Why does everything always have to be "all or nothing?"
Screeching that any disagreement is because of "hate" is simple-minded and childish. Stop it.
I am getting to the point where my primary principle in politics is this: It is not all or nothing. This is because tribalism has overridden our critical thinking skills and any departure from Republican or Democratic doctrine makes you a "hater" who is "deranged."
The "all or nothing" mentality is not new, and has been an article of faith among many Leftists for generations now. If you disagree with something in the civil rights movement, it must be because you are "racist." Critical Race Theory stipulates that any difference in outcomes between Blacks and Whites is assumed to be because of "racism." If you do not think men can become women, you "hate" transgenders and you want to murder them. I have seen the claim that J.K. Rowling (who has long been an advocate for homosexual rights) wants to "murder" trans people more times than I can count. This is what happens when mass hysteria overcomes reason.
"All or nothing" is more common with President Trump than any other person in politics today. If you say something Trump does is bad but not apocalyptic, some on the Left consider you to be a MAGA bootlicker who is "minimizing his crimes." Meanwhile, some on the Right accuses you of having "Trump Derangement Syndrome" (TDS) and screeches that you "hate" the President for any disagreement at all. Jonah Goldberg has described this latter phenomenon as "Critical Trump Theory."
Seriously, people. Do you have children? Do you know you can disapprove of someone's actions and still love him? Because that is what being a parent is while you are training your child to have good manners, be polite, be respectful, and avoid bad behavior. We train our children to be good people and we discipline bad behavior because we love them and we want them to succeed. But while many people in MAGA recognize that it is not "all or nothing" regarding children, they are incapable of accepting any criticism at all of President Trump.
This, of course, brings me to the President's blasphemous post on Truth Social presenting him as a Christ figure healing someone with supernatural powers. There was a time when Christians would have universally condemned an image like that being shared by a politician. But when conservatives who support and voted for President Trump say this is a bad thing to do, they were accused of having "TDS" and called obscene names. Why does support of Trump require a complete and total endorsement of every single thing he does, while no disagreement is ever allowed? Yes, I understand that President Trump himself is a very brittle man who sees every disagreement as a personal betrayal, but rational adults should not be emulating this deeply effeminate worldview.
President Trump's blasphemous post serves three purposes. First, it is a loyalty test via a humiliation ritual. The people who beclown themselves defending it are showing their loyalty. Trump loves effusive praise, so creating images like this is a sure fire way to get his attention. Second, it allows Trump supporters to root out "heretics." Finally, it is a way to "own the libs" by angering them against not only President Trump, but against Christians generally. The whole thing is very childish.
Folks, this needs to stop. Moral standards are black and white. There is such a thing as right and wrong. There is objective truth, and some things are false. But human beings are fallen and flawed. The exact same person is capable of doing things that are good and commendable, and also things that are terribly wicked. We should have an "all or nothing" mentality regarding moral standards, but never regarding human beings. President Trump is not perfectly righteous, but he is not irredeemably evil and incapable of doing anything good. Disagreement - with Trump or anyone else - is not "hatred." We need to eliminate this simplistic mindset from our lives.
