avatarJohn Worthington

Summary

The article reflects on the perceived decline of integrity and reality-based governance within the GOP, highlighting a shift towards theatrics and dishonesty among certain Republican politicians.

Abstract

The author of the blog post laments the loss of a bygone era characterized by the respect for truth and integrity among American leaders, particularly within the Republican Party (GOP). The piece contrasts the pragmatic and experienced "great men" of the past with contemporary GOP figures like Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, George Santos, and Kevin McCarthy, who are criticized for their sensationalism, lies, and lack of accountability. The author questions the motivations behind the embrace of fabrications and performance art in politics, suggesting that this trend undermines the principles of good governance and the respect for truth. The article also touches on the importance of understanding the difference between right and wrong, and the responsibility of public figures to uphold honesty. It concludes by promoting workshops aimed at fostering better understanding and creation of reality through interpersonal relationships and self-awareness.

Opinions

  • The author expresses a sense of nostalgia for a time when American leaders, particularly older men who had lived through war, were respected for their wisdom and commitment to truth.
  • There is a clear disapproval of the current state of the GOP, with specific criticism directed at politicians like Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene for their lack of preparedness and irresponsible rhetoric.
  • The author is critical of the lies and fabrications peddled by certain GOP members, such as George Santos and Kevin McCarthy, and the continued insistence on these lies even when they are known to be false.
  • The piece conveys skepticism about the motivations of politicians who engage in sensationalist behavior and lie for political gain, suggesting that this is a form of self-demeaning performance art.
  • There is a call for accountability and truthfulness in politics, particularly in the context of the GOP's role in the attempted overthrow of the government and the denial of the 2020 election results.
  • The author questions the judgment of those who believe in outrageous claims without factual basis, highlighting the absurdity of such beliefs and the failure to verify them.
  • The article implies that the current political climate, where truth is often suspended, is at odds with the values and skills of critical thinking and discernment that were once highly regarded.
  • It is suggested that workshops on program theory and dyadic relationships can provide individuals with tools to better understand their beliefs and improve interpersonal dynamics, which may counteract the negative impact of political theatrics.

To Be or Not To Be: Is the GOP Trading Reality for Theatrical Thrills?

Illustration designed specifically for this blog by BSIENKART (used with permission from the artist)

There was once a time when all across America there existed grouchy old guys who were respected because they weren’t fools. These were generally tacit, north of 40, men who did things. They could have been bankers, or farmers, or mechanics, or millhands, or barbers, or doctors and even a lawyer, but they carried the burden of knowledge that comes from surviving a war that reaped men just like them without regard to imagined safety. These men were wary of sensational claims of any kind.

The thing they knew is that it could well have been them who gave their all and they all knew they owed their lives to those who no longer lived. These were not petty men. They were men who understood the value of life. They shared the ideal that it should be possible to meet life with the respect that their fallen brothers had demonstrated. Alas, those were days of yore and these men now gone are still legendary for the giant spirit they exhibited to survive. They seemed to have a common understanding of how to play within the rules and still do all that is necessary to maintain normal life. That knowledge does not seem to exist in certain significant circles in the times we currently live in. It could be that it exists, but is not accented as much as it once was.

I can’t help but wonder if that kind of thinking is what folks get nostalgic for? Probably not, but it couldn’t hurt if the Gaetz boy from down in Florida had some friends who understood how unprepared the guy might be to be taking on responsibility for laws governing the future byways of the mix of cultures that is the United States. The same could be true for Margie. It does not appear that she has dependable friends. What friend would let a friend drive drunk or say that a national divorce will play well? Does the girl not have any advisors? I get that it might play well back in Georgia where she’s something of a hero and I suppose it isn’t fair to think she should represent common sense at least. It’s not like that part of Georgia is backwards. I doubt you can find anyone at all who would think Jewish space lasers even exist.

Politics by nature has to be a give and take, and calling the other guy’s bluff is necessary to get anything done. But why a person of any age would consider it wise to tell a lie, knowing at the time it was a lie, and then continue to insist that the lie is not a lie? Mr. Santos certainly has done as much. But then, so has Mr. McCarthy. I’m sure these men know they lie but it must be too embarrassing for them to admit it, or they had no respect for those to whom they fed the lie. Wait a minute, that would be me, or maybe you.

I don’t mind that kind of lie so much though. I do mind the kind of lies that Mr. DiS… and Mr. Abbot peddle. These fellows are listening to voices in their heads. Mr. DiS… knows that he does not have the right to demand that anyone use predesignated language. How preposterous can the man be? He leaps before he looks and that can’t end well. Mr. Abbot sends people to sightsee in places other than Texas as a way to say he’s doing something for Texas. Like the power grid in Texas that is allegedly still quasi-functioning. I don’t live there so I don’t mind, but lying to cover up incompetence? I guess it could be part of the job description for journeyman politicians down there in Texas. I’ll tell you what. That could explain a lot.

But the kind of lie that I think is the most horrible to behold is the kind that the XVP is demonstrating for God and everyone to see. He might be between a rock and a hard place, but come on now, XVP, man up and tell the whole truth. The guy wants to run for president but doesn’t want to tell the truth about what he knows about an attempted overthrow of the very government he wants to preside over? Is there a place in the universe where that makes sense? Not in a universe built by those men from long ago, that’s for sure. But in this universe where you and I live, we are beset by Karens and Margies, and Laurens and Kevins and Matts, and even Josh/Ron/Gregs. These folks seem to think it’s somehow cool to play with the truth as though it were Silly Putty.

I don’t know when the truth requirement was suspended for public figures or why it was replaced with performance art. I guess I just do not understand how someone can demean themselves in the Alex Jones style and expect that the world will not notice. Those types of people seem to relish becoming spectacles for the sole purpose of being noticed well and to scam the true believers out of a few bucks. Were their parents never at home when they were growing up? Do grown adults really have to be the center of attention at any cost? How does that make any sense?

I have to believe that we all know what is fair and what is honest and even where the line between right and wrong is. It can be blurry, of course, but we all know where it is. But if I believe that, then how do I justify people, like some right of center politicians, who claim outrageous things that simply do not exist when it is possible to demonstrate that those same people know their outrageous claims are not based in fact at all? One of the lawyers for the stop the steal scam claimed she knew how she knew because someone she knew went into a dream-like kind of state and then divined that the election had been stolen because the voting machines were rigged. No one checked to see if that claim could be true? Or was it simply accepted because it was a convenient lie? Did Rudy check? Donny Jr.? Jared? Mark? Lyndsey? Nope, no one checked or, if they did, they jes fergot to mention it after that.

I don’t much care what side of the menagerie you’re from. I know you have enough sense to know when you’re being lied to by politicians. You start by seeing if their lips are moving. It’s their job, after all. The real questions are what’s a politician lying about and why. With the Lord of Mar y Lago, he’s trying to convince someone that he is not a loser and especially not like goody-two-shoes Joe. With the other Florida resident, Mr. DiS…, one fears what will happen if he begins to believe that he really has the power to decide for the world. He doesn’t, but you have to wonder what it would take to convince him that he doesn’t. Look at what it requires to convince the Lord of Mar y Lago that he is no longer president. Of course, if excitation causes interlock, then that sojourn in his life had to be more exciting than he may have expected, huh?

So, one can’t really blame the fellow. But those great men of a bygone era had more than their share of excitement and interlock with an actual war where they watched their comrades fall. And even so, they were able to distinguish facts from horse manure. Surely, that’s a human skill set that hasn’t been lost on us folks, no matter how much that manure has been filtered to look good on sound bites.

Forging Agreement’s newest on-demand workshop is available on Teachable now. Learn more about the ideas that John introduces in his blogs in the Program Theory On-Demand Workshop!

One way to think about how your mind works is to consider it as a biocomputer. It has an operating system and different types of applications and programs that run when called, in similar fashion to a regular computer. The results of this workshop will give you new ways to consider your own beliefs, emotions, feelings and logical thoughts and how you can choose to modify them to meet your own requirements.

The workshop combines a series of on-demand videos with group discussions. Program Theory is taught by John Worthington and Paul Grenci. Contact @forgingagreement on Facebook or Instagram or email [email protected] for more information!

The most recent online Reality Creation Through the Dyad Workshop has just wrapped up. The Dyad workshop is an exploration into the relationship that exists between two people- any two people. A Dyadic relationship can be with a spouse, significant other, business partner, co-workers, family members, etc. These relationships can be wonderful and challenging all at the same time, but that is the beauty of relationships; traversing the good, the bad and everything in between.

In this interactive workshop, couples/individuals are afforded the opportunity to examine ever so common problems and tried and true solutions that guarantee an ongoing relationship if one is warranted.

This workshop will be happening on a monthly basis and runs over 2 weeks of 4 consecutive evenings. Contact @forgingagreement on Facebook or Instagram or email [email protected] for more information!

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Republican Party
Politics
Reality
Respect
Theater
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