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I was watching the steady stream of people file past the casket of our American hero John Glenn, some of whom had driven hundreds of miles for the privilege. This is a time to step back and look at the breadth and depth of Glenn's amazing life.
Glenn was a Marine, serving as a distinguished fighter pilot in both World War II and Korea, who had six Distinguished Flying Crosses and eighteen clusters to the Air Medal.
Most famously, Glenn was one of the Mercury Seven, a group of military test pilots selected in 1959 by NASA to become America's first astronauts, in 1962 becoming the first American to orbit the Earth and the fifth person in space. Glenn has received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978, was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990 and received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. Glenn represented Ohio for 25 years in the US Senate from 1974 to 1999.
When you step back and take a look at Glenn's career, you realize that in almost every respect, he led a life that embodied the direct opposite of the Trump philosophy. Certainly from what I have seen posted here on City Data Forum, I have to assume that hard-line Trump supporters view Glenn with disdain and would enjoy spitting on his grave, just as they have implicitly spit on the graves of all the servicemen and women that fought and died in WWII.
Why do I say this? Generalizations follow. If you are a Trump supporter and you are you an exception to these generalizations? Feel free to speak up.
1) John Glenn loved science; a requirement for any astronaut. Trump followers reject science. Trump is currently working on a list of scientists who are pursuing research in areas that he disagrees with or rejects - will these people go on his enemies of the State list? Would Glenn have gone on his list?
2) John Glenn was a Democrat. Trump followers hate all "establishment" Democrats, right? Even those with 25 years of service in the US Senate. Above all else, this should put Glenn high on their list of most hated Americans.
3) John Glenn was a patriot. He fought as a Marine against America's enemies, in World War II, Korea and the Cold War. Trump loves the despots and demagogues of the world as he has stated many times; Putin, Kim Jong-un, Duterte, the list is long. For this reason alone Glenn should go high on their list of hated Americans; since one of the new Trump objectives is to form a closer alliance with Putin, the former head of the KGB. Trump supporters implicitly revile WWII era soldiers with a special passion; after all, they fought and died to defend the USA against an evil Axis that had similar goals to those of their newly elected leader.
4) John Glenn was quiet, humble and generous. There are so many stories of Glenn's generosity and kindness that we could fill pages here. Here's a good one: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/artic...tayed-grounded . This above all is a characteristic that should place Glenn near the top of the Trump supporters most-hated list. These old-fashioned values have been supplanted by the new Trump inspired values of intolerance, bigotry and hatred for anyone that dares to disagree with them.
I'm sure there are many other examples, these are just a few contrasts off the top of my head. But as I was watching that parade of people at Glenn's service, mostly older Americans, somberly filing past that flag-draped casket and the Marine honor guard I had to wonder: are there any Trump supporters secretly among them?
Hopefully most people are not so one dimensional that they can not celebrate the good in a person because they disagree with something that person believed in or cut a person off because they don't support their pet cause. I have found most reasonable, mature people are just not that petty.
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Hopefully most people are not so one dimensional that they can not celebrate the good in a person because they disagree with something that person believed in or cut a person off because they don't support their pet cause. I have found most reasonable, mature people are just not that petty.
I used to find that all the time, Oldhag1. But we are living in a new era, where civility, patriotism and generosity of spirit have been swept away by Trump's brand of populism. All those old values are in direct opposition to his administration, in fact they are a threat. Populist demagogues keep the populace stirred up against a perceived enemy, that's how he got elected and it's how he will try to maintain psychological control.
Last edited by GearHeadDave; 12-17-2016 at 07:41 AM..
Dave,
why would you politicize John Glenn's death like this...
Sure there are dopes on every side..... don't be ONE OF THEM!!!
Yeah, that was pretty much my disgusted reaction too. Nice way to take an American hero and mix in a little Trump bashing. I know you folks are bitter, but try to have some decency.
The journey made John Glenn an American hero and the face of a successful new space program that made Americans proud. Glenn later served in Congress for 24 years as a U.S. senator from Ohio.
What makes you think there will be no Trump supporters at his memorial service? What makes you think Trump supports will not honor such an American hero?
He is a Former Marine, Glenn’s flight showed that the U.S. space program was as good as the Soviet Union’s. He became an instant hero. Cities across the country threw parades for him, and President John F. Kennedy invited him to the White House. He is a true hero refuses to call himself a hero.
What is wrong with you, op? What makes you think that Trump supporters will disrespect such an honorable human being?
Hopefully most people are not so one dimensional that they can not celebrate the good in a person because they disagree with something that person believed in or cut a person off because they don't support their pet cause. I have found most reasonable, mature people are just not that petty.
The journey made John Glenn an American hero and the face of a successful new space program that made Americans proud. Glenn later served in Congress for 24 years as a U.S. senator from Ohio.
What makes you think there will be no Trump supporters at his memorial service? What makes you think Trump supports will not honor such an American hero?
He is a Former Marine, Glenn’s flight showed that the U.S. space program was as good as the Soviet Union’s. He became an instant hero. Cities across the country threw parades for him, and President John F. Kennedy invited him to the White House. He is a true hero refuses to call himself a hero.
What is wrong with you, op? What makes you think that Trump supporters will disrespect such an honorable human being?
And if you was a sitting US senator, he would stand in opppsition to Trump and Trump supporters would hate him. See McCain, John.
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