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"Tradition?? The only good traditions are food traditions. The rest are repressive."

"There are two ways to think. The first is to trust to your ancestors, your religious leaders, or your charismatic professors. The second is to question, to challenge, to explore history for meanings, and to analyze issues. This latter is called Critical Thinking, and it is this that is the mission of my web site. "

Dr. Laina Farhat-Holzman  

July 2020

That Which You Sow?


Actions have consequences. We all know this, something that good parentis teach children. In a recent column of mine, I referred to Darwin Awards: a mocking catalog of actions that have disastrous consequences, mainly removing the perpetrator from the gene pool.

Donald Trump has a serious problem: he wants to win reelection from a voter pool that has shrunk from its high of 49 percent. Polling, even that done by his propaganda organ, Fox News, is showing numbers well under his original highs. His handling of the pandemic has some current lows in the high 30?s.

This "very stable genius" (his own words) makes decisions that reap results contrary to his intentions. Critical thinking is not his strong suit, nor are truth telling or empathy.

Many of his recent pronouncements are sure to remove from the gene pool his most fervent believers (voters):

Huckstering a drug which has been warned as potentially fatal by scientists has already caused some deaths among his elderly voters. Hydrachloroquine, a drug for malaria and lupus, has side-effects even for those users. It is dangerous for certain users in which irregular heart rhythms can cause death. Although Trump has claimed to be using this drug himself, it is probably not so. He has a heart condition that would make him a poor subject for this drug, even in a hospital test.

Also, suggesting that ingesting household cleansers might "clean up their lungs" has pushed several of his stupider fans to try Clorox, with disastrous results. Such users will no longer be able to vote for him.

Frantically demanding that the country "open up," despite his own health experts telling him that the virus has not declined enough for this, has inspired his more ignorant followers to defy their regions? health mandates. They crowd pools, beaches, streets, and bars, thus causing a spike of new cases, with attendant deaths. If his voters are sick or dying, they cannot vote for him.

Wearing masks is urged by all health officials to prevent wearers who might have no symptoms, yet have the virus (asymptomatic), from spreading it to others. It is an unselfish behavior of those who care about others. Trump refuses to use a mask (it looks bad and not macho), claiming it is voluntary.

Indeed it is voluntary if one does not care about others. He most certainly does not care, nor do his followers who emulate him. Unfortunately, more people, particularly the elderly or people with preexisting conditions, will die. There goes another demographic from Trump?s voters.

Picking fights with governors, particularly those running mostly Democratic states, is another losing decision. In public polling, three-quarters of Americans trust their governors and mayors whereas the other quarter trust Trump. This seems to be political folly.

The American veterans who voted heavily for Trump, until now, finally see how little Trump cares about them. When a Veterans? Administration test (nonpartisan and scientific) showed that the veterans groups taking Trump?s favorite drug died in larger numbers than the test group taking a placebo, Trump claimed that the test was "fake" and done by "Trump haters." He certainly refuses to show sympathy for the veterans either, claiming that they were "very old and close to being dead anyway." Of course, this was untrue. The median age of veterans in this test was 75, which meant that half were older and half younger. Medical tests are done by scientists, not by "Trump-hating democrats."

Trump?s most loyal fans are from the poorest parts of the country, such as West Virginia and Kentucky, both with populations suffering dire health consequences from Trump?s favorite industry, coal mining. So many dying prematurely of black lung disease (a consequence of coal mining), and so few of them able to afford medical insurance, have had only one champion: Obamacare. How many still think Trump loves them when he has gone to court to try (once again) to nullify Obama care, leaving them with nothing?

Add to his growing list of "not Trumpers" Mililtary oficers, State Department, Justice Department, and women with brains. Add four former presidents (Presidents? Club) to that list. Reaping the whirlwind?

688 words

Dr. Laina Farhat-Holzman is a historian, lecturer, and author of "How Do You Know That? Contact her at Lfarhat102@aol.com or www.globalthink.netglobalthink.net.


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