My foil and faux-Christian Facebook friend (meant to be ironic, as I do think my friend is Christian, just like he should know that many liberals are “Christian”) asks: “When did liberals become the faux-puritans that they have become lately? They feign shock and horror at the use of the phrase ‘son of a bitch,’ by President Trump. One leftie even went as far as saying, ‘I would not even let my mother hear those words come out of my mouth.’ It is getting comical.”
My answer is: At the very least, one should be measured by the values and morals that one has set for himself and others. So, the more potent question is: When did you, [Facebook friend], jettison your moral compass to embrace President Trump's foul, demeaning, and reprobate language, ideologies, beliefs, and morals?
For me, and most of those with whom I “hang,” the fact that Trump is foul-mouthed doesn't necessarily bother me or them, because language is contextual to, and with, the persons and the audience that uses it. What bothers me is that the President has two audiences: One audience includes those who once had a moral compass regarding such language, but who no longer do because they, like many who embrace bullies, are willing to go along because they think that this bully will be an ally against their real and imagined enemies and will advance some of their goals. I would think my Facebook friend is in this category.
The other audience includes those who believe all that Trump says and believes, and they talk and act like he does. They whole-heartedly embrace his belligerence and his coarse nature. They believe that “might is right,” and that, as a nation, we should embrace nationalism, violence, bigotry, torture, and ignorance. They believe that the ends justify any means. In fact, my Facebook friend has stated things that indicate he may, very well, espouse some of those same ideals of this latter audience.
So, the question is not about what the "liberals" think, say, and believe. The question is: What do you (my Facebook friends) think, believe, and say? Do you recommend that your posterity embrace all of President Trump's mannerisms, thoughts, and beliefs, or are you more policy-oriented and support President Trump's goals? The latter I can respect, the former I cannot. While I can love you as a fellow sojourner upon this earth, I cannot respect that you embrace President Trump's character, morals, language, and all of his stated beliefs.
Respect is something that President Trump has not fostered and does not deserve from anyone – perhaps even his family. When I use the term "respect," I don't mean the kind of respect that you give a hungry, great white shark while swimming naked in the cold waters of the Cape. I mean the respect you give those like President Spencer W. Kimball, Nelson Mandela, Sir William Wallace, Coach LaVell Edwards, Steven Covey, Rev. Martin Luther King, President Abraham Lincoln, etc.
By the way, despite my Facebook friend’s demonization of them, many "liberals" are not "faux-puritans." Some of them are more "pure," "righteous," "puritanical," and good than you and I will ever be – as are many conservatives.
Loren M. Lambert © September 27, 2017
My answer is: At the very least, one should be measured by the values and morals that one has set for himself and others. So, the more potent question is: When did you, [Facebook friend], jettison your moral compass to embrace President Trump's foul, demeaning, and reprobate language, ideologies, beliefs, and morals?
For me, and most of those with whom I “hang,” the fact that Trump is foul-mouthed doesn't necessarily bother me or them, because language is contextual to, and with, the persons and the audience that uses it. What bothers me is that the President has two audiences: One audience includes those who once had a moral compass regarding such language, but who no longer do because they, like many who embrace bullies, are willing to go along because they think that this bully will be an ally against their real and imagined enemies and will advance some of their goals. I would think my Facebook friend is in this category.
The other audience includes those who believe all that Trump says and believes, and they talk and act like he does. They whole-heartedly embrace his belligerence and his coarse nature. They believe that “might is right,” and that, as a nation, we should embrace nationalism, violence, bigotry, torture, and ignorance. They believe that the ends justify any means. In fact, my Facebook friend has stated things that indicate he may, very well, espouse some of those same ideals of this latter audience.
So, the question is not about what the "liberals" think, say, and believe. The question is: What do you (my Facebook friends) think, believe, and say? Do you recommend that your posterity embrace all of President Trump's mannerisms, thoughts, and beliefs, or are you more policy-oriented and support President Trump's goals? The latter I can respect, the former I cannot. While I can love you as a fellow sojourner upon this earth, I cannot respect that you embrace President Trump's character, morals, language, and all of his stated beliefs.
Respect is something that President Trump has not fostered and does not deserve from anyone – perhaps even his family. When I use the term "respect," I don't mean the kind of respect that you give a hungry, great white shark while swimming naked in the cold waters of the Cape. I mean the respect you give those like President Spencer W. Kimball, Nelson Mandela, Sir William Wallace, Coach LaVell Edwards, Steven Covey, Rev. Martin Luther King, President Abraham Lincoln, etc.
By the way, despite my Facebook friend’s demonization of them, many "liberals" are not "faux-puritans." Some of them are more "pure," "righteous," "puritanical," and good than you and I will ever be – as are many conservatives.
Loren M. Lambert © September 27, 2017
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