In anticipation of the pending presidential election in the U.S., my local newspaper, The Hamilton Spectator, published the following opinion piece in Jan. of 2024. Written by one Wayne Poole, it was entitled “The death of truth and justice” and it began as follows: “Is it fear, ignorance, racism, personal gain or misplaced beliefs that motivate people to support Donald Trump? All of the above I expect, but why would any decent, rational human being do so?” Citing the Ku Klux Klan as an example, Poole later goes on to say: “U.S. history is steeped in racism, discrimination and fascism.”
Yes, Mr. Poole, as Human Beings are hardly perfect, American history is not devoid of injustices. But what your ignorant rant fails to point out is that the country’s founders were truly progressive in their day and, along with Great Britain whence they came, led the assault on slavery in the 18th and 19th centuries while much of the rest of the world continued to tolerate it. No doubt you, along with many of my Leftist acquaintances, see the Civil War, which resulted in approximately 700,000 American deaths, as something other than a noble sacrifice on behalf of Social Justice. But as your demonization of U.S. history is grossly simplistic if not an outright lie, so also is your characterization of all those who would vote for Mr. Trump.
As I have stated repeatedly, Trump is far from perfect and Poole’s repeated references to his bullying tactics have some merit. But are the millions who were to vote for him ignorant, irrational human beings, or does that perhaps more accurately describe Mr. Poole? The open border policy endorsed by Biden’s Democrats literally entailed the end of the Rational Construct of The Nation State. The DEI mandates of the Left grant unearned privileges to certain demographics due to injustices committed 100 years ago. Leftist empathy for the Trans community entails an absolute lack of empathy for Women’s Rights. Demonization of the Colonialist West as the most horrid force in all of history is truly ridiculous. Is it possible that those who chose to vote for Trump were motivated by all sorts of Rational concerns while Poole’s article is in fact no more than an expression of hatred? Is it possible that the newspaper which chose to publish his rant is similarly motivated?