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[quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous]I have a sincere question about political hypocrisy. I know this conversation could go off the rails quickly, but I’m genuinely hoping for some real insight before it devolves into shouting matches from the far left or far right.

For the record, I’m a registered Republican—but not a Trump Republican—and I make an honest effort to cross-check information from both liberal and conservative sources before forming opinions. That said, here are a few things I struggle to reconcile:
   •   Why did Trump’s deportation policies provoke such outrage when Obama actually deported more people during his time in office?
   •   Why do people say Trump “put kids in cages” when the chain-link enclosures at the border were first built and used under the Obama administration?
   •   How can anyone argue, in good faith, that Joe Biden is mentally sharp or fully cognizant?
   •   Why is Trump constantly accused of “destroying democracy” when the U.S. isn’t technically a pure democracy to begin with?
   •   Juneteenth is celebrated as the end of slavery in the U.S., but it wasn’t actually the last instance—some Native American nations, like the Choctaw, still held Black slaves months afterward. And the fact that people of color owned slaves is almost never discussed.
   •   And don’t get me started on slogans like “Queers for Palestine.” It seems like the ultimate test of loving your neighbor—until you realize that in many places under Palestinian control, LGBTQ+ individuals face severe persecution. How does that reconcile?

There’s a lot more I’m sure but this is just off the top of my head. How does anyone in the center reconcile all of this?

Last question: will we ever return to a society where people can disagree, even strongly, without being canceled, shouted down, or dismissed with lines like, “It’s not my job to educate you”?

I’m open to real dialogue here—not trolling, not tribalism. Just looking for perspectives grounded in facts, logic, and a little humility.
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Obama deported people who had just been detained crossing the border. He was actually criticized by Republicans for including those in his deportation numbers because Republicans didn't consider them real deportations. Trump, in contrast, is deporting people who have been here for years, planted roots, and become part of their communities. Both were wrong in my opinion and both deserve criticism, though for different reasons.

Obama created the cages to handle unaccompanied minors who needed to be kept separate from adults. Trump used them to separate families. Again, both were wrong in my opinion and both deserve criticism, but for different reasons.

Biden was mentally cognizant enough to create a growing economy that was rebuilding its industrial base. Trump, on the other hand, believes that "groceries" is an old term that he has to define for people. My question for you is how you can be concerned about Biden's mental competence without being similarly concerned about Trump's.

The U.S. was established as  a democratic republic. Trump is destroying that. This sort of question suggests a severe lack of knowledge on your part and causes me to doubt whether or not you are really acting in good faith. Trump has already marginalized the legislative branch by relying on illegal executive orders. He is now trying to hobble the judiciary branch. By establishing an executive branch that has no checks, Trump is establishing a dictatorship. That should be obvious to you.

At the end of the Civil War, the Choctaw nation was not part of the United States. Juneteenth marks the end of U.S. government sanctioned slavery in the South. At that time, there were still slaves in Delaware and Kentucky. Why are you complaining about Choctaws and not the Americans who still held slaves?

If you believe in rights, you must believe that they are universal. Trump, and apparently you, see everything as transactional. That suggests a lack of belief in real values. You cannot claim to oppose genocide yet support it because you don't like the people being murdered. If that is your position, you actually support genocide. Free speech is famously said to be important for speech you oppose rather than speech you support. That is true in the case of every right. You can't take the position that people deserve certain rights but only if they adhere to a list of values you support. That would not be a right, but rather a privilege.

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