And America Continues to Show it's True Colors. . .

[Old Thunder]

Complete sense.

The 'gay debate' had me up in a corner for the longest time really, until I just said "Screw it". I honestly don't care about it anymore, let everyone do what they feel is right and let us have some peace. ~Me to the country

 

[D'Snowth]

I'm . . . pretty sure I mentioned just about all of that in my soliloquy in the old Trump thread before it got deleted . . . however, I seem to recall said soliloquy was posted prior to all of us reaching our agreement to disagree, so it was pretty much met with some criticism, but whatever.

Yes, America is supposed to be the land of the free - period.

 

[Old Thunder]

I'm . . . pretty sure I mentioned just about all of that in my soliloquy in the old Trump thread before it got deleted . . . however, I seem to recall said soliloquy was posted prior to all of us reaching our agreement to disagree, so it was pretty much met with some criticism, but whatever.

Yes, America is supposed to be the land of the free - period.

Which reminds me, I think that was the post that I said "a lot of what you said is a crock of bull"... I actually didn't mean that post because I agreed with a lot of it, but some of the other stuff you'd written before it.

It's something I never apologized for, and might not be the best thing to bring up again, but I wanted to say sorry for that now before I forget again.

 

[MuppetsRule]

At least you, me, and @MuppetsRule aren't.

To be fair, these people were filled with this B.S. and hate long before President Trump came along. So to say "these Trump supporters" is a tad misleading. More accurate would be "these people" but by saying "Trump supporters" it implies that they are filled with this hate because of Trump which is inaccurate. I would agree with D'snowth that they now feel emboldened and empowered. Part of that is Trump, part of it is that they've been ruled by President Obama, a black man, who I'm sure it just killed them. Part of it is just the times we live in, when one is labeled black or white, Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, left vs. right, gay vs. straight, Christian vs. Muslim, etc. . . .

And for those wondering, President Trump's son-in-law is Jewish and his daughter Ivanka converted when she married him, so she is Jewish as well.

 

[jvcarroll]

I read most of that, and that is a little scary if you ask me. Almost like these Trump supporters are starting there own hate filled religion, Which could really be bad..

There's a simple explanation as to why some Trump supporters, the ones who are racist, feel emboldened. While Trump will tweet about every silly perceived slight, from Saturday Night Live to the media, ad nauseum, he's mostly remained quiet on the the subject of antisemitism. It took him weeks to disavow KKK leader David Duke and only did so begrudgingly because he didn't want to turn down *anyone's* support during the campaign - not even from racists. He also neglected to mention Jews in his Holocaust remembrance speech and has made a habit of retweeting antisemitic material from antisemitic people. He plays dumb about it, but these are all things that happened. No wonder people who hate Jews have felt emboldened. It's as if Trump has given a wink and nod to them. Now that they've defaced tombstones in Jewish cemeteries, he finally had to say something. His main defense is that his son in law is Jewish. But that's not transferable and it doesn't account for his behavior so far. So, anyway, that's the skinny on why some racists feel emboldened by the Trump administration. What's required now from Trump is not just a tweet or a statement, but a full-fledged press conference condemning these practices and a call to prosecute these crimes to the fullest extent of the law. I doubt he'll go that far because it would mean alienating some of his most vigilant supporters. But anything less is weak and not presidential. We'll see what happens, but I won't hold my breath.

 

[snichols1973]

I've been thinking, about our country and our government. Isn't America supposed to be the land of the free? If we are why is our government telling us how we can or can not live? I'm starting to learn that no one in this country is going to agree on every view or issue, but why do we have to make it a challenge for someone else to believe or live however they want?

I fear that if America turns into a totalitarian dystopia and if the bigwigs were to have their way, one day Ellis Island may be seen as a near-forgotten monument to the fading "land of opportunity" era and that someone might try to turn it into a parking lot...

We should not be defined by the color of our skin, our our gender, or sexual preference. We should be defined by who we are on the inside. Because honestly that's how God looks at us.
Dose any of this makes sense?

"...The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." [1 Sam. 16:7]

 

[snichols1973]

I think it's less about Trump himself, and more about people who feel emboldened and empowered by his victory to crawl out of the woodwork and release their hatred without consequence.

But at any rate, here's an interesting article about a pastor and his daughter's experience attending Trump's rally in Florda:
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/pas...-my-11-year-old-daughter-was-sobbing-in-fear/

To read him describe it, the supporters attending the rally must be more of those who actually believe God Himself elected Trump into Office. . . .

I seem to be rather skeptical about what role, if any, Trump's religious beliefs (?) play in his administration. Even though Trump himself participates in Communion, he feels no need to ask God for forgiveness of his sins, stating: "I think if I do something wrong, I just try and make it right. I don't bring God into that picture."

 

[D'Snowth]

Which reminds me, I think that was the post that I said "a lot of what you said is a crock of bull"... I actually didn't mean that post because I agreed with a lot of it, but some of the other stuff you'd written before it.

It's something I never apologized for, and might not be the best thing to bring up again, but I wanted to say sorry for that now before I forget again.

Thanks for clarifying, because yes, I assumed you were refering to that particular post, but we've moved on sense then, so it's water under the bridge at this point.

I would agree with D'snowth that they now feel emboldened and empowered. Part of that is Trump, part of it is that they've been ruled by President Obama, a black man, who I'm sure it just killed them.

Oh, you know it did! There actually were a number of people out there prior to the 2008 election who were basically chanting, "We don't need a black man as president!" I wouldn't put it passed them if they had their own sense of feeling oppressed because of it. I think now that Obama's gone and Trump is here, they probably feel as though they've finally been liberated (and I use the term lightly) from having to be silent for all these years.

I seem to be rather skeptical about what role, if any, Trump's religious beliefs (?) play in his administration. Even though Trump himself participates in Communion, he feels no need to ask God for forgiveness of his sins, stating: "I think if I do something wrong, I just try and make it right. I don't bring God into that picture."

He's partly right: before you can ask for God's forgiveness, you do have to right the wrong yourself first - particularly if you've wronged somebody else, you can't just ask God for forgiveness without asking for forgiveness from the person you wronged first.

Then again, Orson Welles had a similar mentality, in which he once said something to the effect of, "I try to be a good Christian, but I don't pray very often because I don't want to bore God."

 

[snichols1973]

Every now and then, I find it a little bit diverting and ironic to see how RoboCop2 foreshadowed the decay of democracy:

 

[CensoredAlso]

Democracy isn't decaying. Its flaws are simply being exposed.