19 Jul Irrationally Devoted to You
I’m not talking here about everyone who wants Donald Trump to win the election. Many such people have very good policy reasons for their voting preference. Many others are loyal to the Republican Party and will support whoever it nominates. Many of those same folks do not like Donald Trump – or his style and personality – at all, but they see a binary choice and think he will be a superior president than the Democratic alternative. Many voters sincerely believe that America was a better place when Mr. Trump was president from 2017 to 2021.
All of those beliefs are rational. You may argue with them, but they are not absurd. I don’t blame anyone for holding these beliefs or voting accordingly.
Instead, I am talking about personages such as Mike Lindell of My Pillow and Rudy Guiliani, about the January 6 Capitol Crashers, and about anyone else who puts Donald Trump on a pedestal and worships him to their own detriment. These celebrities and citizens were and more than ever are irrationally devoted to Donald J. Trump, who they consider a hero and a martyr.
As I am prone to do, I will use lyrics from old songs to illustrate my point.
Not Hopeless; Irrational
Olivia Newton-John’s “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” from the 1978 soundtrack of Grease, was the inspiration for today’s blog post. You know the key words: “My head is saying ‘fool, forget him’ . . . I’m out of my head . . . I’m hopelessly devoted to you.”
If the “you” being referenced today is Donald Trump, however, devotion to his presidential candidacy is not hopeless. In fact, my post-debate prediction in Who Will Win the White House (July 1, 2024), was unequivocal in stating that I now understand Mr. Trump will be elected this November. Events this month have made that result even more likely.
No, it is the unseemly devotion to him as a man – almost as a God/man – that I find irrational. Not to put too fine of a point on it, but many individuals’ “out of [their] head” adoration appears to rival that of a cult follower. Plenty of such folks were on display at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.
More lyrics might help explain. Do you remember the old tunes in which the forlorn singer was pained by an unreturned love? Those sad songs speak to the irrationality of devoting yourself to people who feel differently about you than you do about them. Trump lovers, if you are taking this personally, it may be that you are so caught up in your hero worship that that you don’t notice that he is more interested in pleasing someone else – a tall, thickly-built golfer with yellowish-tannish-orangish hair under a red hat. He does not really care about you personally.
Going back even before my time, “Please Mr. Postman,” released by the Marvelettes in 1961, comes to mind when I see and hear today’s desperate fan club. As the postal carrier said in the song, there is no letter in the bag for you. Except that Mr. Trump will indeed write, requesting donations and telling you he loves you in the process. Then there was “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” (Meat Loaf, 1977). Yes, Mr. Trump wants you and needs you (your vote, that is), but he ain’t ever really gonna love you. He’s a narcissist.
If (1) the shoe fits, (2) you are wearing it, and (3) you are angry that I am calling you out, then I am only sorry that I had to be the one to tell you. But please think about this also, before you go: Do you not acknowledge that a rational person should have tried to talk sense into Rudy Guiliani before his unquestioning fondness for his client got him disbarred and his previously-good reputation ruined? Wouldn’t Mike Lindell be better off if someone had advised him that his naïve fandom of Donald Trump could force him into eviction and financial ruin? And those “J6” rioters who have expressed regret for the actions that produced their arrest, charges, guilt, and imprisonment; wouldn’t a dose of rationality mixed with their fierce loyalty have helped them?
Conclusion of Rant
I’m also speaking today to the ordinary citizens who may already have seen their passion for “President Trump” (as they still call him) harm their family and friend relationships, cause the highly-moral among them to be embarrassed by Mr. Trump’s legal problems and general sinfulness, and induce them to support political losers like Hershel Walker and Dr. Oz. Most importantly, I am talking to those who have sold their integrity and soul so that their candidate can flip the bird to “the Libs” and do awful things to someone named “Brandon.”
When he left office, 55 percent of the nation saw Donald Trump’s presidency as a failure, and he never reached a 50 percent approval rating during his four years in office. If you now believe, like he does, that America was “perfect” then and he was the greatest president of all time, that’s irrational devotion.
Written by Quentin R. Wittrock, founder of Principle Based Politics.
Look for his posts each week, as this blog will explore and promote the idea of principle in politics, both as to individual elected leaders and our federal government as an institution.
Principle Based Politics does not endorse or support any particular political candidate or party.
Cindy
Posted at 17:01h, 19 JulyWorship the LORD your God and serve Him only.
Diane Graham
Posted at 17:29h, 19 JulyThanks! You tell it like it is.
Trudy Johnson
Posted at 17:48h, 19 JulyShaking my head “YES” to all of this Quentin. Great article! Most (but not all) of Trumps policies, I agree with, but it’s just SO difficult for me to stomach this guy. Dang – for a minute I actually thought he might have turned a corner after his near death experience and was gonna be a bit softer, kinder, and not such a freaking idiot… for a minute. As you know, I’m with you and wish for better choices, but OK, this year, as they say, “It is what it is” and I have to figure it out. While NOT voting just seems wrong, I guess I am leaning now more toward Trump, as Joe and I agree on even less. I do know this though…. marking Trump on a ballot will be extremely difficult for me and no doubt I’ll be shaking my head, or banging it against the wall, as I do it. : ( Argh!!
cordell PETERSON
Posted at 19:16h, 19 JulyWe are the Master of our unspoken words……………..and a Slave to those we utter!!
cp
DKnight
Posted at 21:08h, 19 JulyYou are correct Quentin, Orangeman is an ego-freak, narcissist, etc. Hard to watch some of that convention. Yet, follow the better policies and they clearly lead to the GOP. Politics is not a pretty game. At least you have us all considering all aspects of this strange and important election cycle. God Bless America.
Doug Fish
Posted at 06:27h, 20 JulyReflecting on Thursday nights show:
1) Being impacted by what happened to you isn’t victim-hood. It’s human. Making an identity out of it is victim-hood.
2) Each side, each tribe, each cultural echo chamber has its own personal bogeyman. And each one subsequently overestimates the threat of that bogeyman.
3) The Gettysburg Address only lasted 2 minutes.
Kimberly
Posted at 16:34h, 20 JulyTell it, Quentin!
Barb Schramm
Posted at 04:17h, 31 JulyYou’re right. It’s a strange world where people worship someone like Trump. I’ve often wondered why can’t they see what I see? Why can’t they hear what I hear? Or instead of the word “can’t,” maybe the word is “won’t.” It’s not that people “can’t” learn, it’s that they “won’t.” For example, I get much of my information from political historian and expert, Heather Cox Richardson. She puts the pieces together from an educatuonal perspective. For anyone who is the oposite of thse who “won’t” learn, here is a
link to her daily updates on the political scene: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/ enjoy!