Can the Trump Haters at Least Base Their Opinions on Something besides Feelings?

We live in a culture of feelings. Many people today replace thoughts with whatever visceral reaction they have at the moment. Perhaps they feel the way they do because they ate a piece of bad meat, as C.S. Lewis once observed, but don't disturb them with a request for facts. They know what they know because they feeeeel it's so. 

That was my reaction this morning when a friend sent me an article by Jason Taylor. I'm not familiar with him, in fact I never heard of him before, but he says he's pro-life and he sure hates Trump. He makes a few general statements like:

"Would he appoint Supreme Court Justices that would uphold and stand for the value of life? I don’t believe in my heart that he would." Well, that clinches it! Whatever is in Jason's heart must be true.

and,

"There are so many things about Donald Trump that scare the living bejesus outta me I’ve lost count." Well, yes, that surely clinches it. I wonder if, like the students at Emory University, he is afraid of "Trump 2016" chalk signs on the sidewalk.

and,

"When it comes to running the Nation, and being the leader of the free world I will make no apologies to say that Hillary Clinton is far better suited (no pun) to handle the day to day activities that a President must handle." Really? Is he serious? Now he's scaring me. But in his heart I guess that REALLY clinches it!

Here's the email I sent to my friend whom I respect and admire although I cannot agree with the NO TRUMP position:

Dear Friend:

We’ll all have to do the best we can. You know I respect you.

But this article says nothing except that Jason Taylor has a visceral reaction against Trump. It’s his opinion and he gives no facts, not a single one, on which he based his opinion. He’s just scared of the bogey man, Trump. And believes “in his heart” that Hillary will run the country better than Trump. That is an absolute head shaker. 

In the end he says he’ll choose the woman over the child, but the essay is the essay of a child who says this is what I believe because I believe it. If you ask the child why he believes what he believes he responds, “Just because.”

I disagree with him on several points. First, children don’t build successful businesses as Trump did. Second, hard-core pro-abortionists don’t appoint solid pro-lifers to serve as their top domestic adviser as Trump did. Third, they don’t put out a list of potential court nominees that pro-lifers across the board support as Trump did. Hard core pro-aborts also don’t meet with leading pro-lifers to discuss their concerns and listen to their voices as Trump did a few weeks ago.

Is Trump being nothing but a cynical pragmatist? Maybe...but, on the other hand, just maybe, he is like the pagan king Cyrus whom God used to bring the Israelites out of exile in Babylon. God sometimes uses odd instruments to do his will. I think Trump deserves the benefit of the doubt. 

Fourth, is Taylor joking about Hillary and war? Hillary is an Obama clone and Obama has increased the instability of the U.S. exponentially, especially in the Middle East. And then there’s Hillary’s disgraceful Benghazi betrayal and the email scandal that made top secret information easily accessible to the enemy, not to mention her taking donations from our enemies all over the world for the Clinton Foundation. If she keeps us out of war it will be because she’s selling the country to our enemies! 

Trump is used to delegating authority to competent people. He isn’t a micro-manager. He doesn’t have to make all his decisions unilaterally. He can appoint good people. There is talk that he would name Trey Gowdy as Attorney General. That would be fantastic! 

Taylor is dreaming when he talks about taking the Congress. The establishment OWNS the Congress. Even when good people get elected they often turn establishment relatively quickly like Paul Ryan because they find out fast they can’t get anything done unless they have the backing of the good ole boys. 

I will vote for Trump, not because he’s my first choice, but because I think he is teachable. Hillary is not. Taylor is doing what he can to make his prophecy that Hillary Clinton wins a self-fulfilling one. If he can convince enough people not to vote for Trump -- voila, “See, I was right.” That is truly the behavior of a child.

Thank you for asking about my retreat. It was wonderful. Fr. Buckley is a man of prayer and sacrifice. He is getting frail but still fasts for us on the day of the general confession and when we are meditating on the passion. I never asked him about the election. I simply pray every day for the outcome. I don’t put my trust in men, but I think we have an obligation to try to limit the harm of our elected leaders. Hillary will accelerate the evil; we know that for a fact. Trump, I believe, will at least put the brakes on it in a few areas. To shrug and say Hillary is inevitable, as Jason Taylor does, seems morally questionable to me.

And yes, if the ballot is Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump, I will vote for "The Donald" without a backward glance and with many prayers for our poor battered nation.