Blind Faith In A President
How can Trump supporters, in particular white Christians, be so adamant and narrowly focused in their support of Trump? How can they refuse to look at, or care about, all the questionable things Trump does, while only seeing the “good” stuff he’s done? I believe it’s pretty easy to understand why this is when you look at how they think about other areas of their lives where they are forced to choose what they believe in and HOW they believe in them.
It starts with their belief in God. Or, I should say, their narrowly defined Christian God. They believe their God is the one, true God, and that everyone else is going to hell. I don’t say that as hyperbole, this is the logical conclusion to their religious beliefs. With that belief comes a substantial amount of hubris and unwillingness to listen to ANY other viewpoint. They are protected for eternity, while the rest of us will burn in an eternal pit of fire and brimstone. That’s a pretty high horse on which to sit.
From there, this same mindset is expressed in their sense of white privilege. What they, as white people, think and do is considered “normal”, the baseline from which all others who do not share their particular skin pigment are judged. Anything that deviates from what they consider “normal”; how you talk, how you dress, the color of your skin, etc, is deemed to be abnormal, or apart from how “regular” people are supposed to act. At the very least, this world view creates a definite line between “us” and “them”, and “they” are always easier to turn away, to assign bad intent, to dehumanize.
It’s then easy to implement this Us vs Them, All-or-nothing mindset to their patriotism… America can NEVER do wrong, and they choose to ignore where we’ve fallen short. The kneeling controversy is case in point. They are allowed to define for others (in this case, African-American men) what true patriotism means, and are allowed to dictate in what form the actions of true patriots should take. Their viewpoint is “normal”, “regular”. They can’t stop for one minute to even consider someone else’s viewpoint on an issue. Why would they, when they know they’re “right”?
It starts with their belief in God. Or, I should say, their narrowly defined Christian God. They believe their God is the one, true God, and that everyone else is going to hell. I don’t say that as hyperbole, this is the logical conclusion to their religious beliefs. With that belief comes a substantial amount of hubris and unwillingness to listen to ANY other viewpoint. They are protected for eternity, while the rest of us will burn in an eternal pit of fire and brimstone. That’s a pretty high horse on which to sit.
From there, this same mindset is expressed in their sense of white privilege. What they, as white people, think and do is considered “normal”, the baseline from which all others who do not share their particular skin pigment are judged. Anything that deviates from what they consider “normal”; how you talk, how you dress, the color of your skin, etc, is deemed to be abnormal, or apart from how “regular” people are supposed to act. At the very least, this world view creates a definite line between “us” and “them”, and “they” are always easier to turn away, to assign bad intent, to dehumanize.
It’s then easy to implement this Us vs Them, All-or-nothing mindset to their patriotism… America can NEVER do wrong, and they choose to ignore where we’ve fallen short. The kneeling controversy is case in point. They are allowed to define for others (in this case, African-American men) what true patriotism means, and are allowed to dictate in what form the actions of true patriots should take. Their viewpoint is “normal”, “regular”. They can’t stop for one minute to even consider someone else’s viewpoint on an issue. Why would they, when they know they’re “right”?
With Trump, this group has taken these three concepts of God, Race, and Country, and combined them into one manifestation of their believes. Trump stands for THEIR Christian God (or so they believe), he plays to their sense of racial superiority (remember those “very fine people” in Charlottesville?), and they are now “allowed” to disparage anyone who doesn’t fall in lockstep with their brand of patriotism (“kick those sons of bitches out!”).
Trump has latched onto, or maybe he’s just an organic part of, that particular “genetic makeup” some possess wherein being led in an autocratic manner is comforting. They gravitate towards people or stories that position them as THE one and only true way, and when confronted with evidence to the contrary, they are well versed in the “faith” argument. You know, the reply they invoke when their beliefs can no longer be supported by common sense, logic, and facts.
“I don't have to know the answer... that’s where faith comes in”, they will say.
While that may suffice when it comes to your religion, it shouldn’t be enough when electing and continuing to support your president.
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