Ted Cruz was in Indiana on Monday and walked over to a boisterous Donald Trump supporters on the other side of the street.
"What do you like about Donald Trump?" Cruz asked of the dyed-in-the-wool Trump supporter in sunglasses.
Cruz eloquently made his points as did the Trump supporter but was interrupted by rude shouts of "Lyin' Ted" from the man's peers.
The man seemed indifferent to facts presented by Cruz. After the talk, the Trump supporter walked away and was surprised by Cruz's nerve but told a reporter: "Anything that Donald Trump talks about, that's what I'm about."
In La Porte, Ind., Cruz, as he so famously does, confronted a pre-teenager who shouted "You suck!" his way. In the most dignified way that he could, the Texas senator walked up to the boy and said, "Thank you son. I appreciate you sharing your views. You know, hopefully one of the things somebody has told you is that children should actually speak with respect. Imagine what a different world it would be if someone told Donald Trump that years ago. In my household, when a child behaved that way, they'd get a spanking."
Let's set politics aside for a moment. Who couldn't be impressed with how Cruz politely confronts those who are rude with him? Have you seen other candidates do that?
I'm appalled at the way some Americans have behaved on the 2016 presidential campaign trail. It's symptomatic of what a rude people we've become. I felt it was supremely rude how the Black Lives Matter protestors successfully hijacked the Bernie Sanders rally in Seattle last summer. I suppose for that reason I was glad to see Trump wasn't going to put up with his rallies being interrupted the same way. Trump shocked many when he suggested his supporters slug anyone trying to interrupt his rallies.
The uncivility perhaps reached a zenith when Trump came to Costa Mesa and Burlingame in California last week. A parade of Trump supporters were greeted by young Latino people flipping off Trump and his people and hatefully screaming "F--- you!" The Costa Mesa demonstrations included screeching burnouts in their cars, doughnuts at intersections, kicking at and punched approaching vehicles and shouting expletives. At a Trump rally in Orange County, protestors threw rocks at Trump supporters, broke out a window of one police cruiser, punctured the tires of a police SUV, and at one point tried to flip a police car.
It reminds me of apes in the zoo who aren't being fed on time.
Ironically Luis Serrano, an organizer with California Immigration Youth Justice Alliance, said: "We're going to keep showing up and standing against the actions and the hate Donald Trump is creating."
Hmm, just who are the ones showing hate?
A very polarized America is caught in a culture war. One side, the conservative side of America, believes in borders and immigration law. They fear the unbridled and massive influx of illegal immigrants is greatly impacting the U.S. jobs market and causing government services to collapse under the weight of social service demands. (A 2014 study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform finds that providing education, healthcare, law enforcement, and social and government services to illegal aliens and their dependents costs Californians a staggering $25.3 billion per year).The protestors, it could be argued, have no allegiance to the United States (judging by the way the Mexican flag is proudly brought to rallies), its history, its Constitution or the concept of a great melting pot. Instead, it's "what can America do for me?" (not what can I do for it) and we'll riot and flip out if anyone stands in our way of the cash cow. If only they realized their actions are only reinforcing the belief that things have gotten so out of hand that a wall is needed and needed tomorrow.
It would be nice if people were civil in our political discourse. Whether or not you agree with Ted Cruz's politics, you've got to admire how he has been civil to those who are uncivil towards him. If we could all do the same.
Not only would it be nice to teach our children the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you") but teach that how to intelligently verbalize their political argument rather than resort to rocks. It's sad to read the comments made by one anti-Trump protestor, Arianna Perez, 19, who told the L.A. Times: "We could be peaceful and do things different but if we did, we wouldn't get our voice heard."
It's very hard to respect anyone who takes that approach to politics. Mob rule will never prevail in how we chose our leaders so change tactics.
How do you feel? Let Jeff know by emailing him at jeffb@cerescourier.com
