Posted on 02/03/2016 9:48:24 AM PST by RetiredArmy
Ever since Donald Trump’s rise to 2016-contender prominence, the rap on him, and perhaps part of his broad appeal, has been that he’s not a conservative. And he’s not — he’s a nationalistic populist. Yet there’s another way to understand The Donald’s professed politics: as that of the first prominent “European-conservative†American presidential candidate. He’s not so much America’s next Ronald Reagan or Barry Goldwater, but her first Marine Le Pen.
A prerequisite for grasping this is understanding the true natures of liberalism and conservatism. While many have their own definitions of the latter — and will stubbornly insist they’re correct — the truth is that both political terms are provisional, meaning different things in different times and places. The term “conservative†in the 1970s referred to a communist in the USSR and someone staunchly anti-communist in the US; and a European conservative today, such as Britain’s David Cameron, is well to the “left†of our conservatives. Many other examples could be provided, but the point is this: liberalism and conservatism are not ideologies as much processes. Liberalism is the process of inexorably trying to change the status quo; conservatism is the process of trying to preserve the status quo. Thus, the actual positions the terms are seen as representing will vary depending on the status quo in question.
And when analyzing the Trump phenomenon, it’s clear that it’s roughly the same one evident in much of the West, the one fueling the fortunes of Le Pen in France, the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders (who has endorsed Trump), Britain’s Nigel Farage and Sweden’s Jimmie Åkesson. He also bears much in common with those figures.
Consider the qualities these European politicians share: they’re socially quite liberal. Their views on abortion range from indifference to tolerance to mild skepticism, on faux marriage they range from mild opposition to acceptance. In general, they say as little about these matters as they can and are willing to play to their audience. But then there’s their real passion, about which they generally seem sincere: nationalism, limiting im/migration, fighting Muslim terrorism and stopping Islamization. Sound at all familiar?
It’s also common (though not universal) among such figures to talk about preserving their nation’s “Christian heritage.†Now, it’s unimaginable that Le Pen and Wilders spend much time at an altar rail, and were Christian piety the order of the day in Western Europe, it would be easy to see them taking up the cudgels for secularism. But with already sclerotic Christian culture further threatened by a confluence of secularization and Islamization — and with Muslim chauvinists providing stark reminders of a very unappealing alternative — they’re inspired to become Crusaders protecting their nation’s Christian veneer.
Likewise, Trump cannot be mistaken for a desert mystic; he stated last summer that he never sought forgiveness from God (doing so is a Christian tenet), and hasn’t demonstrated much acquaintance with the faith. Yet he has also said he’s proud to be a Presbyterian, sometimes attends church and has bemoaned how Christianity is under attack in America. And whether you believe this is piety or posturing, for certain is this: it’s no surprise coming from an apparent nationalist. For being so means defending your nation’s culture, as it is, which in the West includes superficial Christianity. It means wanting to see church steeples and not minarets, crosses and not the star and crescent, and to hear church bells and not the Adhan — even if you talk more about the Easter Bunny than Jesus.
So what accounts for the popularity in the U.S. of a “European conservative� The same things accounting for it in across the pond. First, like Western Europe, we’re beset by a political establishment that encourages a culture-rending invasion by unassimilable peoples. And it’s just as with a “hot†invasion: all other problems are put on the back burner when barbarians are at the gate. Have you ever seen a guy wringing his hands about his daughter’s sleazy boyfriend while home invaders are busting down his door?
This helps explain why Trump is attracting support from groups most wouldn’t expect, such as evangelicals. Some find it inexplicable, but I think these believers’ attitude was reflected well by a devout Catholic man I know — a truly faithful fellow — who said some years back that he considered immigration an even bigger issue than abortion. His point was that all else is for naught if you’re subjected to demographic genocide and lose your nation.
Then there’s the second reason a European conservative would play well today: the US is becoming more like Europe. A not widely understood phenomenon is that the positions we generally associate with traditional American “conservatism†correlate with Christian belief. This is why church attendance is one of the best predictors of voting habits. Consider: in socialistic Western Europe, more than 50 percent of the population identifies as “irreligious.†Not surprisingly, this reaches a Richard Dawkins Award high in what’s perhaps the world’s most “liberal†country, Sweden, where 76 percent of the citizenry identifies as “not religious†or “atheist†(and how many of the rest are Muslim?). And in once-Marxist, now-fascist China, 90 percent thus label themselves.
The US isn’t yet that far gone, but we’re on the same road. According to Pew Research Center, Americans identifying as Christian declined from 78.4 percent to 70.6 percent of the population in just 7 years (2007 to 2014), and the religiously “unaffiliated†now account for almost a quarter of our nation. This just reflects the increasingly secular nature of succeeding generations: Among those born 1928 through 1945, 85 percent identify as Christian. But there is a steady degeneration of the generations, with only 56 percent of “Younger Millennials†(born ‘90 through ’96) labeling themselves so.
Yet even this paints too optimistic a picture. As this must-read Barna Group research company study found in 2002 already, only 22 percent of adults believed in Absolute Moral Truth while 64 percent said matters were “always relative to the person and their [sic] situation.†And they were practically the “wise eldersâ€: 83 percent of the teenagers subscribed to relativism — which is the antithesis of Christian belief — and only 6 percent believed in Truth.
And as Barna head George Barna put it, “[T]he alarmingly fast decline of moral foundations among our young people has culminated in a one-word worldview: 'whatever.' The result is a mentality that esteems pluralism, relativism, tolerance, and diversity without critical reflection of the implications of particular views and actions." Put simply and as I’ve explained many times, the notion that there is no Truth means that, in essence, there are no moral rules governing man. It is then that everything boils down to occultist Aleister Crowley’s maxim, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.â€
Thus does lacking the yardstick of Truth lead to, as Barna also found, people making decisions based on what “feels right.†And now we see the rise of relativistic moderns to whom nationalism and their own culture feel right, which is certainly preferable to the dominance of relativistic moderns to whom internationalism and multiculturalism feel right. Absent acquaintance with and adherence to Truth, however, a civilization will always descend into some kind of lie. So the most we can perhaps hope for is that, to quote Yogi Berra, we won’t one day have to say, “I think I made the wrong mistake.â€
bump
Great.
A foreigner. It’s so funny how the excuse for him not knowing the names of books in the Bible, eg Two Corinthians, is that those are how they say them in other countries.
He’s not ignorant, he’s just a foreigner!
Can’t make this stuff up.
Actually, America first is pure Reagan. Shining city on the hill is all about America being first, foremost and always. Trump is the only one getting it right. America isn’t about being a dumping ground for the refuse of the world nor is it about once American corporations leaving for cheaper distant shores. It is about America being a shining example of what we can do as a country. In word and deed I only see that in Trump.
He said he was a New Yorker.
Trump is the first Garbage Pail Kid to run for president.
Is Trump the First “European-conservative†American Presidential Candidate?Label him any way you want, he's the best real American for the job.
A foreigner. It’s so funny how the excuse for him not knowing the names of books in the Bible, eg Two CorinthiansWhat's even funnier is nobody really cares because most people couldn't name the books themselves...
And guess what? They live moral lives, probably worship god, even pray from time to time and get along just fine.
So if you want to see the real fool in this picture, look in a mirror.
Pimping your own blog?
I didn’t label him anything pal. I posted an article. You don’t like the article, take it up with the writer. And, I seriously doubt if he cares what you have to say about it.
I don’t care as much for Trump ideology (populism) as that he is a businessman and self-funded so he is not beholden to anyone. Most of his ideas are just common sense - what kind of bizarre world has been created in which enforcement of the borders is even an issue for any party?? If you don’t enforce your borders you don’t even HAVE a country!
I am a Cruz voter but also like and support Donald Trump. I absolutely love they way he drives the establishment nuts. When it comes to loving America, the way is was founded, constitution and free market capitalism, Trump is the real deal.
I was just explaining this to a friend last weekend. We’ve outsourced so much work from this country that we can’t help but become a west-euro-socialist state. The younger generations (Mllennials and GenY) already are in a west-euro-socialist mindset.
Once socialism is inevitable, the only way to preserve your nation at all is nationalism (and if you think it isn’t inevitable, just imagine what happens if you turn off the EBT cards forever. 25% of the possible work force is out of work. Where do you plan to find them jobs?)
As Thatcher said, “the trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money”. Well, it sure lasts longer if you don’t have to give it to a steady stream of incoming foreigners.
Slowing or stopping the flow of Mexicans and Muslims is the only way to buy us enough time to fix our internal problems with jobs and demographics and our corporate human resource policies.
People on FR are leaving real bitterness in others’ mouths about Trump and Cruz.
I support Trump exactly because he’s hopefully a real AH. I want a Titan who will fight for American sovereign and business interests like he were one of the 300. This election is for all the marbles. If the 2008 coup is not overturned, we shall go the way of ancient Sparta and become the story of the quaint belief that man can rule and govern himself.
Our business interests must be defined by our sovereignty. The TPP is likely to be voted on in the lame duck, hence the importance of the TPA. That bill eliminates US sovereignty.
Forces arrayed against the US include media, pols, and international businesspeople. There are trillions and trillions of dollars at stake.
WE CANNOT LOSE. HE WHO WILLS WINS.
We must become complete American warriors for America and be willing to do what is necessary-because we will become them by default anyway, if we don’t-and will pay the price for it.
I don’t know if or how we can have illegals and urbanites who are part of the FSA (Free SH** Army) to govern themselves. I simply do not know how that bridge will be crossed. They’ve crossed their Rubicon. I say, “Burn it.”
“I am a Cruz voter but also like and support Donald Trump. I absolutely love they way he drives the establishment nuts.”
Me too.
I loved Trump.
I thought Trump/Cruz all the way and we’d have both the 45th and 46th.
But he lost me when he began impugning Cruz’ integrity and character and talking nice about Pelosi, Reid, McConnell and Schumer.
Way too many red flags with Trump.
He’s also seems to be self-destructing.
Trump’s mother was Scottish. She may have said that as when Trump was a kid.
Exactly.
Trump has foreign influence even more than American.
(I actually don’t believe that excuse, but if that is the excuse, he is saying he’s not all that American).
In other words, is he the first US Presidential candidate to wholesale oppose the Islamification of the USA?
Yes, I think that’s probably fair.
Whether you think that’s a good thing or not will depend on whether or not you view the threat as real or exaggerated.
Over the last 7 years, I think a case can be made that the threat is not only real, but severe.
His tastes in decorative arts run that way, and his tastes in women. Does that mean he would govern that way? Remains to be seen.
My father is like Trump’s father. The son of German immigrants. My father, born in Illinois spoke German at hme before he spoke English. He had ‘interesting’ syntax in his words. I see no problem. However my mother’s side goes back to the 1600s (to Maryland from England). So I have an interesting mix.
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