Wednesday, December 7, 2016

On My Conduct During the Election

Since Donald Trump's election, I have had numerous opportunities to discuss its impact with friends, strangers, family members, and even with members of the Press. These conversations have forced me to think deeply about my views...but more to the point, my behavior during the election.  The bottom line is that I behaved badly, I brought discredit upon myself, and I've learned important lessons about how I wish to conduct myself in the future.  What am I talking about?

Let's start with what I am NOT talking about. I am not talking about all of the instances here and elsewhere on social media where I pointed out legitimate policy differences between what Trump was saying and what I believed and what I thought the bulk of Conservatives and Republicans believed. I am proud of the policy stands I took, and had I restricted my statements SOLELY to the realm of policy, I would not be writing this post.  But I didn't.

I said and wrote disrespectful, ad hominem, and personally insulting things about a man I have never met (Trump), and I lumped a good many of his voters into the mix. I allowed my deep disappointment in my candidate's demise (Rubio) to cause me to act inhumanely, and I allowed my ego--battered by having been so utterly wrong in my political judgment--to drive me into great fits of anger and pique.

Quite simply, I let the election get the best of me, and I allowed it to make me a lesser man. I was intemperate, immodest, and without poise. I cannot undo what I did, but I can resolve not to repeat it. So this is what I am going to do.

As I wrote when after the election, I wish the President-Elect well. I hope and pray he is successful. I have been greatly pleased by some of the people he has chosen to surround himself with, and I hope he continues to attract more.

Where his policy choices and my preferences overlap, I will say so.

Where they are in conflict, I will say so too, and I will explain why I hold the views I do.

What I will not do is insult him or anyone else. I broke my own blog's rules over and over, but I won't do it again. I aim to disagree without being disagreeable, something at which I failed miserably over the past year.

I ask you--my readers--to call me on this. If I lapse into personal attacks, I want to hear about it. I think the quality of this blog suffered greatly this year and it was entirely my fault. I think we can return it to a place of considered thought and opinion in 2017, and I hope that you'll keep reading.


8 comments:

"The Hammer" said...

Water under the bridge, plus you were NOT alone.
http://conservativewahoo.blogspot.com/2015/12/insults-and-disrespect-not-winning.html

Ken Adams said...

I hope that the rest of the never-Trump gang eventually come to the same realization. A house divided cannot stand, and those of us who adhere to conservative principles must remain united with the makers against the takers.

The Conservative Wahoo said...

I hope Ken, that when you say "same realization" you mean one of realizing that resorting to the politics of personal attack is just not proper cricket, and NOT that we all just have to get in line. As I said, I will continue to point out where my views and those of the Administration diverge.

"The Hammer" said...

CW the aggressor sets the rules. Trump refused to lay down for these jerks, and he was as harsh as they were. As a #nevertump guy you were just playing by the rules of the day.
Good, you recognize that type of behavior isn't you. Give yourself a break and move on. Just remember, strong emotion can blind one to reality. We have to all guard against that.

Steeljaw Scribe said...

Fuel dumped and runway behind you...time to get on with the business of getting the nation back on the right track. Yours is a needed and valued voice of reason and vision that the Service is in desperate straits for.

Press on.

Rottweiler said...

Good cleansing before Christmas. Clear-minded people will benefit the new Administration and the Nation. Keep up the good work.

LL said...

I believe that we will see opportunities for improving the Navy under a Trump Administration. President Reagan surrounded himself with outstanding people and I see the same thing happening with President Trump's appointments. We will see accelerated ship building and hopefully, you, CW, will have an opportunity to help craft the policy of the Navy more in the direction that it should go - with an emphasis less on using it as a petri dish for social justice and more as a Navy.

PS - BEAT ARMY

Anonymous said...

Good to hear from you and hope you have a great holiday season and new year.

Aloha,

Chris G

Newer Post Older Post Home