Ever since Donald Trumps rise to 2016-contender prominence the rap on him and perhaps part of his broad appeal has been that hes not a conservative. And hes not hes a nationalistic populist. Yet theres another way to understand The Donalds professed politics: as that of the first prominent European-conservative" American presidential candidate. Hes not so much Americas 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 theyre 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 Britains 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 its clear that its 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) Britains Nigel Farage and Swedens Jimmie kesson. He also bears much in common with those figures.
Consider the qualities these European politicians share: theyre 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 theres their real passion about which they generally seem sincere: nationalism limiting im/migration fighting Muslim terrorism and stopping Islamization. Sound at all familiar?
Its also common (though not universal) among such figures to talk about preserving their nations Christian heritage." Now its 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 theyre inspired to become Crusaders protecting their nations 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 hasnt demonstrated much acquaintance with the faith. Yet he has also said hes 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: its no surprise coming from an apparent nationalist. For being so means defending your nations 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 were beset by a political establishment that encourages a culture-rending invasion by unassimilable peoples. And its 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 daughters sleazy boyfriend while home invaders are busting down his door?
This helps explain why Trump is attracting support from groups most wouldnt 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 youre subjected to demographic genocide and lose your nation.
Then theres 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 whats perhaps the worlds 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 isnt yet that far gone but were 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 elders": 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 The 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 Ive 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 Crowleys maxim Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law."
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 wont one day have to say I think I made the wrong mistake."
Ever since Donald Trumps rise to 2016-contender prominence the rap on him and perhaps part of his broad appeal has been that hes not a conservative. And hes not hes a nationalistic populist. Yet theres another way to understand The Donalds professed politics: as that of the first prominent European-conservative" American presidential candidate. Hes not so much Americas 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 theyre 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 Britains 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 its clear that its 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) Britains Nigel Farage and Swedens Jimmie kesson. He also bears much in common with those figures.
Consider the qualities these European politicians share: theyre 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 theres their real passion about which they generally seem sincere: nationalism limiting im/migration fighting Muslim terrorism and stopping Islamization. Sound at all familiar?
Its also common (though not universal) among such figures to talk about preserving their nations Christian heritage." Now its 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 theyre inspired to become Crusaders protecting their nations 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 hasnt demonstrated much acquaintance with the faith. Yet he has also said hes 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: its no surprise coming from an apparent nationalist. For being so means defending your nations 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 were beset by a political establishment that encourages a culture-rending invasion by unassimilable peoples. And its 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 daughters sleazy boyfriend while home invaders are busting down his door?
This helps explain why Trump is attracting support from groups most wouldnt 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 youre subjected to demographic genocide and lose your nation.
Then theres 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 whats perhaps the worlds 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 isnt yet that far gone but were 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 elders": 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 The 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 Ive 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 Crowleys maxim Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law."
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 wont one day have to say I think I made the wrong mistake."