America today embodies a cult of personality. Tribalism at its finest. You can refer to yourself as a free thinking Libertarian, an Independent, or Socially Liberal + Economically Conservative all you’d like, but face it, at the root of your rationale awaits left, or right. Are you, ‘With Her,’ or MAGA? Do you want ‘Hope and Change’ or would you prefer to see the Birth Certificate? Sidebar – I classify myself a ‘free-thinking Libertarian,’ yet, I know how I need to describe myself when I am pressed with the black and white question. I won’t lie to myself or others.
My theory is many in our country feel boxed in. This can be understood by visualizing a box divided into four squares.
Square one – you voted for MAGA and you want out.
Square two – you voted for MAGA and you are happy to stay.
Square three – you are ‘With Her’ and you want to remain.
Square four – you were ‘With Her’ and you want to join MAGA.
The focus of today’s piece will revolve around square four folks. They hear their brothers and sisters resisting. They see the world around them as not that bad, though. They don’t mind Trump, the human. They can move past his character flaws. They applaud Trump, the dealmaker, Trump, the leader. They are rational to the situation. Their economic situation has maintained status quo, or even improved. Their safety has, as well. They don’t look at The Resistance as a necessity to their life. Resisting means not accepting the situation in front of you. The situation in front of these folks isn’t that bad, or at least isn’t as bad as they were told it would be.
You see, a similar thing happened on the Right. Republicans were told horrible things about Obama. Yes, a lot of Republicans resisted Obama from day one, and remain anti-Obama today. Others, especially in 2012, said, ‘it’s not as bad as I am being told,’ and they either didn’t vote for Romney, or supported Obama. This occurs for two big reasons. First, remaining angry, resisting, or being part of the Tea Party and relentlessly shouting ‘Repeal and Replace,’ gets old. You simply cannot stay ‘anti-______’ forever. The other reason is rational behavior creeps back in. It becomes difficult to remain irrational when you’re being told the world will end, but it ends up being OK, or even improving. It is simple psychology. Our brains cannot stay angry forever. It wears us down. It breaks us. We also know we are lying to ourself when we continue beating the drum about how bad it is, but we see it isn’t even close. Rational thought wins, even when we desperately want to be irrational.
So, back to Square Four, and ‘Coming out of the Trump closet.’ Go back in time with me to when Obama legalized same-sex marriage, and made it Ok to be gay in this country. For many, it was already Ok. They didn’t need to see their highest elected politician tell them so. These individuals were trailblazers. For others, it wasn’t Ok. They were closeted, scared, and didn’t want the world to know who they really were. When Obama enacted his policy, he made it Ok for the masses. He created a wave of people coming out, and it wasn’t isolated to the trailblazers anymore. It was the rest of the group publically joining along. A similar thing occurred last year with #MeToo. Again, back to psychology, when one person is doing something, but others are scared to join, that individual is typically mocked, ridiculed or discredited. Group think at its worst. He is different (gay), she is looking for attention (#MeToo), and that voter is Anti-American (Trump supporter). Then, something happens, and people look at the situation with a new lens. Obama legalizes same-sex, and being gay is celebrated. Weinstein is brought down by Farrow, and #MeToo catches on like wildfire.
What about Trump supporters? What about Square Four? What is their moment? I believe it is beginning to happen before our eyes. It started with Kanye West + Candace Owens. This was a revolutionary moment for pop culture and Trump. It brought together two groups that up until that moment were not supposed to be on the same team. It made it Ok for black people to support Trump. It was a ‘coming out’ of sorts for Kanye West. There will be more of these moments. More people who have the courage to speak out against the Democrats, or speak up for Trump. One way or the other, each time this happens, more people will follow suit. Remember, if Kanye blazes the trail, and thousands more follow suit, it only makes it easier when additional people decide to jump onboard a few weeks, months, or years later.
More celebrities, editorials, and reputable organizations or individuals will stand up and support Trump between now and whenever his time is up as our President. The more these individuals or entities do this, the more people they blaze the path for to come out in support of Trump as well. The more the Left resists, the more fatigued a resister will become, and once they’re extended an olive branch by a trail blazer who comes out of the Trump closet, they’ll be part chanting Keep America Great.
Phil Your Day 