The Tweet that Sums Up Conservative Ideology: Hypocrisy
Just when you thought you couldn’t facepalm any harder
“Good times produce weak men who vote blue.” That’s it. That’s the tweet.
No, this wasn’t posted by one of the usual mainstream GOP nutcases, but it is proof that their rhetoric sticks with their constituents.
I found my way into Twitter’s comment section after someone shared one of those charts showing how Biden actually fulfilled many of the hollow promises Trump made to the American people. The rando Trumper who posted this probably thought it was a “mic drop” moment to be proud of, but his short response actually revealed even more holes in the philosophy of the modern American conservative.
To be fair, this was only one random person’s comment, so I can’t say he spoke for all conservatives. But it’s certainly not the first we’ve heard of this belief, especially with the right’s recent (and weird) glorification of the “alpha male” and the like. Moreover, it’s proof that these folks don’t even know what they stand for.
Also, I’m not claiming that this chart was 100% truthful or accurate. As we all know, many of these charts and memes are biased in favor of their creator’s beliefs. But the key here is that this Trumper didn’t contest the chart, and instead agreed with it.
Let’s take another look and figure out how to start untangling this.
“Good times produce weak men who vote blue.”
Let’s start with “good times.” Given the context, this sounds like an open admission that progressive policies lead to “good times.”
To play devil’s advocate, one might argue, given the commenter’s logic, that this individual was suggesting that the good times were achieved under Trump, which then swayed the vote blue in 2020.
However, the chart clearly showed that Trump did none of the things he said he would do to improve the lives of suffering Americans. Additionally, claiming that times were good and offering no rebuttal to the list of Trump’s broken promises suggests that times were already good, which would then mean we have Obama to thank. And we all know that in conservative land, this is the equivalent of Satan worship. Thanks, Obama!
Even if he were arguing that Trump’s policies (or lack thereof) produced good times without any residual Obama magic, it would suggest that those strong men who voted red in 2016 suddenly had a change of heart in 2020. We know conservatives consistently vote against their best interests, but voting blue after Trump made their America “great again” would be downright betrayal. Why would they vote against what made them happy and risk the wrath of their supreme leader?
Perhaps he meant that blue voters enjoyed good times under Trump. But even if that were the case, why would Democrats vote against what made their lives better? Also, given the not-so-secret partisan divide in this country, I (and I would wager, you) have not come across a single Democrat thanking Trump for improving their life.
And most importantly, whether looking at red or blue voters, the belief that Trump’s rhetoric resulted in “good times” that “produce weak men” suggests that conservative policies produce weak men.
So the commenter had to have been agreeing that Biden’s policies pave the way to good times, which leads us nicely into the next predicament:
Conservatives DON’T WANT good times
Conservatives traditionally oppose any government-driven social benefits that would improve the lives of the public because of the cost to the American taxpayer. They justify this through their glorification of the struggle, claiming that tough times promote discipline, hard work, and independence. They believe, perhaps truthfully to a degree, that adversity has the potential to make us stronger and more capable people.
Of course, they don’t account for the myriad interconnected factors at play while living under adverse conditions that make true personal and financial development extremely difficult or impossible, especially for marginalized groups. But that’s beside the point.
This commenter unknowingly highlighted perhaps one of the biggest contradictions in conservative ideology.
They don’t want good times because they make us weak. But they also want to “Make America Great Again,” which implies improvement in one form or another.
Perhaps to them, “improvement” means making things worse. After all, America is Great when the people struggle under that sweet, character-building hardship. Endure long enough under immense pressure, and you may just become a diamond.
But if we follow this logic, how can they explain their applause and support for Trump’s promises to make things bigger, better, stronger, faster, and to personally supply more of it? They clearly aren’t cheering for adversity, and in fact often blame Democrats for crime, homelessness, drug abuse — all the things adversity leads to.
So what’s the takeaway?
Conservatives don’t want good times, because bad times are what make us strong. But those evil Democrats are to blame for our bad times which Trump, alone, can fix by making things … worse? Which is somehow also … better? And we should rid our pure nation of the Democrat commies who want to make things worse by … making things better. I think?
