In the spirit of honesty and full disclosure, which I understand are often in short supply these days, I did not watch the Republican National Convention last night so anything I say will be based upon what I have read, seen on the news and just reflections on previous Trump rallies. Based upon that, I can only state that it appears to have been a prime example of more ‘Trump porn.’
According to Merriam-Webster, ‘pornography’ is defined as:
“1: the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement
2: material (such as books or a photograph) that depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement
3: the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction”
Although Trump has been accused of sexual assault by more than a dozen women, paid hush money to a porn star to keep an affair quiet, and is known to have had affairs during his marriages, in this case, I think the third bullet is the more appropriate: “the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction.” I think that pretty well sums up ‘Trump porn.’
Trump rallies and certainly this convention seem to be prime examples of ‘Trump porn,’ where the whole purpose is to get people all riled up rather than to provide any substance about how to address the many problems facing this country. Facts and data are in short supply and there is absolutely no effort to reach out to voters that don’t already support Trump.
It reminds me of an old-fashioned tent rival. Most of the people who enter the ‘tent’ are already believers. They are there and the people who are giving the sermons know the people are there to see a show and get all riled up and go away feeling good!! It does little to solve real problems but it’s like a short term shot of endorphins.
In my post yesterday when I confessed to being a ‘radical’, I predicted that the speeches at the RNC would be full of lots of blame, lots of dystopian rhetoric, and very little in the way of ‘vision’ for this country and how to address the many problems we face. And, as predicted, Trump was lauded for his leadership during this pandemic in spite of the FACT that nearly 180,000 Americans have died and approaching 6,000,000 have been infected. [We have 4% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s COVID deaths!]
Again, as I stated yesterday, at this Republican convention, in contrast to virtually all previous conventions, there is no written party platform – just a resolution stating that the Republican party fully supports Trumps ‘vision’. I have struggled with what Trump’s vision for America is but I recently had a small epiphany.
Many have accused Trump of wanting to roll back America to the 1950’s where American was ‘whiter’, white men controlled the country, and everyone knew ‘their place.’ Remember, this was a ‘pre-Civil rights’ time and most women were ‘housewives.’ I think that is somewhat true, but in the last couple of weeks, I have come to a different conclusion.
A couple of weeks ago I was channel surfing after a day of remodeling and looking for something to mindlessly watch and I stumbled across a series on Netflix, Hell on Wheels, which I started watching. This series takes place in the 1860’s during the building of the trans-continental railroad and it dawned on me quickly, that this is really Trumps’ ‘vision’ for America. Rich white men are clearly in control; treatment of all non-whites, black, brown, Asian, indigenous is atrocious; most women clearly know their place; and corrupt politicians are a dime a dozen. Welcome to Trump’s vision.
During the Democratic convention, there were a number of high-profile Republicans who came out and voiced support for Joe Biden – and the list continues to grow. Even the former RNC chair, Michael Steele, has joined the Lincoln Project, to oppose Trump. Think about that, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee is opposing Trump! How many prominent Democrats are scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention? None that I am aware of. And, in fact, there are a number of prominent Republicans that won’t be on the speaking agenda for the convention because they are trying to distance themselves from Trump if they are in close races. That should tell you a lot about Trump’s ‘vision’.
I’m sure the next three nights of the Republican convention will continue along the themes of a dystopian future if Trump is not re-elected and will be filled with more Trump-porn! I’ve always been a believer in live and let live so if Trump-porn floats your boat, go for it. It’s a free country – at least for now.
A very good assessment of the situation. It is sad, but I think the damage is done to the Republican Party and like any other cult, it can last for years to come.