I have written very little about this election cycle. It’s contentious and causes unnecessary divisions between everyone; strangers, friends, spouses, parents…probably even house-cats.

And I’m not here to sing the praises of Donald Trump.  I have said, and continue to say, that I understand those who have passionate objections to him.  But on the other hand, many of us find many reasons to object to Hillary Clinton.  And we aren’t stupid.  We have our own ideas, ideologies and desires for the future of the Republic, such as it is.  I don’t want to insult anyone.  But I’m getting a little weary of being insulted.  I am a middle-aged, white, male, conservative Christian of Appalachian heritage, who lives in Appalachia.  And I’m so tired of hearing people like me, especially men like me, insulted for the beliefs that are important to us,  some of which come from the fabric of our faith and culture, not from perceived hatefulness in the minds of our political opponents.

So I have to say, I’m very saddened by the dismissiveness of top Democrats.  Just this week Bill Clinton mocked people in WV (my home) and KY for not supporting his wife.  He called them ‘the coal people.’  Follow the link and see it for yourself.   He points out that he won those states and they prospered.  Yes, but times have changed and that prosperity, such as it was, doesn’t remain.  KY and WV face crushing poverty and addiction.  Any ideas on how to fix that?  Probably not.

https://freebeacon.com/issues/bill-clinton-mocks-coal-people-support-trump/

Not to be outdone, Mrs. Clinton (ever the uniter) says that half of GOP candidate Trumps supporters are deplorable and are racist, sexist and homophobic.  Seems like a bad idea to me, but I’ve never been a presidential candidate.  Go figure.  I thought we weren’t supposed to stereotype people?  Oh, I forgot, you can be intolerant of those you consider intolerant.  You can judge people for judging or something like that. More likely, when you’ve lived your entire adult life in a political and ideological echo-chamber, when you are buffered on all sides by boot-lickers and sycophants, you can dare to insult and ‘other’ huge portions of the country.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-10/hillary-calls-half-trump-supporters-racist-sexist-homophobic-basket-deplorables

This reminds me, of course, of former Secretary of State Clinton’s clear disdain for an entire region of the US when she said she was going to put a lot of mines and miners out of business.  (Admittedly, she was just echoingPres. Obama’s former plans.) Whatever you feel about coal and renewables, there was probably a better way to put it.  If I were running I’d say, ‘we honor your contribution to the greatness of this amazing country, and we respect the deep, proud traditions of Appalachia, but we want to move you in a new direction, toward even greater economic opportunity and security!  And we’ll find a way to do it without putting you on welfare!’  What do I know. I’m a doctor.  But then, I give bad news all the time so maybe I’m used to it.

https://thefederalist.com/2016/03/14/hillary-clinton-has-a-message-for-coal-miners-youre-fired/

And then there’s Rep. Pelosi.  Ah yes, the lady who so eloquently told us that white men vote for Trump because of Guns, Gays and God (‘God being a woman’s right to choose’…I could write for a while on that little bit of unintentional idolatry!)  She says they’re you know, not ‘college educated.’  (The horror!)  Careful Rep. Pelosi, it looks as if lots of those college educated men are making less than the troglodytes you are referring to who dared not to have a degree, but instead went to work in labor, trades, industry, private businesses or the armed forces.  The morons you disdain might actually have money to give to campaigns, compared with the kids who have diplomas in ‘Gender Studies with an emphasis on the effects of global warming on gender pronouns.’  Granted, when you get your coffee or need some yard-work, they’ll be happy to oblige.  Of note, she also says those monstrous uneducated white men actually vote against their economic interest.  I hear that a lot.  What she’s saying, along with all the other big players on the left, is this:  ‘I always legislate with my economic interest in mind.  Why doesn’t everyone?’  Of course, Rep. Pelosi is  extraordinarily wealthy, so the plan worked.  But what happened to ‘money isn’t everything,’ or ‘keep money out of politics,’ or ‘follow your beliefs?’  To the left, respecting one’s beliefs is only valuable if it means voting the right way.  And if money can change that, and make a conservative, blue-collar white man into a state dependent, then he should follow the money into servitude.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/27/nancy-pelosi-hillary-clinton-struggles-with-white-/

All of this is tiresome.  The ‘you’re so stupid because you disagree with me’ meme is un-American and is, itself, deplorable.  We all believe things for different reasons.  Some good, some bad, but insults don’t change any of that.

And when you insult men like me, who work hard to be good citizens, to be good at our jobs, to care for our families and obey the laws of God and man, you only drive the political, cultural and geographic wedges deeper and deeper.

Worse, when you insult an entire region of the United States, which has provided power and resources, workers and soldiers to the nation for hundreds of years, and treat them as irrelevant and expendable, as beneath your elite contempt, you only confirm their suspicions and make the election that much clearer to them.

Montani semper liberi!

Edwin

 

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