In a post entitled Keep Ya Head Up, I stated, “Show me your sacred cows and I’ll make burgers of them.” Every now and then, I enjoy a tasty burger of this sort.
Explaining this phrase, one source states, “In modern usage, the term ‘sacred cow’ refers to an idea or practice that people consider, often unreasonably, immune from question or criticism,” and, “Killing sacred cows is the first step, cooking them with a new recipe, the second.”
To be clear, herein, I’m not calling for violence, using literal phraseology, or advocating cannibalism. Use of philosophical interpretive skills beyond one’s partisan misuse of logic and reason may be helpful when engaging this blogpost.
As the 2024 United States (U.S.) presidential election season is underway, I’ve devoted more time and attention to sifting through rhetoric espoused by leading candidates. Although legacy and missing link media sources may suggest otherwise, I think there are two obvious contenders for the upcoming U.S. presidency.
It appears as though Joe Biden and Donald Trump will have a rematch to the 2020 presidential election. As a matter of full disclosure, I alluded to myself through use of the moniker “person Y” in a blogpost entitled Delusion, in which I stated:
Now, consider person Y who is convinced that the 2020 presidential election was rigged—not necessarily stolen or completely fraudulent, though questionable upon it’s perceived merits of having been the “most secure in American history.” Person Y may be convinced otherwise if shown convincing evidence to the contrary.
I have no direct evidence of outright fraudulence concerning Biden’s current position. However, I pay attention when anti-democratic measures were extoled in a piece in Time which described the following:
That’s why the participants want the secret history of the 2020 election told, even though it sounds like a paranoid fever dream–a well-funded cabal of powerful people, ranging across industries and ideologies, working together behind the scenes to influence perceptions, change rules and laws, steer media coverage and control the flow of information. They were not rigging the election; they were fortifying it.
If people were “fortifying” Biden’s ascendance to the presidency, I believe them when they bragged about it. Likewise, I comprehend that the “fortifying” versus “rigging” terminology serves as little more than a distinction without a difference.
Criticism regarding the validity of Biden’s presidency aside, there remains another matter worth disclosing herein. In a blog entry entitled Civic Duty, I stated:
Voting is merely accepted as a civic duty, simple as. We can agree to disagree. I choose not to vote and others can choose to label me however they like due to this fact.
If in one’s mind the almost 11 years of my active duty service in the U.S. Marine Corps doesn’t afford me an opportunity to opine on political matters, I politely disagree with one’s irrational belief. I was born in the U.S., served my country, and I pay taxes.
Therefore, I’ll critique as I wish. Matters of disclosure aside, how about those burgers?
Since the 2020 election, I’ve observed the actions of many Trump supporters. Predictably, a number of these individuals rigidly cling to in-group behavior, thus forming an echo chamber— an environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own, so that their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas are not considered.
Behavior of this sort is not a method of rational living. One who isn’t subject to the demandingness of an in-group can remark about matters observed from an etic perspective, even though one isn’t a participating member of the echoing chamber.
For example, how much sense would it make for someone trapped in a burning house, dying slowly from smoke inhalation until eventually being consumed by flames, demanding, “You shouldn’t tell me about the danger I face, because you aren’t in this house”?
If such was the case, I’d go home and retrieve a fresh package of Trump burger meat. Making my way back to the smoldering home, I’d fasten a makeshift grill and cook some burgers.
To those who worship at the burning altar of a sacred cow, are you so blinded by the flames that you can’t recognize historical fact? One doesn’t have to participate in partisan division to see things clearly in this regard.
The entire time Trump occupied office from 2017 to 2021, he faced inflexible opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. Although he very well may’ve intended on following through with campaign promises, a system of checks and balance prevented him from success.
What makes you think things will be different this time around? Likewise, Trump was investigated for nearly the entirety of his administration. While I disagree with the lawfare tactics employed against him then and currently, what makes you think things will be different in the future?
Additionally, how does one look past the way in which Trump was treated by the Mockingbird media, corporate conglomerates, intelligence entities, and other bodies of the government establishment during his time in office? Will these “deep state” actors somehow mysteriously lose power if Trump is elected again?
Also, knowing of the First and Fourth Amendment violations he faced, why did Trump not issue pardons to Edward Snowden and Julian Assange—both who arguably also had their rights violated? At least Barack Obama was wise enough to commute Chelsea Manning’s sentence for similar so-called crimes.
Regarding amendment protections, have you forgotten about how Trump expressed wiliness to work with Dianne Feinstein and others concerning infringement upon the Second Amendment? “Shall not be infringed” is incredibly straight forward, though Trump seemed to have misunderstood this fact.
Did you also misremember how Trump allowed social media companies to violate First Amendment protections when these corporate entities worked with government actors to suppress free speech? Trump had firsthand experience with his voice being suppressed and he did nothing.
How loud is your echo chamber that you can’t think critically about how it was Trump who advocated Operation Warp Speed? Setting the standard of emergency use authorization disallowed viable treatment alternatives to supposed “safe and effective” COVID-19 vaccines.
On the topic of COVID-19, it was Trump who paved way for Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx to arguably mismanage the pandemic response. Among his many other foibles, Fauci has ostensibly admitted that social distancing measures weren’t based on science.
Perhaps you’ve also forgotten that Birx stated in April 2020:
There are other countries that if you had a pre-existing condition, and let’s say the virus caused you to go to the ICU [intensive care unit] and then have a heart or kidney problem, some countries are recording that as a heart issue or a kidney issue and not a COVID-19 death. Right now, we’re still recording it […] The intent is ... if someone dies with COVID-19 we are counting that as a COVID-19 death.
Trump’s representative apparently verified that miscalculation of deaths attributed to the virus was the intent. What did Trump do to intervene as a measure of preventing this sort of negligence? Nothing.
Instead of taking a measured approach to COVID-19, it was Trump who first sent money to U.S. citizens when we were expected to remain home during authoritarian lockdown measures. What’s conservative about a wealth redistribution program when segmenting the population into essential versus nonessential categories?
I could go on about the shortcomings of your sacred cow. Nothing stated herein even touches the matter of his poor choices for leadership, continuation regarding military occupation of foreign lands, or nepotism concerning familial influence over his administration.
Likewise, I’ve not taken a normie approach and put forth ridiculous arguments about how Trump allegedly advocated violence in Charlottesville, supposedly mocked disabled people, reportedly bragged about sexual assault, or purportedly incited a so-called insurrection on January 6. After all, I’m not delusional or ignorant in this regard.
Provide a “God Emperor Trump” and I’ll make burgers of your sacred cow. Trump is a fallible human being, as are we all. He is no savior, no miracle solution, nor a be-all, end-all escape from the obvious ailments of our nation.
Trump will no sooner heal all of your woes than will he form concentration camps, echoing sentiment of World War II. In my personal and professional life, I’ve heard people making absurd claims such as these.
Therefore, I advocate rational living—not merely rational thinking. Disputation of irrational beliefs; unconditional acceptance of oneself, others, and life; understanding about the circles of control, influence, and concern; and comprehension of the is-ought problem are elements related to this approach to life.
Then again, you can do as you wish. Still, if you choose to self-disturb from inside of a burning house, I’m bringing patties, because it’s time to make burgers of your sacred cow.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
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