The author then gives a few paragraphs with that historical background. Allow me to go deeper into the article for some of it's conclusions.A
complaint I hear increasingly leveled at contemporary American politicians is that they are out of touch with voters, if not downright contemptuous of them. On a number of core issues, politicians seem less concerned with pursuing policies that are deeply unpopular with ordinary Americans than with upholding the ideologies and self-interests of the ruling elite. Two dramatic examples of this political disconnect with average citizens are the refusal of urban governments to prosecute violent criminals, which has caused a surge in crime, and the White House’s tolerance of mass immigration, which threatens jobs, security, and the rule of law.
As I survey the current political and intellectual landscape, I cannot help but see a resurgence of the arrogance and disdain of the 18th-century French revolutionaries for those they considered to be incapable of rational thought and moral behavior. But I am moving too fast. Let me slow down and give some historical background.
As a citizen in a representative democracy, I expect our political leaders, including Donald Trump, to be held up to public scrutiny and questioned, even investigated, when the facts warrant it. What I do not expect, and find increasingly troubling, is the widespread and ongoing demonization and character assassination of all those who support Trump and approve of his candidacy and his policies.
I am old enough to remember how roughly the political establishment treated supporters of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, especially if they identified with a conservative branch of Christianity. Reagan and Bush supporters routinely had their concerns ridiculed, motives suspected, and intelligence doubted. Still, the dismissal of Reaganites and Bushies as boobs and rednecks pales in comparison to the viciously sanctimonious profiling of Trump supporters as authoritarian, narcissistic white supremacists utterly unconcerned for the common good.
Whereas the liberal progressives of the 1980s expressed some compassion for the needs and struggles of the working man, the woke philosophes of today express only contempt for those who work with their hands. While carrying on the oppressor/oppressed identity politics of Karl Marx and his heirs, they have reduced America’s blue-collar proletariat to a racist, sexist, transphobic rabble who must be suppressed, managed, and reeducated.
Convinced, as philosophes were, of the “wickedness, stupidity, inhumanity, unreason, and prejudice” of the rabble, today’s progressive philosophical, political, and social engineers have appointed themselves the task of redefining for the masses what Diderot believed the general will should define for them: what it means “to be a man, a citizen, a subject, a father, a child, and when it is suitable to live or to die.”
No wonder the majority of working men and women in America look to Trump as their advocate. He not only defends their traditional family values, common sense, and God-given humanity. His seems to be the only voice in Washington speaking up for, or even understanding, the joys and woes, hopes and fears, victories and struggles of that “rabble” that the political establishment, on both the left and right, seems only to dismiss, disparage, and despise.
Most of “polite” society attacks Trump for his caustic tone, his cutting remarks, and the obvious glee he takes in labeling and mocking his opponents. They fail to understand that Trump’s rhetoric is central to his appeal. The “masses” who flock to his speeches do not go merely to be entertained. They go to witness a much-needed turning of the tables, a political topsy turvy during which the weapons of the progressive philosophes are turned against them.
Far from the bully, Trump is the champion of those who have been bullied relentlessly and mercilessly by a self-appointed elite who holds them in contempt. In Trump, they have found a modern George Bailey — albeit a crasser and more combative one — who is willing to stand up to the Mr. Potters of the world.
Something of a ho-hum opinion piece. Nothing unusual in seeing the same sort of material from The Federalist. But the above comment caught my eye. Maybe irony is a concept foreign to the author.From the article: As a citizen in a representative democracy, I expect our political leaders, including Donald Trump, to be held up to public scrutiny and questioned, even investigated, when the facts warrant it.
There is not any irony. The part you quoted included, "When the facts warrant it."Maybe irony is a concept foreign to the author.
My opinion is that it's a long opinion piece. Heavy on...opinion. And It seems that if people keep telling lies then somehow it becomes the truth. From the article:There is not any irony. The part you quoted included, "When the facts warrant it."
However, I do have to wonder what your thoughts are on the rest of that long opinion piece article?
I just showed you that they aren't aware of what's actually happening. It's a perception, caused by people like those in The Federalist who know you won't check the figures to see if what they say is right.If official government stats about crime say one thing, but a majority of people living in the big cities say the opposite, then I am going to believe the people.
…and where do these folks keep their statistics?If official government stats about crime say one thing, but a majority of people living in the big cities say the opposite, then I am going to believe the people.
My opinion is that it's a long opinion piece. Heavy on...opinion. And It seems that if people keep telling lies then somehow it becomes the truth. From the article:
'Two dramatic examples of this political disconnect with average citizens are the refusal of urban governments to prosecute violent criminals, which has caused a surge in crime...'
From here: What the data says about crime in the U.S.
'Americans tend to believe crime is up, even when official data shows it is down.
In 23 of 27 Gallup surveys conducted since 1993, at least 60% of U.S. adults have said there is more crime nationally than there was the year before, despite the downward trend in crime rates during most of that period.
The FBI data also shows a 59% reduction in the U.S. property crime rate between 1993 and 2022, with big declines in the rates of burglary (-75%), larceny/theft (-54%) and motor vehicle theft (-53%).
Using the BJS statistics, the declines in the violent and property crime rates are even steeper than those captured in the FBI data. Per BJS, the U.S. violent and property crime rates each fell 71% between 1993 and 2022.
While perceptions of rising crime at the national level are common, fewer Americans believe crime is up in their own communities. In every Gallup crime survey since the 1990s, Americans have been much less likely to say crime is up in their area than to say the same about crime nationally.'
The question now becomes, are the people who write these articles really unaware that crime is dropping? Or are they just lying to you? But hey, why let the facts interrupt the rantin' and ravin' anyway. Just carry on regardless.
Do you also believe what a majority of voters in big cities say about which party should represent Americans in government? Or is this believing city dwellers' opinions selective?If official government stats about crime say one thing, but a majority of people living in the big cities say the opposite, then I am going to believe the people.
Weird that a post would present random right wing talking points as if anyone would think they were more convincing that actual data. Seems like a waste of everyone's time.Does something live at Fantasyland, Disney?
Why bother reporting a crime if the police aren't going to do anything about it, or a prosecutor is just going to quickly release the perpetrator? Even the police don't want to bother with many criminals because they're just wasting their time due to quick release policies.
How many stores have closed down due to shoplifting? In California, theft under $1,000 is no longer a felony. Nobody bothers these people. And then the stores just close.
Hang on. I just asked where the data comes from for increased crime. And you link to a Youtube video by some credit company/self employed real estate dude?Does something live at Fantasyland, Disney?
Why bother reporting a crime if the police aren't going to do anything about it, or a prosecutor is just going to quickly release the perpetrator? Even the police don't want to bother with many criminals because they're just wasting their time due to quick release policies.
How many stores have closed down due to shoplifting? In California, theft under $1,000 is no longer a felony. Nobody bothers these people. And then the stores just close.
[20-April-2024] Santa Monica Has Fallen | FULL Tour of The Crisis - YouTube
Funny that people are willing to believe that news and media hypes negative fear based stories but when you give an example of them doing it they proudly say they swallow it.If official government stats about crime say one thing, but a majority of people living in the big cities say the opposite, then I am going to believe the people.
Seriously, it’s hard to imagine something more contemptuous of a voter than treating them as if they don’t have a right to engage in the electoral process.Contempt for the majority of the voters, those other than real Americans who live in cities, is a cornerstone of MAGA nonsense.
Watch and see how they vote in November.Do you also believe what a majority of voters in big cities say about which party should represent Americans in government? Or is this believing city dwellers' opinions selective?
Does something live at Fantasyland, Disney?
Why bother reporting a crime if the police aren't going to do anything about it, or a prosecutor is just going to quickly release the perpetrator? Even the police don't want to bother with many criminals because they're just wasting their time due to quick release policies.
How many stores have closed down due to shoplifting? In California, theft under $1,000 is no longer a felony. Nobody bothers these people. And then the stores just close.
[20-April-2024] Santa Monica Has Fallen | FULL Tour of The Crisis - YouTube
We do live in opposite land - opposite, that is, of the propaganda-driven fantasy that seems to dominate the imaginations of so many conservatives.It truly does appear to me that liberals live in opposite land based upon the posts in this forum as well as basing my opinion on what liberals in mainstream media and Democratic Party leadership says.
That's not how facts or statistics work. "Feelings" are not facts.If official government stats about crime say one thing, but a majority of people living in the big cities say the opposite, then I am going to believe the people.
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