These guys are very learned and articulate. One is a retired attorney and the other a retired executive who lent his help to his state government when asked. Both have excellent reputations for getting things done. Here is their recent email conversation:
Attorney wrote: "We have all had our close calls where random events almost changed our lives forever or did so. I submit that the 'normal' reaction is reflection leading to an enhanced sense of appreciation and gratitude. Not so, one Donald John Trump. He literally came within one inch of his life, but his acceptance speech at the RNC was a long winded exercise in grievance and mendacity. His reaction to his opponent dropping out of the race is further telling: 'Trump calls Biden worst President in the history of the United States' and 'crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President'. * Folks, this is not 'normal'. Where is the grace, the generosity, the magnanimity, the recognition of service and sacrifice and humanity? This is deranged, deplorable, unacceptable conduct by a seriously flawed individual unfit for public service!"
Executive responded: "So maybe the REAL question ought to be 'what are we missing here?' That is, to most on (the attorney's) list, Trump is what he is. He's the guy whose ugly tweets we have read for almost ten years . The guy whose speeches always go off the rails in narcissistic attack mode. The guy we all SAW incite his crowd on Jan.6, instruct them to go fight on the Hill and disrupt the electoral process while doing nothing to control them, and saying maybe his VP will get what he deserves . The guy who was facing trials in four jurisdictions, was found guilty in one , plus the sexual assault and defamation guilty findings. We watched him undercut Fauci with his COVID 'strategy' of bright lights and Lysol injections. And so on. So maybe the real question is how ANYBODY can support him? And they DO, vehemently, sometimes apologizing for his 'personality' as if THAT'S the reason WE don't approve of him. What either blinds them , OR we are missing?
Seems clear a lot of those historically positive traits (the attorney) referred to are not revered in our nation at this juncture by millions. How do (you)?
Attorney responded: The reaction to the challenges of the early days of the pandemic -- when scientists were trying to figure out what was going on -- to HELP HUMANITY -- plainly revealed a large group around us who were, themselves, thoroughly infected with a perfect storm of stubbornness, selfishness, and stupidity.
45, through daily, continuous, vitriolic rhetoric, normalized -- even celebrated -- the open expression of those worst traits; it's, now, actually, a badge of honor to openly dismiss/hate science (of any branch). Some cavalierly claim expertise on all subjects even while admitting being devoid of any training or experience on the subject at hand. Some readily admit believing everything said on Fox news.
This all boils down, in my view, to a decades-long failure to educate young folks on how to reliably discern fact from fiction (and, then, decide right from wrong). This analytical abyss leaves many (voters) with no centerboard, but, rather, only raw, human emotion -- making what just FEELS right at the moment actually 'RIGHT.' It's a recipe for repeatedly coming to the conclusion: what can I do to help ME and no one else -- much like a reptile's own survival instinct.
I am glad you all are part of my sphere!"
These guys cut to the chase to say the former president's behavior is not normal and it is not new. We should not normalize it and say it is just rough around the edges. It is not.
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* Note: 154 historians of various parties have rated Donald Trump (not Joe Biden) as the worst president in US history. They would have ranked him a little higher, but his botching of the pandemic response and his purposeful dividing of America (even more than we are) tanked his ratings. His niece Mary said in November 2020 her uncle will "burn it all down to avoid saying he lost the election."
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