March 28, 2024

Ignoring Reality

Dec. 4, 2015

Some politicians have turned the corner on logic, tradition and facts, now ignoring all of it.

Fear and misinformation work better. Make us afraid of any religion other than ours, afraid of orphan refugees, afraid of immigrants. They protect religious beliefs by ignoring them, and demonstrate their patriotism by covering up the constitution.

When none of that serves their purpose of creating fear to generate votes, they just make stuff up. Reality no longer matters.

Donald Trump is example A and Dr. Ben Carson example B.

According to Trump, we are experiencing a “flood” of illegal, murdering and raping immigrants (especially from Mexico) and President Obama has been “pathetically weak” on illegal immigration.

Except we’re actually experiencing a net annual reduction in the number of illegal immigrants according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). More are leaving voluntarily or being deported than are arriving. More like a backwash than a flood. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration has arrested, prosecuted, and jailed or deported more illegal immigrants than any in history. By a mile.

Undeterred by his immigration nonsense, Trump has more recently claimed “Muslims by the thousands” were celebrating in New Jersey on 9/11. You’d think there would be video of such a thing but there isn’t because there’s no evidence it actually happened. In the Middle East, yes, we saw some of that dancing in the streets. In this country, in that atmosphere, such celebrating would have been a high-risk activity. Twice in the 9/11 aftermath Sikh men were shot and killed by American ignoramuses because they thought they were Muslims.

Muslims are also on Trump’s perceived enemies list. He thinks we should “keep track” of all Muslims in the country, surveil their places of worship and close them if they are too “un-American.” Good grief. Someone close to him should give him a copy of the U.S. Constitution.

Then there is his latest delusion, that President Obama, whom Trump believes was born in Kenya, is planning to allow 200,000 to 250,000 Syrian refugees into the United States.

No, he isn’t. No one but Trump has thrown out such a number. And obtaining refugee status for legal entry here is a very difficult road. It involves background checks, faceto-face interviews with Homeland Security and then a nice waiting list.

According to Homeland Security, about 20,000 Syrians have applied for refugee status, 7,000 have been interviewed and 2,000 have been granted refugee status, mostly women and children.

So Trump demonizes Mexicans, Muslims and Syrian refugees while at the same time denigrating women, Iowans, African- Americans and a man with a physical disability. Perhaps a Trump supporter out there can explain how it is that he represents your views and why it is you believe anything he says, much of which has been proven wrong.

Then there’s Dr. Ben Carson, trending first or second in most of the polls. Carson believes the earth is 6,000 years old and that humans and dinosaurs lived together. Seriously.

No, it isn’t, and, no, we didn’t. For goodness sake, “The Flinstones” was a cartoon show, not a documentary.

Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, should certainly know better. Consider what a 6,000-year-old earth would actually mean.

A huge chunk of what we call science would be completely wrong. Geology, archeology, biology, botany, paleontology, chemistry, hydrology, astronomy, anthropology, astrophysics and radioactivity would be partly or totally wrong. As would dozens of other scientific disciplines. In fact, any science that claims to be able to trace anything or is based on anything dating back more than 6,000 years would be wrong.

Does that seem likely?

Belief systems based on ancient religious texts are just fine for those of us living everyday lives. We aren’t making decisions that potentially impact billions of people based on those beliefs. But a president does have to make such decisions and it would be nice if he or she was grounded in some basics of scientific reality.

Donald Trump preaches fear and loathing based on exaggerations, distortions and an endless stream of hostility directed at anyone who might disagree. He has not offered a single, concrete, positive solution to any existing problem. When in doubt, he resorts to bullying, bravado and utter bullshit.

Dr. Carson is just not sufficiently in touch with overwhelming scientific reality to be presidential material.

Yet, between the two of them, Trump and Carson command close to 40 percent of the support of likely Republican primary voters according to Real Clear Politics, which compiles and averages current polling.

Neither should, can, or will be elected president. If by some act of self-destruction the GOP nominates either, their supporters can blame the image in their mirrors when Madame President is sworn in on January 20, 2017.

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