Having studied the intersections of social connections, culture, politics and DC systems, and after a long careful review of our current state of being, I have come to a conclusion that sets the conversation around the Thanksgiving dinner table in 2024.
I earnestly believe that in the USA, on a social and political level, there are two group assemblies in a transitional period of dynamic opposition to each other.
♦ Those who pretend.
♦ Those who do not pretend.
There are republicans and democrats who pretend, and there are democrats and republicans who do not pretend.
My contention is that what we call “MAGA” is a larger assembly of the non-pretending group. Hence, the cross-party/cross-cultural cross-over, and what is often called the division in our nation.
Discuss…
Posted in President Trump
I totally agree with the coming together of a broader coalition that includes everyone across America, all “divisions” have come together under what President Trump has called a “Common Sense” platform. That we are truly all “Americans”.
This includes the MAGA crowd that had success in 2016, which could very well have been a much larger group, if not for the vote counting issues. That and the Covid weapon that that was deployed against not only the USA, but the world. It was not only an agent of death but an economy destroyer as well.
My thinking now is that President Trump has had the best of intentions, always, but may have not been completely aware of the massive task he undertook back 2016. That by simply Making America Great Again was not sufficient, it is a worldwide issue that also is huge and will take cooperation across the globe. And we are seeing this in recent elections where nationalistic candidates for the highest office of their respective nations around the globe are being voted into power.
As Sundance once pointed out, the battlefield is now contested in the economic field more so than actually invading another country. Fought with trades, sanctions, tariffs etc. Our carrier groups are now specific people groups being deployed, while yes, military backing is a must. But the carrier groups of old can now be destroyed anywhere they are positioned and are now indefensible as demonstrated recently by Russia and the “Hazel” missile. Battalions can be deployed to maintain areas yes,but can also be wiped out in a number of ways.
I believe also that Putin has some “common sense” in him, he has shown restraint as America seems to have actually deserved the moniker of the “Great Satan’. Not the citizens themselves either here and elsewhere, but the governments and those who are profiting off death all around the world.
So, maybe now the President is allowing some concessions to be made, is trading off a few things here and there, such as his stance on abortion (which I actually don’t know what it is to be perfectly honest), bringing in the masses who truly want to be free to live and be left alone to pursue their lives. Maybe some concessions in his staffing choices here and there, and not a sudden culling of all the evil all at once, but he is definitely making strides towards that goal.
It does require a civil obedience for the greater good of society, which means there are laws that absolutely need to be enforced. And not “laws for thee but not for me”. There must be justice. There must be truth. There must be accountability.
Yes, I sound like a “utopian” proclaimer, a PeaceNik ( I do reside in California :D). But I do love Rodney King’s “Why can’t we all just get along”. The human condition at times is the most beautiful thing to behold, and yet can be the ugliest, most disgusting, destructive and vile of being out there. There are wolves, who despise the sheep, as has been forever. The seven deadly sins are abundant. They have tried to kill our President several times. They have succeeded as in the case of Prime Minister Abe of Japan, and many others. President Trump is still standing, as he will even unto death.
My hope is that the sheep are gathering together in too huge of numbers that the wolves are backed into the sea and banished forever. One of the teachings I heard back in Bible School was, “Revival (a turning back towards God) most notably throughout history, and as recorded in the Bible, comes through either “desperation” or desolation”.
That we are actually becoming “woke”. Or as Sundance puts it, realists.
We are obviously in desperation mode, as many are turning toward a more common-sense approach which is drawing many. This can hopefully stem the tide as we are quickly approaching that “desolation” stage. Total destruction looms on the horizon. But it appears the “divisions” are now gathering together across all creeds, races, nations and religions for that matter, to actually build a better world. We should be making plans to reach Mars instead of destroying our fellow human beings and buying a mega yacht as a reward.
Long ramble, but my feeling is that President Trump has got this, that maybe Putin as well of some other leaders are gaining a renewed sanity. There are some places such as the Middle East it seems, who still want to kill anyone not like them. I hope we don’t fall into that same category.
It is “Complicated Business Folks”, but I believe Mr. Trump has gained even more wisdom and discernment over the past 4 years. Everything is connected, much as in the “Butterfly Effect”, and it will take a worldwide coalition much as the one came together here in the USA on November 5th. As the election unfolded and victory declared that evening, I felt much like I did when watching the moon landing. That this result is going to have a long and far-reaching impact the world over. May it be so.
As always Sundance, thank you for this Refuge. I have learned so much I can never thank you, and all of you others, in full.
BTW, you have a nice set of wide shoulders, no wonder you can carry a heavy load!!!
Is that Sundnce in the Florida muntain region around Ft. Meyers?
🤣
He posted that while visiting Russia.
Good post, Derk. I quite agree with, particularly, your third paragraph: that President Trump was perhaps surprised with the magnitude of the evil he was facing back in 2016.
However, I also believe that he didn’t shy away from that evil but embraced it and fought it like hell, and he was perhaps pleasantly surprised that the American people (MAGA) backed him up and came through like the champs that we are – both when we elected him the first time around and again 3 weeks ago when he asked us once more this time around to step up. With the help of our Heavenly Father and our fearless leader President Trump, we got ‘er done.
Granted, there is much more to be accomplished. But I know in my heart that we can. God bless President Trump, and God bless America.
Yes great post Derk, and as usual thanks to Sundance for initiating it
Sadly over here in the Old Mother Country (Britain) things are not looking too bright.
We have a multi part governing system, but the two main parties are two cheeks of a Derry Air.
Just to give one example
Up here in Scotland we have a so called Scottish parliament. Some time ago they decided that if a man wants to be a woman, all he needs to do is sign a piece of paper saying so, and hey presto! He/it/they/them is/am one.
To counter this nonsense a group of grown ups (allegedly funded by J. K Rowling of Harry Potter fame) took the government down to the Supreme Court in London to overturn this nonsense.
The Scottish Government have sent high ranking very expensive lawyers down to defend their case.
The other day, Mr Swinney the Head Honcho of our ‘Scottish Government was asked by a Daily Telegraph reporter if a man could become pregnant.
He said No.
The reporter then asked if so then why are you spending millions on defending a court case where you say Yes.
The first minister replied that is a separate issue.
I know this is long winded but it is a perfect illustration of how close to the gates if hell Britain has come.
“Two cheeks of a Derry Air”….I love it…
This is another one for our Wordman…
hhhhhh, it’s exhausting isn’t it Patrick? Just exhausting. But you keep talking hard bringing the truth…..
again, God brought him to this, God got him through this. The whole world witnessed a miracle……a few miracles actually.
God is leading all to this common sense mode. He gets the glory for all of this.
That was well thought out and well put together ,Derk My belief had always been a simple one. I would not want to see a extreme Right or a extreme left running this country,both are extremely dangerous.Take our current Uni party /the RINO battalion aliened with the Democrats communist division. They have stole us blind ,with wars Biologist and many ways they spend with nothing but a pipeline back to them through family and friends. I hope trump well,but am afraid he already has some who are nothing but CIA/deep state Watchers. A riotous man in Politics and the Bureaucracy,is as scarce as Hens Teeth.
The sheep have fangs. 😁
Wolves beware. 🐺
Those who embrace the values of the left, a.k.a. Democrats, hate accountability. Hence they hate God. And anyone who worships God. They refuse to face the reality that they need to accept responsibility for their own actions. That starts at a very early age. If it continues into adulthood, the product is a democrat voter. I will say that some of them have critical thinking skills, but they are used, as we have seen in our government, for nefarious purposes or to continue the deception that a person is not accountable for their actions. It’s always someone else who did it. The result is those who deceive and those who are deceived. One big happy family going to hell in a handbasket.
You’ve encapsulated the prior HOA in our hood. These crazies are everywhere!
Indeed charlie
This in a nutshell. At the end of the day it boils down to if you accept there is a God or not. If you do and you subject yourself to that reality you will live by the immutable absolutes that God has created in nature.
If you agree there is a God but deny him you get the lunatics on the left who have gone full relative. The sane ones on the left are the ones who will believe in absolutes and acknowledge them but still push for the left wing talking points because they do not want to acknowledge God and morality.
Praise Jesus!
For once the citizens remember their history and recognize that this war isn’t between left and right. This is why Tulsi, RFK Jr, and Elon joined Trump. This is a war against tyranny.
WHAT STARTLED Marc Andreessen – THE ANNOUNCED TYRANNY in The White House Meeting
( HOPE He TELLS WHO WAS IN THAT ROOM ! )
At what time in the video
To pretend OR not to pretend – an interesting thesis.
I wonder to what degree that dynamic can be explained or described by Crowd Theory or Crowd Psychology. It seems to me that to choose not to pretend, especially if it would be a minority position, would require an “independence streak” in one’s psyche, or a feeling of supreme confidence in one’s decision making process.
Of course, I am only wondering…
The long-term effect of being infected with crowd madness is eventually, inevitably, having to make excuses for the ridiculously stupid things that one witnesses or is asked to do. Making excuses is the blind side of pretending.
Independence was inculcated in me at a very early age, because of childhood abuse and being bullied.
Made me stubborn and unwilling to sweep the truth under the rug.
Which lead to more abuse and bullying, which lead to more stubborness and so on.
I mention this because I think the average American and maybe average citizen of most countries, is tired of being abused and bullied.
God willing, there will be a huge, earthshaking backlash against the bullies of big government and big business and big education and big media and big finance, and, well, you get the idea.
God meant for humans to be free.
IMHO…bullying equates with installed governments possessing the attitude that all of our money is theirs.
While I believe that the cost of freedom is not free…that concept has been abused.
There is already an earthshaking backlash! Winnimens!
Oh btw…..it is a bit odd to read many of these posts.
Just reflecting on previous threads where commenters frequently referred to Sun Tzu and correctly highlighted the emphasis that thinker placed on deception. Specifically, in a context framing the moves and strategies of the soon to be President.
To fence off the obvious: the argument applies wherever there is contention – games, debate, sports, business, wars, etc.
Once again, back to psychology with a dash of game theory.
The point: it’s dangerous to over-generalize. One can lose his/her arse in the process.
Deception/pretending is not ipso facto evil, delusional, etc. An idea, also btw, that should appeal to those with a teleological bent of mind.
Nope. It just requires courage and total dedication to the truth. It is the stuff saints and martyrs are made from. And something we are all called to be by God.
To ensure some consistency (cause it’s not clear to me everyone hews to the same definition): pretend is commonly understood to qualify something (e.g., a statement, an act, an assertion) as false, insincere or fictitious/make believe.
Your introduction of the psychological aspect of this was my first thought as well. The action agent has to know they are pretending – intention in other words. Interesting concept that one! Intention!
The other problematic aspect is “has to know”. I’ll leave that one to others since it is subject to different definitions, in fact has occupied philosophers for the last two to three thousand years.
Returning to psychology, I think you are on the right path of what is likely to be a multi-part answer whose components are not mutually exclusive: why does someone chose to pretend?
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, in the Republican Address to the Nation :
“The dividing line in America is no longer between right or left. The choice is between normal or crazy.”
….
“Every day, we are told that we must partake in their rituals, salute their flags, and worship their false idols…all while big government colludes with Big Tech to strip away the most American thing there is—your Freedom of speech.
“That’s not normal. It’s crazy, and it’s wrong.”
I like her.
I do, too, Val – and I want to know how she lost so much weight. She looks as fabulous as how she speaks and governs!
I am enjoying a family get together for Thanksgiving. We talk about all kinds of things, EXCEPT the elephant in the room, the election of President Trump.
They are all rabid and dedicated Harris/Walz/Biden voters, believing that the people around him were fine running the government and could have continued with Harris – and that was fine with them because PDJT is a criminal (in their minds). All are MSNBC or CNN or PBS watchers. They have been thoroughly brainwashed and don’t realize it.
I am 100% MAGA and they all know I thoroughly support President Trump. We play games, watch movies, go for walks. All are good cooks – though one is a dedicated vegetarian and when possible, vegan, and makes everybody aware of that quite often. Three of the adults grow gardens, can and freeze fruits and veggies. We all love to read and tell a lot of jokes, stories, interesting facts we’ve discovered, etc.
So, yes, we are all pretenders. I pretend because I love them. Family is important to me because we are a relatively small family. Maybe someday, they will come to realize that President Trump is beneficial to this country and Joe Biden was not, but I won’t hold my breath.
Belle, I am glad it works out for you. I am unable to pretend, with anyone, and this has been true for me since my teens. I’d rather have a small number of friends who make the effort to understand me. Family relationships are all through my wife’s side.
Needless to say it’s been toxic to my family relationships to talk beyond their acceptable boundaries. However, there are exceptions in professional life, and within my family I had my late Dad as the control group – only a single person but everything I needed to say or wanted to say was OK to discuss with Dad. The professionals I’ve worked with and known along the way, answered serious questions, and filled in knowledge Dad didn’t have. They continue to help me to this day.
Happy Thanksgiving 2024 America
Same for me. A few of my relatives are leftists. I avoid them, I don’t attend any family gatherings if they’re going to be there; if they are I act as if they are not there. I cannot stand them and will not pretend. Everything to them is political.
I don’t discuss politics with family, precisely because of the nuances that Sundance has described. Neither Republicans nor Democrats have their hands squeaky clean, so taking one side over the other is an exercise in futility.
And that’s not pretending. It is just the reality.
MAGA, however, is a whole nother animal. If people don’t have eyes to see or ears to hear, that’s their problem. For my own sanity, I only engage those who are open and interested to hear the truth.
I see the entirety of the situation in terms of a *spiritual* war. MAGA is not merely a political disagreement. When people couch it in those terms my eyes glaze over. It is well past that now..
That’s my real, non- pretending assessment.
And that is precisely how God instructs us to approach others. “Give unto Caesar” that which belongs to Caesar, etc.. So “Caesar” can fight for prestige or the spoils of war, or whatever floats his boat. I’m well beyond that.
That is not to say I’ve checked out, oh heavens no! I am smack in the center of the *spiritual* side of this thing, and I believe that President Trump is right there too.
Seeing MAGA in terms of God’s divine providence is a whole ‘nother level of “non-pretending.”
“… Neither Republicans nor Democrats have their hands squeaky clean …”
True … but as I told a democrat leaning neighbor … when you demand perfection from democrats, I’ll demand perfection from republicans … I don’t think my (snide) comment registered.
Check out the Walk Away movement.
Pray for them.
While there is life, there is hope.
Sadly I cannot PRETEND, and no longer communicate in any way with my MOM or my 2 sisters, my brother still PRETENDS just to see them around the Holidays and then complain to me how insufferable the girls are……I always just laugh, why PRETEND, you look like a FOOL for doing such. They know how you really feel and you cannot even tell them the TRUTH…..:)
Just playing devil’s advocate: suppose you live in DE. Further suppose you have tried multiple paths to adopt but with no success. You then contact one Senator Biden’s office and, magically, the barriers are cleared away (including financial assistance). Is Biden beneficial to you specifically? Do you feel a sense of debt to Biden?
I knew a family like that back in the day.
Beliefs in/allegiances to political leadership can have their wellspring in many sources.
Absolutely. I’ve had several conversations with diehard democrats in the past several weeks (the majority family members) and to a one they are disgusted with all the “something new” that the demokrats keep trying to ram down everybody’s throats. None have come right out and said they voted for Trump, but I suspect at least a couple did.
Also among black friends (again some family) there is obviously far less surety that the demokrat party is anywhere near the “savior” they assumed for most of their lives.
I think this is to say a number of real people in my circle have had (or are having) their eyes opened to the pretenders.
True, Sundance. Mamet principle, as learned on this site. Thank you.
I think that is a shrewd observation.
To me it’s not so much people pretending or not, as it is people who have realized that those who were “supposed” to represent us — are not representing us.
It’s not left or right, or any of that. It’s to do with politicians being elected, and just doing “whatever” (the majority of which they did not run on).
Take California or Washington. Who there ran on a platform of separating parents from children, so those children can recieve “gender affirming care” which is really child abuse? Nobody ran on that — because it’s crazy!
There are endless government agencies being weaponized — against ordinary citizens. The freaking FBI was profiling parents at PTA meetings.
Again, nobody voted on any of these issues. They were enacted by bureaucratic fiat or legislative creep. And again, it’s all insane.
The American people have been poked in the eye one too many times. That’s why the fraud machine was tamped down to make the Trump landslide look “close” and to keep congress on the democrat side (including RINOs) Everyone knows this election was never that close.
This election was a “pressure relief valve.” Kamala Harris was never a serious candidate, and the powers that be know that she would never win.
Let’s just see what Trump really does.
Yes, the cheating was “tamped down”…and that’s what worries me! I do believe there were House and Senate seats stolen, but mostly I wonder if we can do enough between now and next elections to prevent a recurrence of the Globalist regime to destroy us all.
You might find this post interesting. Sounds like there will be a lot done as soon as January 20th gets here. (Language warning.) https://nitter.poast.org/PatrickByrne/status/1862189116940566784#m
If you haven’t been following Patrick Byrne, this might sound crazy, but Byrne usually turns out to know what he’s talking about. Usually it takes the news several months (or in the case of Jack Smith, a year) to catch up to what is actually going on.
For what it’s worth, I believe that on 1/20/2025, President Trump and his administration will come roaring out to find out EXACTLY how many Republican candidates were cheated out of the offices they ran for. And not only will the rightful winners be installed in those offices, but those who cheated will be exposed, arrested, tried and punished accordingly. It will not be pretty, but it’s about time we saw some action in that direction.
I agree! My name on this site and others is No Pretending. I have T-shirts proclaiming I don not pretend.
I have commented before about how I lost quite a bit, for not pretending, in a pretending organization. I have a few friends and others that were historically a Democrat, but the turned in this last cycle to vote for President Trump.
Sadly, I work with many, and have relatives that pretend not to know things, as Sundance has said for so long. His statement resonated with me, and I have been learning from this site for many years, as have so many others.
The bottom line in this thread, I completely agree. No Pretending
Sundance’s statement resonated with me too.
I confirmed with an attorney that many people don’t take the Oath of Office seriously. If possible, take a moment and read form “sf61.pdf” on the OPM.gov website. Observe how beautiful the language is, and how tight is the legal straightjacket that the Appointees willingly enter into. Dual Citizenship is basically a non-starter, and it’s illegal how far Appointees willingly and persistently deviate from their duties under their respective Oaths of Office.
Will anyone in authority enforce this, or maybe send a warning?
In the Zone…,
I copied the oath and the two additional sections:
A.
OATH OF OFFICE
I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental
reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which
I am about to enter. So help me God.
B. AFFIDAVIT AS TO STRIKING AGAINST THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
I am not participating in any strike against the Government of the United States or any agency thereof,
and I will not so participate while an employee of the Government of the United States or any agency
thereof.
C. AFFIDAVIT AS TO THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF OFFICE
I have not, nor has anyone acting in my behalf, given, transferred, promised or paid any consideration
for or in expectation or hope of receiving assistance in securing this appointment.
I agree. Many don’t even think about keeping the oath.
There certainly are lots of people who “pretend” not to know things.
In my opinion, there are also lots of people who truly do not know things.
These people don’t know things because the public education system does not teach them about the many things they need to know.
They are functionally illiterate in so many areas.
This includes what they learn in colleges and universities after high school.
Some small few realize they’ve been poorly educated. Those few who take it upon themselves to learn what they were not taught in the American education system.
All kinds of pretending going on – media talking heads on “the news,”legacy writers, fantasy opinion propagandists, i.e. The View, MadCow, etc., & late-night “comics,” and, of course the “transgender” pretenders. They have been bullying everyone since 2016.
Sundance’s theory is a subset of what has become a Spiritual Battle of Evil vs. Good (same as it ever was) — primarily now between those who HATE Western Civilization in general, and America in particular, vs. those who LOVE both (including Israel).
Suffice it to say that Trump has divided what is left of my family. My two sisters just hate Trump and I love him for what he is. I now go with a UniParty (RINOs and Dems) and a MAGA Party (I like the Lion here). The sisters are Dems. I’m lucky to get a happy birthday on mine and I always wish them one on theirs! Christmas and other holidays were getting kinda sketchy, and Trump was the final nail! Such is life!
cross posted at https://freedomaustralia.freeforums.net/thread/6375/thesis-prove-me-wrong
It’s easy to pretend. Bread and circuses everywhere, manna for those who don’t want to face reality.
Wonder who Barry Soetoro is having Thanksgiving with? Sources say
BLEAK THANKSGIVING FOR BARRACK Close family and friends say Obama will be at his Hawaii compound while the rest of the family gets together at Martha’s Vineyard.
BAMA NOT INVITED Inside sources say the former President is ‘persona-non-grata’ as Michelle and the daughters get together for Thanksgiving
✓iSN™ [Exclusive] SHOCK REVELATION Obama spending Thanksgiving away from family. According to inside sources Barrack and Michelle will be on opposite coasts.
https://nitter.poast.org/iSource_news
Big Mike has ditched Buraq
What happened? A trans spat?
Boys night out. They do this routinely, although it is not just an imaginative exercise anymore.
there are also people in the US who simply do not understand…and they align their political and social values by diving into the shallow end of the pool .
they listen to main stream media…and make their choices according to what the man in the box tells them to believe.
this is what has created so many problems in our society.
it’s not so much that people don’t have the time to find the right answers ..it really is that so many people are quite lazy and find a certain kind of reflexive pleasure in watching the idiot screen and in 10 minutes, they actually believe they have enough information.
we truly do live as a minority..to pay attention and to drill down and to parse out. That takes effort. work…energy…discipline..and responsibility to be accountable for what you believe in.
this country was not designed for lazy people of low moral character.
and yet, here we are fighting so hard to keep this country from falling into the hands of seriously diseased war pigs who will and have gone to great lengths to continue to feed the low information low brow knuckle draggers content with the beach blonde that comes on at five.
sigh…I get so very tired sometimes…so very weary of just how little the people really know and so very frustrated to realize they are happy the ways things are.
But then I don’t fight for them…I fight because it is the right thing to do…the mission is not to save people who don’t want to be saved. it is to make sure idiots do not have power to punish those who do.
God Bless America
I wish I could give this 1,000 likes.
Many of us non-pretenders get frustrated and weary.
I liken it to how the earliest advocates for God must have felt when trying to enlighten others.
God was always there, many could sense his presence and the wonder that surrounded them and know the truth of God.
I deeply believe that is why they have stripped faith from schools and the role it played in the founding of our nation.
It is all by design. Our nation could not have been brought so low had it not been planned.
When you think about it, we are challenging their faith. It’s a faith based on lies and deception but it does have to be challenged to be defeated.
When I mentally frame it for myself in those terms, I find more forgiveness in my heart for their willful, and too often hateful, blindness.
Love it. Thank you!
Also, I don’t think that the “pretend zones” are clearily and easily definted (like lanes are marked on the highways). They are multi-dimensional and intertwined with so many shifting variables in reality (imho).
It is obvious that clear thinking individuals with common sense and logic don’t pretend!
If you choose good over evil early in life and continue on course… good does not require pretense.
Keep in mind there is a reason they are called the Party of the Jackass.. and they are proud of that designation..
The party of the Jackass has a lot in common with this:
He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
https://biblehub.com/genesis/16-12.htm
.
Just to say a very nice Thanksgiving in which I saw definite movement toward “not pretending anymore” compared with the last four years.
.
I would strongly agree with Sundance that pretending is huge dividing perspective in this country right now and has been for years. My own son is great example . He is stock broker adviser and very smart -and yet a commie who voted Kamala. I knows he understands Kamala is crazy and would destroy the capitalistic system yet he wants to pretend otherwise to protect his ego, his relationships, etc. Obviously the reasons for pretending are many and complicated but this is clearly philophical cleaving concept that is real and revealing as hell.
Ultimately I like the cleavage between those who worship the truth(Jesus) and those who do not worship the truth-but yes pretend to like the truth.
Like “Christian” organizations that sponsor refugees. Their distinction is that they are “legal refugees.” It has been found that upwards of 90% are lying about their “refugee” status.
Joan, the progressives have infiltrated EVERYTHING and I do mean EVERYTHING, including the church. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing, false teachers and sadly, they are everywhere. One must exercise wisdom and discernment and be IN THE WORD of GOD to know who they are and to steer clear of them and their ideology.
and He commands us to…….”do not be anxious about your life”.
I see the polarization in the US and the West, in general, in much the same way. However, following some wise words, I see the divide is clearly between those who lie and are entranced by lies and those who seek the truth. Further, we are divided by those who entertain murder and those who reject it.
Two thousand years ago someone summed up our situation perfectly: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and he stood not in the truth, because the truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father thereof.”
No human is immune from evil, but there are those of us who are aware of it and those who try to pretend it does not exist.
You can’t resist what you don’t acknowledge.
The willfully blind who follow the willfully evil WILL fall into the Pit.
The people I know who voted for Harris, who are convinced Trump will be a
MAGA Common sense defeated chaos. Thank God.
Dunno. I don’t trust or believe so many of the Walkers from the Left have jumped ship. Everyone is an actor and if they see their team going down they will jump ship and pretend if it is to their benefit, unlike Patriots that don’t do such things. All these people, especially the rich business types are suddenly deciding Trump is the way? I don’t trust any of them to not screw him over. I still think Trump is too gullible and wants so badly to be able to believe and trust them.
One of the biggest problems I encounter are the Red Hats that are Trump Lovers but in actuality they know very little, or nothing at all about any other politics. They do not know local, state, federal, or global politics, just Trump. I will think I have met a savvy individual to converse with and then I discover they know nothing. I am no expert on anything, but I try to learn and be knowledgable, and I sure as hell know what is going on in Ukraine. All they know is “Russia Bad”. Face Palm City. I wish people would follow the bigger picture, and they would FFS turn off FOX.
I am not sure pretending is the right metaphor. When I talk to family members who are democrats and point out various problems under democrats like non-prosecution of crime, no cash bail, trans men beating up women in women’s sports, the open border…each time they say “well I don’t support that.” So they are not defending those results as good results, they just look past all of it because they don’t like Trump. It is more brainwashing than pretending.
For me, another elephant in the room, in regard to your comments about “well, I don’t support that” is following a religion or even a religious leader that does everything against your personal moral creed yet still going to services every week, making financial contributions, etc. and not even thinking about breaking away. The guilt is brainwashing personified. …”give me a child until he’s 6 and he will be mine forever “
According to Jonathan Kahn this Return in 2024 was our chance to get back to our Judeo Christian principles and reject the Principals of Baal.
What we are seeing is a great “awakening”. America is diverse, and yet what unites us is more thsn what might set us apart. While it is true that the 1916 MAGA might have arisen from earlier groups, the reaction from the left and the pecuniary establishment has opened the eyes of formerly. Non-MAGA voters.
The left and the establishment have reacted over the l act decade as a tyrannical regime.
The nest course to take is to return integrity to all processes of government. Where fraud, a dude of office and embezzlement is found, prosecution should follow.
A substantial infrastructure program, financed with repurposed funds from IRA could go a long way towards reestablishing our industrial and manufacturing base.bif we wait until war is on our stoop, we will be late. We must prepare for conflict in the Pacific by tailoring a response to PRC naval and aerial strategies and tactics. If we anticipate ground combat, we should draw troops from Rurope and make a strategic alliance with Putin against Xi.
I haven’t yet figured out how to convince a pretender – the facts don’t matter. If anybody has succeeded, let us know how you did so. Maybe they just keep pretending until it affects them directly as e.e. cummings put it:
Some refuse to let go of pretending. It’s all they know and herd mentality has convinced them they are correct. They seek out affirming echo chambers but with MSNBC and CNN on the ropes, they are ever more in the minority.
When meet with someone that refuses to budge and spews lefty talking points, I often say that I am in awe of their willingness to commit to things that are not in their best interest.
The media lied when they said masks work, that the “vaccine” was for their safety, everyone that didn’t get it was endangering those around them, that inflation was transitory, that Biden’s economy was better than Trump’s, that there were no new wars under Donald Trump but the world is in flames under Biden, that no late term abortions happen when that is demonstrably false and so on.
Again, their willingness to commit to perpetuating absolute falsehoods is impressive but fundamentally flawed.
It’s okay to be wrong, but they are on the side that refuses to deal in facts.
Desiring your destruction because of perceived personality traits spoon fed by a corrupt media is sad. Pity them. They will vote in their own destruction. We voted to protect us all from it.
hoosiertruthfan, I’m going to try it:
“When meet with someone that refuses to budge and spews lefty talking points, I often say that I am in awe of their willingness to commit to things that are not in their best interest.”
I see it as Good vs. Evil, God vs. Satan.
God is the source of all truth and Satan is the father of lies.
Makes the battle lines and the stakes very clear for me.
it does!
Open squabbling pretending and non-pretending credibility catfight!
Whoopi pulls a ramped-up squabbling with her 180-Scaborough-turn through daily plummeting ratings since the election. LOL
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: “There’s nothing to be done until you know what you’re fighting. Pissing in the wind doesn’t help—you just get a wet face”. This, from their regular whinefests to following the Democrat Party line; berating PDJT while inviting friendly allies on to discuss the so-called benefits of another Harris term.
Well, Harris lost.
Since then, much like the turmoil Democrats themselves devolved into, The View’s lacking-self-awareness shrews have been flinging accusations at Fox News particularly at Brett Baier (known to be a non-Trumper) and accusing Musk’s X as a rogue corporation.
Sunny Hostin, forced to ‘fact check’ herself was one of their occasional “on-air clarifications” due to legal reasons.
Whoopi & ABCNetwork getting sued by Holtermann’s Bakery in Staten Island for lying on National TV about not being served over politics, was a sign of things to come. The show has reached a fitting end when the panel’s Behar and Haines openly admitted to their hate for the First Amendment.
https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/whoopi-goldberg-were-losing-credibility-over-trump/
And here is ABC’s Australia chairman Kim Williams – despite admitting to never listening to the podcast (how does he justify his diatribe?) calling Joe Rogan “repulsive”?
Joe Rogan and Elon Musk’s hilarious response after ABC boss called Rogan ‘repulsive’
Outstanding quote from Joe Rogan discussing the demise of the lamestream media, “it’s like you’re using smoke signals and everybody else has a cellphone. It doesn’t work.”
Thank goodness! I hope they hold fast to their smoke signals and drive everyone way.
The absolute hubris of Whoopi Goldberg playing the victim for not getting the rolls she wanted. She basically said it had to be bigotry when the bakery had been forthright about what happened. It is illustrative of their delusion and arrogance.
I pray that bakery gets a boatload of cash in additional to a long segment of crow eating by the cast of The Spew.
Whoopi Goldberg did this on a national show and she knew full the ramifications of what she was implying.
What an evil divisive wench.
My FAVORITE BROTHER doesn’t like Trump. He is sad Trump won. It is hard to believe my Brother would choose, perhaps voted for Kamala after all the destruction she committed, what she supports and represents. It’s just unbelievable that this is what he would want, what he prefers for us, for our nation.
I can understand not liking Trump, but to support Kamala feels treasonous. It’s just so unbelievable!
Brian I said, She’s not black! Her Father is Jamaican and Her Mother is Indian! You didn’t vote for the 1st black woman, you voted for a dirt bag lawyer wearing “black face”
So when Sen. McConnell says,”providing assistance for Ukrainians to defeat the Russians is the number one priority for the United States right now according to most Republicans. That’s how we see the challenges confronting the country at the moment.
Providing assistance to defeat the Russians is the number one priority for the United states right now
That’s the pretending part
According to most Republicans
That’s the non pretending part
“That’s how we see the challenges confronting the country at the moment.”
“That’s how we see
The non pretending Republicans
the challenges confronting the country at the moment
That’s the pretending part.
Enough already! I want you out. I want you gone.
Maybe the politicians pretend or do not pretend, but I think that around the Thanksgiving table, it is more like ‘aware and those who are not aware’.
We just want the toilet flushed. Get the bidencrime family OUT of D.C. No dynamic cultural whatsis, just throw them out clean the place and put better mgmt. in place that will actively take issue with badstuff and bring positive changes. Clean basic foundational principles, no doubletalk please.
when will enough stop pretending that we can have a peaceful coexistence with the psychopaths and power mongers that want to rule over us…….
Actual enforcement of the laws agreed upon by the citizenry, that removes bad actors, ensures greater cohesion forward.
If there is no fear of the law, or flagrant exemption from its enforcement, then there is no rule of law and the chasm grows.
MAGA!!
In Washington you can count the NON PRETENDERS on one hand…….Thomas Massie among them, he lost a wife for it IMHO……The ultimate sacrifice in defying the Deep State.
All I know is the class warfare on middle to lower income “Day One MAGA” here in my birthplace of Florida is very real. “Big Money New MAGA” will ignore the plight and lamentations of their less affluent cousins to the detriment of the whole movement.
The windfall for Big Insurance, guaranteed by DeSeaIslandsantis’ anti working class policies, made after hefty donations were given to his presidential PAC, really only affect MAGA homeowners.
Most Leftpukes in this State live in rentals with some sort of Welfare and housing subsidies. When the pinch really closes in, the bulk of the forced mass relocation will be Trumpers.
The Hedgies will scoop up the distressed properties, rehab them, and rent them out for 4K$ a month to rich liberals from Commiefornia, Chiraq and Zoo York eventually flipping the State.
If TX and FL go Deathcult Blue, hang it up.
I think I will agree with you there.
“Reality is hard”- Someone at an AA Meeting
I usually am left thinking it’s “the freaks and the misfits and losers” and those who face reality head on every day.
Thomas Sowell’s analysis/book; Conflict of Visions.
“[W]hat we call “MAGA” is a larger assembly of the non-pretending group.”
Derk, Your ramble brought me to tears. You encapsulated what so many of us feel but do not know how to express as well as you do. As I was reading your words I became calm and almost felt like you were a Dad figure explaining to the kids that we are going to be ok. When you spoke about common sense, which has been a hard thing to find these past few years, I felt relief in knowing that there are a lot of us who do not pretend and are coming together after a long, hard fight. I don’t kid myself with thinking the fight is over but I feel energized and ridiculously happy…..and relieved. You and Sundance are the best!
Is it not Obvious that President Trump has shown all of America how we can Unite as Americans by Picking Tulsi, RFK, and Elon, all Democrats and Incorporating them into his cabinet. When I was Young, Being an American was first and Foremost. Political affiliation was a close second, but then the Boomers started Flexing their perceived muscles. They started gravitating towards easy Government Jobs, Education, Media outlets. These Pretenders decided they were going to go from raging against the “Man’ and Questioning “Authority” to being the “Man” and the “Authority”. Then as things moved along, they decided no-one had the right to rage against them and or Dare to Question them. They were the “Educated”. We all see the failure in that, but the Pretenders got so close to their Goal, they just can’t give it up thus turning into the Fascists they pointed their fingers at Snidely and accused everyone else of being. Proof being how they just “Installed” Kamala as the Pick for their Party’s Nominee without so much as a glance towards their own supporters. No, they were just supposed to do as they were told. The Non Pretenders, many like me who are Constitutional and more Libertarian, rejected them Fascists outright and always will. The Fact is the Democrats can’t admit what they really want, which is a Fascist Dictatorship run by them and they cannot admit that they were 100% wrong, so they will just keep applying Tons of Lipstick to the Pig in the Hope those Unwashed Non Pretenders will miss what they are attempting to do. Classic Catch 22!
Non-pretending:
Plumbing the Depths
How the Gears Turn
FRED REED • MARCH 9, 2008
(This first appeared in shorter form in The American Conservative)
https://www.unz.com/freed/plumbing-the-depths-386/
Intro:
Common delusions notwithstanding, the United States, I submit, is not a democracy—by which is meant a system in which the will of the people prevails. Rather it is a curious mechanism artfully designed to circumvent the will of the people while appearing to be democratic. Several mechanisms accomplish this. [he details nine of them; an excellent column, BTW – W]
————
Confirming 10 years ago what Mike Benz described in detail in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson.
Trust the science!™
Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens [Princeton University, 2014]
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B/S1537592714001595a.pdf/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens.pdf
Excerpts:
A great deal of empirical research speaks to the policy influence of one or another set of actors, but until recently it has not been possible to test these contrasting theoretical predictions against each other within a single statistical model. We report on an effort to do so, using a unique data set that includes measures of the key variables for 1,779 policy issues.
Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence. The results provide substantial support for theories of Economic-Elite Domination and for theories of Biased Pluralism, but not for theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy or Majoritarian Pluralism.
In the United States, our findings indicate, the majority does not rule—at least not in the causal sense of actually determining policy outcomes.
When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites or with organized interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the U.S. political system [that describes the overwhelming influence of The Blob – W], even when fairly large majorities of Americans favor policy change, they generally do not get it.
To be sure, this does not mean that ordinary citizens always lose out; they fairly often get the policies they favor, but only because those policies happen also to be preferred by the economically-elite citizens [and their Blob – W] who wield the actual influence.
The pretending fortress is built upon lies and sand, the non-pretending Fortress upon granite and Truth. The situation will settle itself over time. We must remain steadfast in our beliefs.
There is a dichotomy, but it is Nationalism Vs. Globalism.
Republican (RINOs) = Internationalist Fascists
Democrats = Globalist Socialists
Republican (MAGA) = Nationalist Capitalists
RINOs & Democrats are Heads & Tails of the same UniParty Globalist coin (cabal).
MAGA Vs. THE DEEP STATE FASCISTS AND SOCIALISTS
https://open.substack.com/pub/william3n4z2/p/maga-vs-the-deep-state-fascists-and?r=1kb28q&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Well said Sundance. As a black conservative I’m somewhat of an unicorn. Yes I know their are others out there, but not as many as you would think. I know your premise to be true, because a lot of my conservative friends are from all walks of life, as well as classes, status, etc. What’s are strong bond? God and being conservative. It really is just tums simple. Thankful for all of the people here.
Thanks Rodd and God Bless
My opinion.
I think it also falls along the lines of (reference movie – They Live) to those who ‘can see’ and those who haven’t yet or won’t. Even then, with decades of very interested daily searching and learning on my part, I’m still getting doses of deeper, more granular information. CTH definitely fine tunes the dial and yet there’s even more ‘out there’ that we haven’t dabbled in. This sort of mass questioning , researching and awakening takes a lot of work , time and interest.
In my experience locally amongst friends, family, coworkers etc, I have seen those that are still blind, those that feel comfortable pretending and using cognitive dissonance to get them there, those that have taken the red pill ( reference – the Matrix )but haven’t yet, if going to at all, gone deeper and yearning for more, to those that I would say are like long term CTH readers. Yes, we can bring it down to a spiritual battle, but some minds want to know about all the various levels within and outside that.
Although the pendulum has thankfully has moved in positive direction, the deeper awakening process may need more newer mainstream ( new types of news programs that can reach the masses ) to break through. I just don’t yet see folks in general like CTH’ers , Joe Rogans listeners etc, devoting this much time and interest for the deep dive. The umbrella is wide and covers all. Just need to continue to push through the information.