If evangelicals are doing the God of Abraham’s work here on earth, he’s gotta love lawyers. And actually I apologize to lawyers, who are only doing their job. American evangelicals are really tergiversators (look it up).
Obviously, even opening the gate where they are penned up with the selfish ideology American “conservatives” have adopted does not induce them to any sort of freedom of the mind. They remain imprisoned, apostates to what Jesus actually meant.
Having said that, I think it illustrative to use one of the letters from last week that opposed my views, one from a Mr. Velsmid. The letter writer is certainly entitled to his views, but his weaving of “alternate facts” (meaning falsehoods) with opinion while labeling the truth as falsehood is exactly the method [by which] new conservatism has gained political and emotional power.
The key for conservatives is to take their preformed beliefs and to treat them as fact: “The Clintons lined their pockets with more than 94 percent of the donation revenues from their Clinton foundation and left the ‘poor’ in Haiti twisting in the wind.” This charge has never been substantiated in any way, and is a reflection of Trump’s campaign, taken from a couple of disaffected Haitians. In other words, Mr. Velsmid takes a charge made by a third party, and translates it to fact.
He then tells us: “The Trumps earned no financial benefit or incomes from the Donald J. Trump foundation,” when in fact that foundation remains opaque, except for the fact that it paid to have a portrait done of the great provider.
He goes on to tell us: Healthcare is often rationed, “death with dignity” is the law of the land and “government death tribunals are common.” Again this is all rubbish. He takes fake conservative talking points and presents them as fact. What he is confusing, and this would actually involve knowing something, is the fact that most foreign healthcare systems don’t spend anywhere near the amount the U.S. spends on end of life care.
There are no “death tribunals” and to say they exist is just lying, which conservatives have mastered. On the other hand I can understand why they’d be interested in sustaining life after all human thought has left the brain. It really isn’t much of a change for them.
And we’ll never know what Donald Trump does with his money until he releases his tax returns. I won’t hold my breath.
Timothy J. Parker
Peachtree City, Ga.
