Oh boy, how times have changed. In the 1980s, the Conservative Republicans backed a wholesome, Howdy Doody-esque Hollywood cowboy who loved God and his country and never uttered a foul word. This man, known as Ronald Reagan, was put on a pedestal by the Right and used as a rhetorical tool for whenever the Democrats did something crass or controversial. Bill Clinton has an affair? "Ronald Reagan would never have done that!" Joe Biden drops the "f-bomb"? "Ronald Reagan would never have done that!" The Family Values crowd has spent years and years attacking the Liberals for lewd and crass behavior. And now they have chosen to revel in filth!
Just last Friday, an audio tape was released where the GOP nominee Donald Trump boasted that he can get away with going up to a woman and "grab[bing] them by the pussy." Of course, much has been said about that, and it was even prominently featured as a topic in Sunday night's debate. Many Republicans have retracted their support from Trump after this debacle and rightly so. If you ask me, I expect the U.S. President to have a sense of decorum and respect for all people, not just the ones that look and live like him/her. Trump obviously does not have that, or he would not have said any of the crass, lewd, and disrespectful things he's said throughout the campaign. He's a bigmouth who can't keep himself calm and collected like his opponent, Hillary Clinton.
But, surprisingly, the very same people who say their nightly prayers to the Almighty Ronnie Reagan (May His Memory Live On Forever), bearing idols of him and Dale Earnhardt, Sr. in their home, are now saying that what Trump said was not that bad. The people who try to censor sex on TV are now okay with a presidential nominee who spouts "lockerroom talk." It's okay to be a married man in your fifties and talk about groping women. God forbid you like someone who is the same gender as you, because somehow that's more perverse than being a horn dog male after nonconsenting women. A transwoman can't use the bathroom they feel comfortable using because many Evangelical Conservatives are dead certain that men are going to fake being transgendered just to go in there and assault women. Now those same Evangelical Conservatives are gathering in masses, ready to vote in a man who would jump at the opportunity to actually assault their daughters and wives. What the hell happened in the Republican Party? How did they go from "no sex talk, no dirty words" to apologizing for and supporting Donald Trump's actions?
As many can tell, I'm a life-long, raging, bleeding-heart, Bernie-loving, free tuition-endorsing, LGBT-supporting, women's rights-promoting Liberal (a Libertarian Socialist à la Noam Chomsky and Ralph Nader, to be more exact). People suspect that I just hate Conservatism and Republicans and can't see a single bit of good in them. That's not true. I have many Republican family members and family friends whom I treasure. I admire their branch of Conservatism: a branch that has a wonderful love of tradition and the American spirit. A branch that worries that the government has too much control over the individual. A branch that fears that we are becoming too irreverent. This is a Conservatism I can admire and understand, because it borrows from libertarianism. These kinds of Republicans and I are both libertarians; I just happen to be a left-libertarian in favor of some government intervention (in order to create a more egalitarian version of capitalism), and they are right-libertarians in favor of no intervention into the capitalistic system. I also go against the Liberal grain by supporting the 2nd Amendment, but I do think certain restrictions should be made for the safety of our nation. So I am not just a biased Republican-hater. I have seen their side of the story, and I understand where many are coming from...
...but Trump? C'mon, people! He's NOT a real Conservative. He does not respect tradition or family values like other Republicans who ran for the election. He is playing to the Christian Right at the moment, but only because he has to. He never had any concern regarding religion until he ran for office. I'd rather the Republicans back some Fundamentalist nutjob who was actually sincere in his evangelism. Any Christian should be absolutely repulsed and sickened by what Trump said, because sexual assaulting someone is the worst thing you can do to a person, aside from straight-up killing them. And yes, what Trump said was about sexual assault, not just sex. He said he could grab a woman's genitals without her consent and get away. No consent means sexual assault in every case. Then again, the Old Testament seemed to be okay with rape, but Christians are no longer bound by the Old Law, so they should try to live like Christ and seek to do no harm to anyone. I am not a Christian, but I grew up with Christian relatives and went to church in my teens. I know enough about Scripture to know that Trump is not the candidate who aligns with Christian values. I'm not saying Hillary does, and I'm not promoting her. I'm just trying to make you turn away from Trump.
If nothing else, think about the millions of American women who have had to face men who talked like Trump talked or even did what we claims he did. I dated a guy who would rudely insult me in a sexual manner and use his immense physical strength to force me into doing his bidding. He was extremely misogynistic: the first time I took him to my room, he saw my drum kit and said, "That's the funniest looking kitchen I've ever seen!" Dating him was hell, and I had to break up with him over the phone because I was afraid of what he'd do to me had I broken up with him in person. I had mostly moved on from those memories, but this Trump scandal opened this old wound for me, and I've been feeling distressed for days. I am not the only one, either. Another woman I know had a similar experience and told me she also feels sickened by Trump and how people continue to rally around him. 1 in 5 women are raped at one point in their lives. 1 in 2 women undergo sexual violence other than rape in their lifetime. Sexual harassment and assault is a huge deal in this country. For the sake of women who are hurting deeply in this misogynistic world, do the right thing and reject Trump.
