Being a friend to oneself by unfriending others


Elitist disdain for the common man, in 2016 evidenced by Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables" slur, has become ubiquitous in the rhetoric of power-grasping Democrat Party leaders and their fake media and annoying activist cohorts. 

At the recent India Today Conclave, Clinton once again refused responsibility for her ignominious electoral toppling. She claimed candidate Trump had effectively told voters "you didn't like black people getting rights, you don't like women, you know, getting jobs, you don't want it, you know, seeing that Indian-American succeeding more than you are."

Some of us recognize that bigotry is a serious matter, one that requires honest and substantive address. Others throw about related terminology and accusations as mere stunt gadgets to be leveraged for transient political advantage. 

As a general proposition, shutting down social or professional associations for reasons of political opinion is wrong. It can bespeak intolerance, as well as ignore that people who share non-political interests can maintain relations on those levels, political differences being irrelevant.

Too, everyone has a right to an opinion. No one should suffer ostracization for ideological reasons. Someone's holding a view contrary to one's own is part of life. If you find their words disobliging, simply turn the page. That's what adults do.

I write in several areas. Rock and roll criticism is one of them. Many of the musicians to whose work I pay attention are not Trump backers, judging by their social media posts.

That's their business. I value their musical ideas, not their political ones.

But the principle of self respect is equally valid. And it, too, has legitimate standing. 

Recently, I unfriended a Facebook writing colleague. Her prejudice against Trump supporters led her to post a particularly 
despicable, deceitful reference that essentially equated us all with the loathsome KKK. And, in subsequent online conversation, she was unapologetic, even defiantly reasserting her foul imprecation.

A tolerant nature need not indulge ignorance. Or extremism. Or viciousness. By unfriending the offender in question, I stood tall not only for myself, but for the truth that Americans who support President Trump and the fine America First cause cannot reasonably be dismissed as bigots. 

I addressed the larger topic in my 2017 book: That a Man Can Again Stand Up (Bromley Press).

My support of the Donald Trump candidacy, as well as his wise selection of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to join him as vice-presidential running mate, put me in an interesting position. I am in an interracial marriage, one that has happily endured for some twenty years. And my youngest brother is a gay academic.

From that peculiar perspective, I saw Trump routinely (and falsely) slurred as representative of hates I had spent decades monitoring. I well understood bigotry's potential for real harm. The terrible historical evidence was undeniable, of course, and contemporary experiences and sensible concerns I shared with loved ones underscored enduring gravity.

So I was disgusted to hear commentators, political figures, and activists throwing baseless smears at Trump-Pence -- and, implicitly, at supporters like myself. By their opportunism, they were cheapening serious phenomena about which every citizen needs to stand attentive.

Tens of millions of good Americans across the country had rallied to Trump's side. Opponents who deceitfully alleged him to be bigoted likely persuaded observers who might otherwise be sympathetic to discount them as credible advocates. As a result, future cases of true bigotry might not receive appropriate public regard...

Real bigotry must at every opportunity be spotlighted and ground into dust. But when Hillary Clinton and her allies flung stomach-turning accusations and epithets, without evidential foundation and merely for partisan point-scoring, they distracted well-intentioned citizens and muddied crucial conversation.

"Republicans are the party of Abraham Lincoln," candidate Trump had told an 8/26/2016 audience here in Iowa, at our Sen. Joanie Ernst's Ride and Roast event. "Nothing means more to me than working to make our party the home of the African-American vote, once again."

Sadly, unprincipled Trump opponents still cling to the false and divisive line that Americans chose a bigoted presidential candidate. And that our selection reveals we either share in that alleged wrong, or, at least, do not find it so repellent as to impact ballot-casting.  

The free exchange of perspectives is to be championed. In that way, citizens can find valuable truths perhaps not otherwise discoverable, appreciate others' ideas, and arrive at solutions to problems confronting us all. 

But not every voice is legitimate. Not all contribute meaningfully. And sometimes, enough is simply enough.