I’m struggling.
I live in a conservative state and many of my friends or close associates are solidly Republican. For the most part, despite the disastrous Bush years and the obstructionism of the Obama presidency, I’ve generally avoided, over these years, focusing on the partisan stand of many of my GOP friends. Just as long as they didn’t overtly shove their GOP views---generally distasteful---in my face, I’ve normally opted for the “live and let live approach.” And I’ve typically adopted the view that arguing with them will never result in any change of their position---no matter how well-supported the presented facts might be. Typically, they, and most self-identified GOP voters I know, dig their heels in harder when presented with an opposing political viewpoint and never refute what they believe to be reality. When I have engaged in such debates, while seldom ventured, they often turned ugly leaving a wake of bad feelings behind.
However, support of Trump presents a different dilemma for me. I’m not going to rehash here why I (and most of us on DKos) believe he is beyond being unfit for the presidency, and representing the face of the United States. I feel that is obvious to most folks who live in a rational world with a moral compass based on the value and respect of humanity. Personally, I believe many folks who support Trump and knowingly approve (or conveniently “overlook”) his comments that represent bigotry or glory in bombastic ugliness, are fighting for a country that will no longer provide the opportunities for my kids that I enjoyed thirty years ago.
Some of my relatives have already fallen victim to the Trump appeal. I’ve witnessed this over the past six months or more and it has left me flabbergasted. These folks were always solid Democrat voters throughout my youth and helped shape my views as being a liberal and progressive Democrat. But after they retired and were faced with hours of non-stop Fox viewing, they soon adopted the opinion that one of the biggest threats to this country are illegal immigrants. So when Trump provided the loudest voice on building a wall and rounding up every illegal, that’s all it took to make them Trump fans. And banning Muslims was the icing in the cake since Fox also made them believe that ISIS would soon be beheading people in the food court at the local mall.
While many of my Republican friends have saddled up in the past to Cruz or Bush, it’s only a matter of time until I start seeing more Trump expressions of support on Facebook or other social media. After all, most self-identified GOP voters I know urgently HATE Hillary and the Clintons. Even if they have been semi-appalled at Trump candidacy, their foaming-at-the-mouth hate of Hillary, based on 20-plus years of GOP-stoked conspiracies about Hillary and Bill, will not allow them to sit idly while Hillary wins by default. (By the way, the revelations about the unfitness of Sarah Palin didn’t keep them from casting their vote for a McCain-Palin ticket either.)
While the GOP and their voters have been doing tremendous harm to this country for decades, the past damage was often done through the veil of some so-called political respectability (albeit thinly-veiled) or by pushing dog-whistle issues to their base. But Trump has stripped all of that down to the bone. He’s told us in not-too-many words that he is a bigot. His appeals are simple, often offensive, and many times unconstitutional or unflinchingly dangerous.
Given my views of Trump and the danger he represents to the United States and the world my kids will inherit, how do I react to people, and more specifically my friends, that accept the clear unfitness and support Trump due to unflinching party loyalty, overriding any care for the greater good of the country? As I stated before, it’s fruitless to argue or reason. The Hillary Hate, or the basic hate for the Democrat platform, runs deep and blinds them beyond reason or reach.
It comes done to a simple proposition, what constitutes a friend when they stand for beliefs that are diametrically opposed to one’s basic moral compass?