On the latest Trump twist

Last updated on: September 24, 2019 at 9:27 pm by Dan Peterson

On the latest Trump twist 2019-09-24T21:27:00-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A full moon over Helsinki, Finland, on Christmas 2015 (Wikimedia Commons) This is how it looked, minus the moon!, when I got up this morning.

I’m sitting in the airport at Helsinki, which has free wi-fi. So I’m going to try to “improve the shining moment” by throwing something quickly together.

I’ve been extremely busy here in Finland and, on one day, in Estonia, and I’ve been largely cut off from the internet and almost entirely cut off from the news.

But the headline today in my airport hotel room was that Nancy Pelosi has given the green light to possible impeachment proceedings against President Donald J. Trump.

I have mixed feelings about this. I didn’t vote for Mr. Trump. In fact, on the night he accepted the Republican presidential nomination, I separated myself from my life-long membership in the party. I thought (and think) him a man of defective personality and low character. I’m appalled that so many people on the political right blithely overlook those things. As I say, I can understand those who support him as the least of available evils, speaking in terms of policy. But I cannot comprehend seeming conservatives who effectively serve him as cheerleaders. In this light, I’m unsurprised that he might be impeached. I thought him unworthy of the presidency and unsuited to it from the start.

That said, I dread the divisiveness of impeachment, and — as things look right now, though they could change — I doubt that even an impeachment would result in conviction. That said, though, I also recognize that the impeachment process was designed in order to be used.

I have little to say about the specific issue with Ukraine. I haven’t been able to follow it under my current circumstances. But the thought that Mr. Trump might have attempted to use his ofice for personal gain certainly doesn’t strike me as implausible.

I understand “Trump derangement syndrome,” as I see it among many of the political left and in many mainstream news outlets. He irritates me so much that, though a life-long news addict and political junkie, I scarcely listen to the news any more. I dream of going an entire day without thinking about Donald Trump. But there’s been too much. It’s all Trump, all the time. As a reality star, he’s managed to take over our national discourse, and it’s incredibly irritating.

But I also understand something of those who voted for him. They’re sick and tired of being sneered at by their betters, by the bi-coastal elites, as racists and rubes and religious fanatics. (Some of them are those things, of course, but most are not.) So Trump was a chance to put a finger in the eye of the contemptuous elite class. I’m not unsympathetic to that. But resentment isn’t a good basis for policy.

That said — again! — I’ve liked some of the Trump administration policies, and I’ve particularly cheered its judicial appointments. Trump’s pledge to follow the Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation on judicial appointments was the one thing that tempted me to support him.

Posted from Helsinki, Finland

Uncategorized

Previous Post

September 24, 2019

Science and the Last Word

Next Post

September 25, 2019 Pilgrim's Regress and the Mythical History of the Croissant

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which disciple betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of sliver?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Mary Magdalene Andrew Judas Peter