Twilight in Northwest Georgia: Factoring in the Believers

Sunday, February 14, 2021

Factoring in the Believers

On Sunday mornings I enjoy watching the program This Week with George Stephanopoulos. I particularly like the panel discussions, though I'd like to see them be a bit more structured and run longer.

This morning the discussion centered basically on the relationship between Trump, his future activity and his relationship with the Republican Party. The majority of the discussion focused on GOP politicians; how they voted and what they said afterward and would they continue to be influenced by Trump. Except for one panel member the consensus seemed to be that Trump's influence would fade. I completely disagree. The panelists ignored the largest segment in this entire saga...the public, and particularly that very large segment of the public that views Trump's acquittal as a vindication of him and a validation of his continued nonsense regarding the stolen election and pandemic hoax. They won't hear what many of the Republicans who voted to acquit Trump are saying; that they felt that Trump was in part intentionally responsible for the riot but that to impeach him after he is out of office is unconstitutional. That element of the public is not going to fade away.

One concept that has been strongly reinforced for me during the Trump era is the depths of people's beliefs, even when contradicted by facts. I truly believe that if Trump were to appear on national TV and acknowledge that he lost in a fair election, and that his words were in part responsible for the Capitol riot his followers would not believe him. Conspiracy theories would quickly spring up explaining why he was forced to say what he said on TV, among them possibly being that Nancy Pelosi was off-camera holding a gun at his back, or that Ivanka and Jared were being held hostage in Venezuela, or that the TV appearance was a fabricated video, and other such outlandish notions. Democracy provides protection for these beliefs and the freedom to speak them and to act on them within the limits of the law. That is why democracy is the best form of government. As annoying as it may sometimes be.

Just a second thought about those Republicans who voted to acquit, saying the impeachment was unconstitutional, that it was unprecedented. Think about that. Everything that has ever happened was unprecedented; happened for the first time. Trump's actions were unprecedented. No sitting President has ever incited a riot. On the Capitol no less. So if Trump had been found guilty in an unprecedented manner for his unprecedented actions, I'd call that fair play.

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What this blog is about

Hi. My name is Tom. I am a long-time blogger, having started in my native Wisconsin some fifteen years ago and continuing during my ten years living in Peru. I all but stopped posting to my blog when my wife and I returned to the United States and moved to Rossville, Georgia in July of 2017. We don’t actually live in Rossville. We live in one of those census-designated places, a term I really don’t understand and am not interested enough to learn about. The only practical difference I can see is that the city does not pick up our trash.

I’m starting a new blog because my old one was Peru specific, and that was yesterday. I chose the title ‘Twilight in Northwest Georgia’ for two reasons: twilight because I am old and for me age is playing an ever-increasing role in how I view myself and the world around me. And Northwest Georgia for obvious reasons. It’s not a great title but it identifies and introduces what it needs to. Good enough.

This blog is not going to have a central theme…it’s not going to be about anything specifically. I like to write and will post about anything and everything that may interest me at the moment. I do know that my wife Maribel will be mentioned frequently because she is everything to me.

A comment here about my writing style and philosophy might be in order. We live in an era of political correctness…a time when the broadcast and print media, politicians, and petty people in general are lined up like vultures, eagerly waiting to pounce on anyone for the slightest faux pas, no matter how innocent and unintended. The media do it to sell their services. Politicians do it to advance their careers by degrading others. Petty people do it because…well…because they’re petty people. It is never my intent to be politically correct, politically incorrect, obnoxious or offensive. I can be critical and sometimes very critical but try my best to be objective. I do like to praise when praise is warranted. I do have pet peeves, am very opinionated and can be very vocal about them, which in the past has drawn the ire of some readers on my old blog. But that’s life. We all have different likes, dislikes, values and beliefs. The key is how we handle those differences.

The purpose of this blog is to provide a platform for me to write. I am opening it up to the public simply because someone may find something of interest in my ramblings. Any reader comments or criticisms, provided they are civil, are welcome.