believe that he alone represents the will of the people. It is a short step from that level of hubris to an attempt to fundamentally remake and even undo key elements of American democracy and the country’s global role.
Trump is now an intrinsic part of the story of America—its first mad president. The only major question left is whether the story relayed decades and even centuries from now will end with what Trump did to America or with what America did to Trump. That will be answered soon.
"Never trust a fox. Looks like a dog, behaves like a cat."
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RE: The Official "Damned Trump" Thread
November 2, 2020 at 12:13 am
Mad? This guy?
![[Image: Mad-2.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/3NPsk41S/Mad-2.jpg)
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
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RE: The Official "Damned Trump" Thread
November 2, 2020 at 1:26 am
(November 2, 2020 at 12:13 am)Fake Messiah Wrote: Mad? This guy?
He stopped being mad 3 years ago. Totally unhinged is the best description now.
"Change was inevitable"
Nemo sicut deus debet esse!
![[Image: Canada_Flag.jpg?v=1646203843]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=cdn.shopify.com%2Fs%2Ffiles%2F1%2F0630%2F5310%2F3332%2Fproducts%2FCanada_Flag.jpg%3Fv%3D1646203843)
“No matter what men think, abortion is a fact of life. Women have always had them; they always have and they always will. Are they going to have good ones or bad ones? Will the good ones be reserved for the rich, while the poor women go to quacks?”
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RE: The Official "Damned Trump" Thread
November 2, 2020 at 1:37 am
(November 2, 2020 at 12:13 am)Fake Messiah Wrote: Mad? This guy?
Looks like he already knows how to assume the position for a straight jacket.
“If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room.” — Confucius
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RE: The Official "Damned Trump" Thread
November 2, 2020 at 9:56 am
A little retrospective on Trump's broken promises from 2016 that he never meant to fulfil.
As if the American people were to Trump just another cheap slut he lies to so he can fuck her in the ass and move on to other things.
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
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RE: The Official "Damned Trump" Thread
November 4, 2020 at 2:56 am
How can there be so many ignorant Trump supporters in this country? I just don't get it.
"Never trust a fox. Looks like a dog, behaves like a cat."
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RE: The Official "Damned Trump" Thread
November 4, 2020 at 7:34 am
(November 4, 2020 at 2:56 am)Eleven Wrote: How can there be so many ignorant Trump supporters in this country? I just don't get it.
![[Image: Explain-2.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/V6q4c9Yw/Explain-2.jpg)
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
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RE: The Official "Damned Trump" Thread
November 4, 2020 at 7:48 am
I cannot fucking believe how many stupid ass people there are in this country. We have a Jerry Springer WWE shallow electorate.
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RE: The Official "Damned Trump" Thread
November 4, 2020 at 9:31 am
(This post was last modified: November 4, 2020 at 9:32 am by Foxaèr.)
A retweet from Twitter:
PZ Myers
“It doesn't matter who won at this point -- the lack of a clear repudiation of an outright white nationalist is an indictment of our country.”
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RE: The Official "Damned Trump" Thread
November 4, 2020 at 9:57 am
(November 4, 2020 at 7:34 am)Fake Messiah Wrote: (November 4, 2020 at 2:56 am)Eleven Wrote: How can there be so many ignorant Trump supporters in this country? I just don't get it.
Compassionate!
What a punchline....
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