Thread by @FreedomFriesInc

(1) "I was born in a small town, and I can breathe in a small town" - John Mellencamp, 1985

We didn't have a mall, let alone two of them, lol.

Our experiences mean #GenXWillSaveTheWorld.

Enjoy the music video:

Good mall
Bad mall

https://twitter.com/NicoleConlan/status/1375558383730745344

(2) I've been thinking about American politics since the early 1980s, before I even went to high school. Also British, New Zealand, and Australian politics.

I ended up entering the NZ political world as a policy analyst and PR advisor after earning a political science degree.

(3) After some years I became so frustrated with the way things were going in my chosen profession that I walked away from it.

Now I share my opinions here & feel completely unencumbered in that. It's good for the soul to express yourself, test your ideas & learn from others.

(4) I was a Marxist in college then a liberal, a libertarian, a progressive, before supporting Trump from mid-2016 to 1/6/2021.

I followed closely the events of the Trump era. I know a lot of detail about it.

As of today 3/28/21 I'm absolutely disgusted by his actions.

(5) I've followed the events before, during and since 1/6/21 and have been appalled on every level.

But yesterday when I read of his remarks on FOX I went completely off the deep end with my hatred of his (ongoing!) choice to try to defend these violent criminals.

(6) I never thought I'd end up saying I believe the Trump movement is a cult of personality devoid of a working moral compass, but here we are.

However, the forces arrayed against it are very divided among each other, due to some major misunderstandings of previous events.

(7) That's why an innocuous tweet about the good mall and the bad mall in your hometown got me thinking about all this.

Many classic rock/pop songs from my youth reference the background issues leading to the Trump era.

Reminding ourselves of the past can save our future.

(8) Current Trump supporters use the millions of votes he won in 2020 in an attempt to bolster their case.

Guys, you no longer speak for those who voted for him in Nov but now want him investigated for (at best) communicating with known domestic terrorists & their associates.

(9) The evidence of such crimes is abundant, if you step outside the MAGA echo chamber long enough to read about it.

And federal law enforcement have even stronger evidence of it that is not yet in the public domain.

I base my views on what is public right now.

(10) Mellencamp's song and the music video evoke the pre-1990s world that Gen X (born 1964-1980) is old enough to remember.

The reason I often say #GenXWillSaveTheWorld is that we can remember that world and we want the good parts of it back. We understand things others don't.

(11) "Well I was born in a small town
And I live in a small town
Probably die in a small town
Oh, those small communities

All my friends are so small town
My parents live in the same small town
My job is so small town
Provides little opportunity

(12) "Educated in a small town
Taught the fear of Jesus in a small town
Used to daydream in that small town
Another boring romantic that's me

But I've seen it all in a small town
Had myself a ball in a small town...

(13) "Married an L.A. doll and brought her to this small town
Now she's small town just like me

No I cannot forget where it is that I come from
I cannot forget the people who love me
Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town
And people let me be just what I want to be

(14) "Got nothing against a big town
Still hayseed enough to say
Look who's in the big town
But my bed is in a small town
Oh, and that's good enough for me

(15) "Well I was born in a small town
And I can breathe in a small town
Gonna die in this small town
And that's probably where they'll bury me."

Music is part of culture. Even a romantic song can have a political meaning...

(16) I like to play "Small Town" when I want to re-calibrate my focus onto what is productive instead of what isn't.

This Hitchens quote is, AFAIK, about secularism but I apply it to other things, too. Like being in the minority as a #PostTrumpGOP conservative, for now.

(17) There are 10 GOP reps and 7 GOP senators who made a symbolic gesture by standing up to Trump and his movement after the tragedies of 1/6.

17 people willing to take the (considerable) flak from his followers. I feel the same way about Trump they do.

(18) They knew the danger they would be in and it didn't stop them. That is what I call courage.

At CPAC 2021 in Orlando, FL, Trump read out their names, to promote the political movements now arrayed against them.

This also increased the threat of violence they endure.

(20) Are you starting to see how this works?

Trump shows us every day what happens if you don't do what he wants.

To those outside the cult, this is a giant red flag that it's a cult. And it's even worse than that. He's involved in domestic terrorism now.

(21) Cult members have tried to dox the LEO who lawfully used lethal force to protect the public on 1/6. They are doing exactly what the supporters of BLM do, and which they condemn in the name of "backing the blue."

They pick and choose though. Absolute hypocrites.

(22) For me, it's about values. When I decided to back Trump in 2016 it was because his policies better aligned with my values than those of his opponent.

Until 2020, none of the left's critiques of his conduct convinced me otherwise. There was a lot of "crying wolf."

(23) That strategic error of the left is the reason why so many people are still firmly part of the Trump cult. And their lack of a viable alternative platform and record that could win over conservative or RW populist voters.

I recently discovered the author Yuval Levin:

(24) I know some of you will reject anything Yuval Levin says because you disagree with his opinions, which is exactly my point about the politics of 2021 vs 1981.

He's a scholar who is far better at expressing these ideas than I will ever be.

nationalreview.com/corner/failure…

(26) Wrapping this up at 26 tweets. Look, I can't cover a topic in one tweet. No one can.

As for my opinion, you're free to take it or leave it. That's the beauty of having democratic freedoms.

They protect the minority from the majority. Which is a truly American idea.