A decade ago Al Gore wrote a very good book called The Assault on Reason. Now we are in the age of Trump, it seems clear that not only has reason been assaulted, it has been beaten to a bloody pulp.
The push and pull of reason and emotion have been observed for centuries:
“Desire and reason are pulling in different directions. I see the right way…but follow the wrong.” Ovid
[The] “American experiment would prove that men can be governed by reason and reason alone.” Jefferson
“Let us reason together.” LBJ
“The sleep of reason produces monsters.” Goya
Let us treason together Trump
Katy Tur tells of the travails of following the Trump campaign in her book, Unbelievable. She follows Trump, accurately reports what he says and does, listens to him tell his irrational supporters to hate the press and media, and thus the NBC reporter and her colleagues had their lives threatened and were literally spat upon.
Reason is dead when the truth can no longer be heard.
If Thomas Jefferson could see Trump’s America today, undoubtedly he would lament the great American Experiment had failed. Reason and democracy are being supplanted by fascism and tyranny. And leading the way into the abyss is none other than Donald Trump.
So when Lee Turner, speaking at the March for Our Lives Rally, eloquently implored us to listen and constructively communicate with the other side—conservative Republicans who eschew gun control—I thought her sentiments were lofty, but her advice was impractical, at least for me. I do not suffer fools gladly and have little patience for those who attempt to justify the atrocities of Trump, or those who somehow are deluded that massive numbers of deadly guns have nothing to do with guns deaths.
So I decided instead to discuss such issues over beer with some of the progressive Democrats in Greenville. Specifically I was chatting with about a half dozen precinct captains. I explained I didn’t want to become a precinct captain myself as I was campaigning for lee Turner in the SC Fourth district.
So imagine my dismay when suddenly I found myself feeling like I was arguing with the political opposition. In the Disney movie The Lion King, Timon agrees with Pumba to adopt the young Lion King: “Hey, I got it! What if he's on our side? You know, having a lion around might not be such a bad idea.” Likewise I firmly believe that having new progressive candidates, like Lee Turner, joining the ranks of long-time local Democrats, might not be such a bad idea either. The others at the table were not so enthusiastic about those who “slipped into the party sideways” and, sans political experience, now expect to run and win where no other Democrats have won for decades.
I argued now times had changed; things were different; Trump was destroying the Republican Party; and now the Southern Democrats, even in Trey Gowdy’s District SC-04, had a good chance to win. Besides, since Trey dropped out, Lee has a much better chance to win.
I was responding to a simple question. Everyone at the table hated Trump and believed he was destroying America. The question was: What do I think I should do to get rid of him?
Imparting a little gallows humor I offered, “Maybe we can hope he will choke to death on a chicken bone?” That said, I offered what I believed to be a simple rational plan:
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Mueller will eventually reveal that Trump is guilty of various high crimes including corruption, obstruction of justice, collusion and treason.
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The Republican Congress will do nothing.
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Impeaching Trump will become THE issue of the 2018 Election.
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If Trump is to be impeached, the Democrats must win the House in 2018.
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Here, in SC-4, we should endorse and support Lee Turner who has the best chance to turn the seat from red to blue.
Yet, alas, as I wrote in my almost completely ignored diary at Daily Kos, The Primary Political Principle: when people vote, they vote emotionally, not rationally. If people voted rationally mainstream Democrats would have realized (based on statistical polls) that Bernie Sanders had a much better chance of defeating Trump than Hillary Clinton. If people voted rationally, Bernie supporters would have voted en masse for Hillary Clinton once she won the nomination, as she was a thousand times better than Donald Trump—rather than not voting, or throwing their vote away on a third-party candidate. Hell, if people voted rationally, no one would have voted for Donald Trump. “Hey, that guy looks good in a Captain’s uniform. Let’s let him fly the 747 jet even though he has absolutely no flying experience!”
So I understand that those who have dedicated countless volunteer hours futilely supporting the Democratic Party in a Republican stronghold are reluctant to suddenly welcome progressive newcomers who have picked up the gauntlet and decided to run for office. Yet, we are not “taking over” the Democratic Party; we are taking the Democratic Party to victory. Likewise, Timon, at first was reluctant to welcome the Lion King when he was small and vulnerable, until he rationally realized “He’ll be on our side!”
As time passed, our group of a half-dozen narrowed to just two, me and another guy who called himself a moderate Democrat. We disagreed on a key issue, and he accused me of not hearing him. I was hearing him. I simply heartily disagreed with him. He basically was arguing the Democrats should do nothing to elect Lee Turner or even the other Democratic candidates if one of them wins the primary. He fatalistically claimed no one could beat the Republicans in the Fourth District, and we shouldn’t even try. He said it was more prudent to put money and resources into other districts where Democrats had a better chance.
I quoted Henry Ford who famously said,
“Whether you believe you can, or you can’t; you’re probably right.”
America has faced three great crises where remaining neutral on the side-lines was not a viable option. The first was the birth or our nation. Either you were a Tory or a Patriot. Either you were loyal to the King of England or believed America was better off as an independent democratic republic. The second crisis was the Civil War. Either you were for the Confederacy splitting the country in two, or for the Union. Either you were for slavery, or you were for eliminating slavery from America. And now we are in the midst of our third crisis. Either you are for Trump or for the Democrats. Either you are for the cult of personality that leads to dictatorship, fascism, and tyranny; or you are for the truth, the rule of law, and preserving our Constitutional government.
Yesterday, someone I just met told me that Trump “owned” the FBI and Trump should have fired Comey on day one. Fortunately, another friend with me supported my contention that the role of the FBI was to pursue justice, not protect the President.
I am not convinced we can or should try to convince Trump supporters the error of their ways. Yet we—both long-time Democrats and new progressive Democrats—can and should stand together united. I am tired of Hillary supporters still attacking Bernie. I am tired of Bernie supporters still attacking Hillary. I am tired of Democratic moderates attacking progressive newcomers (and vice versa). Now is the time to unite. If we don’t, the Democrats will lose; Trump will prevail, and the Great American experiment will fail and democracy will die due to a lack of reason.