The Paradigm Shift of Loyalty

There was a time in the not too distant past where most of us understood what conservative Republicanism was all about. My father, a card carrying Republican who never swayed from the party line, gave me the opportunity to view unequivocal loyalty to an ideology firsthand. Even though Reagan, George Bush Sr. and George W. Bush had distinctly different styles of leadership – their “Republican swagger” had a similar gait and back then, so did the parties most ardent supporters.

Before 2016, people who were loyalists to the Grand Old Party shared a distinct checklist of political priorities: pro-military, pro-law enforcement including our intelligence agencies, supporters of the second amendment, unapologetic about faith, constitutionalists and patriots and most importantly fierce defenders of small government believing in the “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime” theory of social responsibility.

But today, for the fiercest of our President’s supporters, those once lauded ideals have literally been “Trumped.”

As we all have witnessed hardliners like George Will and Charlie Sykes flee the party and reregister as Independents – those of us who are watching from the middle are left scratching our heads in bewilderment. Who will be the intellectual voice of reason? Where are those loyal to the compassionate conservatism espoused by George Bush Sr.? Will there be anyone left in the GOP like Senator McCain who is willing to reach across the aisle and defy the will of their new leader?

While these questions daily jostle around in my puzzled mind – the bigger quandary for me is the paradigm shift of loyalty from conservative ideology and Republican platform tenants to one man and his version of reality.

Reading through psychology periodicals, I understand the human nature aspect of devoted allegiance to a charismatic leader. I also comprehend that for the mentally vulnerable (psychologist’s term, not mine) – outlandish conspiracy theories work well to stir up a sense of collective paranoia. Translation: our way of life is under attack and this man is the only one who gets it.

Here is the part that continues to baffle me. As we all have witnessed day after day – Mr. Trump is loyal to only one person and that is himself. He wasn’t loyal to his first or second wife and has been accused of repeatedly cheating on his third wife. He never served our country a single day in his life until he became President. We have watched as he throws one close “friend” after another under the bus including his personal lawyer who had his back for years. He shows no loyalty to decorated Generals, C.I.A and F.B.I. directors, or anyone else who dares to question his tactics. But we knew that about his nature before we went to the polls. He showed us his true colors from day one. And a percentage of Americans liked the picture he was painting.

I wonder what would these exact same people who flip the bird at the news media during his rallies be doing if Donald Trump had actually run and won as a Democrat. What if Obama had laughed with the Russians in the oval office and called the then serving FBI director a “nut job”? So many “what ifs” I’m convinced have never crossed the mind of many of the folks happily wearing the MAGA hats.

How did we get to this place where so many have chosen loyalty to one man over loyalty to our founding father’s vision of Democracy with three separate but equal branches of government?

I’m sure future historians will have a lot to say about this time in our country’s political divide. In the meantime I love to reflect on Ellen’s words “be kind to everyone” a lofty goal worthy of all of our attention and intention.

This article was written by a guest blogger. The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of Bob Lacey, Sheri Lynch or the Bob & Sheri show.

The Zen Den

Hello and welcome to The Zen Den. My name is Alison and while I am passionate about many things, my most inspiring driving force is human connection. Blogger, content writer, orthopedic exercise specialist, motivational speaker, international yoga pro, published songwriter, avid poker player, mom and wife are just a few of my titles. But when I do my job at NASA, I am known simply as “The Fairy Zenmother” a role I deeply love because people invite me into their space to help them find their center, relax and stretch their muscles and destress their mind. Here in the blogosphere version of The Zen Den, I invite you into my world where I will explore ideas for creating a better tomorrow and a kinder today. And hopefully, with insight, authenticity and humor; my words, observations and experiences will help you feel calm, centered, intellectually challenged and spiritually enlightened. Alternatively, if you have something you would like to see covered in The Zen Den, just let me know. Your feedback is welcome and valuable to the success of this blog. Finally, my heart is filled with gratitude to have this opportunity to share with all of you.