Thursday, March 17, 2016

Donald Trump and Abraham Lincoln's Ominous Warning



There have been quite a few stories and cartoons in the media recently, wondering what Abraham Lincoln, if he was alive today, would say about the dangerous demagogue Donald Trump.

All seem to agree that the Great Emancipator wouldn't be impressed...



How could he be? 

When polls show many of Trump's supporters believe that he shouldn't have freed the slaves.

But I think Lincoln would also have a warning for his fellow Americans, and it couldn't be more chilling.



I think he'd read this threat from the bloated rabble rouser. 

Donald Trump predicted that there could be “riots” if the Republican nomination were to be decided by a contested convention this summer and ignored what he expects to be his own large lead in the delegate count.

” I think you’d have riots. I think you’d have riots,” he said.


I think bad things would happen, I really do. I believe that. I wouldn’t lead it but I think bad things would happen.” 


I think he'd watch this latest attack ad from Trump headquarters...



Which couldn't be cruder, or more misogynistic, or aimed more directly at the lowest common denominator. 

And then I think Lincoln would warn the American people about their history of extreme violence, and the dangers of a mobocracy. 

However far we may be today from the scenes of violence that Lincoln described, it’s easy to see the danger he was talking about gathering force across contemporary America. Donald Trump personifies the mobocratic spirit; he fuels it and is fuelled by it, though it is doubtful that he can control it. 

All the elements are there: the incessant, escalating lust for violence; the instinct for mobilizing a mob to take the law into its own hands; the claim that whole groups are the enemy; the belief that those who are not with the mob forfeit all protection from the mob and invite attack; the attribution of hostile conspiracies to peaceful independent actors; the contempt for evidence, as if accurate information and honest adjudication of competing claims were dirty tricks contrived to disadvantage the mob; the vilification of the press as hooligans who deserve to be beaten, if not killed; an all-encompassing animosity toward the government and its institutions; in short, an ever-intensifying lawlessness.

For that is exactly where Trump is leading the U.S., by whipping up the mob into a frenzy with his racism and his xenophobia, and encouraging them to take the law into their own hands.

At a time when so many Americans are so angry at what is happening to them and their country, and are looking for scapegoats to blame.

And it is what makes Trump so dangerous... 



Not just him, but his followers, and the murderous passions he has aroused.

For while his most fanatical followers would almost certainly riot if their leader was denied the nomination. What might they do if he was nominated, but lost the election?

Would it lead to mass civil unrest, or domestic terrorism on a scale never seen before?

Could it even lead to a new American civil war? 

For when the mob runs wild anything could happen.

So yes, let's hope the Great Emancipator was also right when he said this...



Let's hope that sanity prevails, and that more Americans wake up from this living nightmare.

And realize where the dangerous demagogue Donald Trump might lead them.

Before it's too late...

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11 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:08 AM

    I doubt many really care what Lincoln said,suffice it to say someone wasn't impressed.Obviously they didn't care much what Eisenhower said either about the military industrial complex.
    Here's my prediction.
    Trump gets knocked out of the race by way of some dirty back room deal.
    And I really believe Obama does not want Mr. and Mrs. Clinton and their endless miles of baggage anywhere near the Whitehouse.Also there may be a backroom deal there as well to keep Hillary out of jail when she is charged for the email thing and possibly charges concerning the Clinton Foundation.
    I believe the least worst option would be Joe Biden for Pres if he can tell his brain to stop saying stupid stuff with his mouth and Elizabeth Warren for VP.

    Here's a good link to an interview Author and Washington insider Roger Stone did about the Clinton's on WRKO radio in Boston.Parts one and two.
    Go to Youtube and type in Roger Stone WRKO.





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    Replies
    1. ExMTLer164210:22 PM

      Roger Stone has long been a hardcase right-wing Republican. He's now a Libertarian, so I wouldn't consider him a dispassionate observer when it comes to Hillary R. Clinton -- or any Democrat, for that matter.

      Delete
    2. e.a.f.2:45 PM

      all of what you say about Roger Stone may be true, but that still doesn't make him wrong about the out come of the candidate race.

      It would be nice to see a female American president, but given the "history" attached to the Clintons, that may not be possible. Joe Biden is being seen more and they may in fact be getting ready to have him run, if necessary. The Democrats do need a plan B. Biden, Warren, Saunders, and others can easily make up that plan.

      the Clintons are not necessarily seen as the elements of change, but rather the establishment. In my opinion Elizabeth Warren is much more progressive than Clinton and Biden is much nicer. As we have seen in Canada, nice is selling once again. Now its time to check with a fortune teller to see who will win the candidacy for each party.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous10:44 AM

    Lincoln, what a courageous man. Disconcerting that legacy of him and "founding fathers" is just a door mat for Trump and his thugs. Am hoping that the threat of mob violence does not intimidate those who may be able to act at the convention if he doesn't get his 1237.

    TS

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    Replies
    1. Hi TS....Lincoln was an amazing man, and his description of that town caught up in a hanging frenzy couldn't be more powerful. We had a glimpse of what a mobocracy might look and sound like during the last election campaign, but fortunately our Canadian values prevailed. Let's hope the better angels of America carry the day as well....

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  3. Anonymous10:52 AM

    Well Simon, that would explain why The Dunghole didn't want to upset the KKK. One fifth is a lot of racists cozied up to him.
    I think, if the GOP are able, deny the nomination ASAP and deal with the fallout now. Better to deal with it now than letting The Dunghole have more time to whip his supporters into even more of a frenzy.
    If they don't challenge it, then I have to believe that The Dunghole will not win the presidency. He will, like Harper, get 30% of the
    vote and hopefully, like Harper, disappear from the face of the Earth.
    JD

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  4. Anonymous4:14 PM

    Saunders brings hope and progress, but Trump brings vengeance and division. I doubt either emotion will be defeated by the simple failure of the politician to win the nomination, once begun a belief is not as easily eradicated. It will depend on the ability of the next president to unite the nation's groups, likely an impossible task. No matter what transpires, I think the US is ripe for a massive backlash of violence from those supporting Trump. I really hope I am wrong and just cynical today.

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    Replies
    1. Hi anon....it is indeed hard to imagine a good ending to this story. I think the Democratic candidate will win, but as you say the divisions will remain, and who knows what might happen...

      Delete
  5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/03/17/two-americans-just-begged-canadas-trudeau-to-run-for-u-s-president/

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/02/29/the-many-ways-canadas-trudeau-is-the-anti-trump/

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/amercans-beg-trudeau-to-run-for-president-1.3496129

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  6. Hi JD....it really is stunning that so many Americans would still defend slavery. I can only imagine what kind of people they must be, the absolute scum of humanity. I believe that Trump will in the end damage and split his party so much that he will not be able to win. When you split your party and motivate your opponents to vote, sooner or later you'll hit a brick wall....

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  7. Trump and Mini-Me

    https://shawglobalnews.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/raw_1d40_wb-oleary-trump-1-2.png

    ReplyDelete