“Those who can make you believe in absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher, Voltaire
Voltaire, who also said, “If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent him,” was likely making reference to religion in this week’s one-liner. Followers and believers are expected to unquestionably accept the teachings of the church and the stories in holy books such as the Bible, which to my rational mind, can be quite absurd. After all, look back across human history at the myriad atrocities that have been committed through the ages in the name of God and religion.
But I have a more contemporary interpretation of Voltaire’s quote that has to do with the way Donald Trump keeps saying and doing a absolutely absurd things, which his loyal base, the Republicans in Congress, and the “on-air personalities” and viewers of Fox News not only believe but embrace.
And his atrocities that they seem to turn a blind eye toward include, but are not limited to:
- separating migrant families at the border and putting children in cages
- attempting to ban immigration based upon religion
- calling neo-Nazis “very fine people”
- obstructing investigations into Russian meddling in our 2016 presidential elections
- extorting a foreign leader to dig up dirt on a political opponent in advance of the 2020 presidential elections
- obstructing Congress with respect to its impeachment hearings
- rolling back virtually every regulation designed to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat
- calling climate change a hoax and pulling out of worldwide effort to combat climate change
- selling out our country to Vladimir Putin and Russia
- profiting financially from his office as President
- abusing the power of the presidency
I could go on and on, but I think I’ve made my point. Besides, this post has gone way beyond being a one-liner.
Written for this week’s One-Liner Wednesday prompt from Linda G. Hill.
This, That, and the Other 
Maybe Donald is a reminder to us, of all that has gone astray
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A Trump- liner more likely.
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😂
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Our country is completely broken.
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That it is. How sad.
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If Christians (I am one) truly followed their second Commandment (love your neighbor), the absurdity you mention would greatly lessen. It’s how people use/abuse or intentionally interpret their faith teachings in a hurtful, unloving way. I recently wrote about separation of church at state because the Christian Trump supporters, who seem to look the other way or use scripture for their own purpose, drive me crazy, along with the faith leaders who support him as if he were God. Ugh! It’s a black eye for the Christians who really care about other people and this country, not themselves.
I don’t know what’s going to happen with impeachment, but Trump and his Republican cronies need to get out of office and this country needs to get a grip on what’s truly moral, legal and ethical. [\end of rant]
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I read your post. I wish more people who are Christian felt the same way you do. Thanks for your comment.
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Your post may have gone beyond a one liner, but in truth… These are all such valid points. The 2020 election can not get here fast enough. The people of this country need to rid of this evil Presidency.
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I want to quote you, Fandango: I think it comes down to money and power.
I refer back to https://fivedotoh.com/2019/12/15/dark-days/
And to https://fivedotoh.com/2019/12/15/who-won-the-week-12-15-19/
In our country, it has been the mythology of white supremacy along with the delusion that people, today, aren’t racist and that the Civil War wasn’t about slavery — yet, additionally, that bigoted discrimination supposedly ended after that war — which has us on the brink of finally ruining us. Ultimately, it’s still about power and money, but tied up with racism.
What was so awesome about this guy, this disgusting specimen in so many ways, that he garnered insurmountable attention during the Obama years? He soothed the itch on the part of maybe a third of this nation who were irritated by Obama being President.
What has happened to people who used to speak so much about our Constitution? They are succumbing to a base* that was driven by the Donald’s flashy money combined with his tacky campaign [before his presidential campaign] to delegitimize a black head of state. While the Trump family background could be questioned, that fades away as the drive to stick it to that other guy presented as all-consuming. Of course, pointing this out only leads to them being angrier and more dug in. Few will ever wake to what they are or have been part of.
* This is also of their own making; the Republican leaders far from innocent. They played with this fire, as did Republican “Christians” — questioning Obama’s identification as Christian or even a U.S. citizen… while scrubbing websites [to wit, theGrahams on Mormonism as a cult] to accept the Romneys as Christian. American [even Mexican] and white with money rules.
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I know you stopped yourself, but selling out the Kurds in Syria, embracing North Korea’s dictator and getting nothing in return, withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear deal and Russian nuclear treaties, verbally attacking our NATO allies and becoming the laughingstock of the world, embracing the Saudis even as they dismembered a journalist living in America, and appointing a cabinet of foxes to watch the chicken coops while personally profiting may add a few more dimensions—still not exhausting the awfulness. And all the personal insults—especially to women and people of color…
There’s a ray of hope in the gathering of Republican Never trumpers who are determined to see him defeated.
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Republicans, today, had the nerve to say Trump is draining the swamp… and so (say these slimy Republicans) that’s why all this noise of complaining — impeachment.
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Those are really important additions on the list, Annie.
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Yes, everything you mentioned could have been added to my list. I wish there were some never-Trump Republicans in the Senate, but there isn’t a spine among them.
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😢 not a one. The only “one” already left the party and became an Independent.
There’s a video clip of Amash at the top, above the article, embedded.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/31/politics/amash-vote-yes-impeachment-resolution/index.html
Amash, a libertarian conservative, was first elected to Congress during the Tea Party wave of 2010. He was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, but after Trump was elected to office, Amash found himself breaking with his conservative allies who have embraced the President.
In May, the Michigan congressman became the first sitting Republican lawmaker to say he believes Trump committed “impeachable conduct.”
When Amash quit the GOP, he wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that he had grown “disenchanted with party politics and frightened by what I see from it.”
…
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All they know how to do is to be disgusting.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/12/gop-congressman-barry-loudermilk-trump-bigger-than-jesus.html?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=exchange
… When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave …. more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this president in this process.
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Hello, Fandango… I have just nominated you for The Blogger Recognition Award!
http://beckiesmentalmess.blog/2019/12/19/blogger-recognition-award/
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Thanks, Beckie! 😉
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Hey. Did you know that Trump now “thinks” Christianity Today is a “far left magazine” — how dare they call him “profoundly immoral” as they do others? Did you know the “progressive” community elected Donald Trump? Ha-ha-ha-ha!!!
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Yeah. Amazing isn’t it?
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