Dear Democrats,

Gather round the table my dear, sweet, liberal friends. Let mama Julie guide you into the cranial folds of the Republican mind. Lest we forget, I was in their tribe and I’m bilingual in Red and Blue speak—a vast resource here to help you understand the conservative cosmos. 

When the votes are cast, the frontal lobes of the Republican Senators will whisper this sweet nothing into their ears: Trump didn’t invade the capitol on January 6^th, other people did. 

Here’s how I know this: gun control regulation. How many times have we heard this argument for allowing everyone to carry around a firearm? Guns don’t kill people. The crazy person did it. 

A + B = C

I know what you’re going to say. Without the presence of the gun, the crime would likely not have been committed or resulted in a death. Sometimes, just the access to a gun opens the opportunity to use it without thinking, whether in suicide or murder. The quick action of a bullet makes bad decisions irreversible. And that’s why the Brits just don’t have the bloody things around in the first place. Hence, the logic for all gun safety and gun control legislation on the Left. 

Now in the case of Trump, metaphorically speaking he is the gun. The people who stormed the capitol are the crazy people. Trump igniting their fury was simply a hunk of metal; a mere firearm innocently inanimate. Useless unless used. And if used: not my fault. Not his fault. He’s just a gun. Other people did it—used the gun. The people used his gunfire/persuasion/influence to justify their lawless actions. But he did nothing. You see it now, don’t you?

Stating the obvious—that a gun doesn’t kill people and a President didn’t—is a mental construct of underlying values. In this case, your Honor, the value many people (shall we say half the country) interpret differently and on trial this past week was freedom. Conservatives believe in an individual freedom that overrides collective consequences.

Basically, they believe they have earned the privilege of walking around without others suspecting them of ill intent. None whatsoever. What’s so unreasonable about that? If they carry a gun, they can be trusted with it. 

In a nutshell, the reason Republicans will vote to acquit Trump is because they’ll apply the freedom lens. He is free to gather armed people and point them at the capitol during the certifying of an election that he is free to say was stolen. The gun is separate from the actions of those who use the gun. They will argue that a gun is on trial and not a perpetrator. And they’ll win. They’ll win against this opposing standard: that freedom is in lockstep with responsibility and a president sworn to protect and defend the constitution is not free to say just anything.

The Republicans can’t change their frame in this regard. No, hear me: THEY CANNOT CHANGE IT. And it doesn’t change overnight. So, go easy on them. Forgive them. Seriously, to quote Jesus on the cross regarding those who found his teachings seditious and treasonous toward the Roman empire, and worthy of crucifixion: They know not what they do.

Tongue-in-cheek: Was Jesus speaking of the Democrats or the Republicans? 

Posted on: February 12, 2021, by : JulieEthan