Among the many hard lessons I learned during the decades that I roamed the land of oversized egos was that fresh ideas and independent thinking are anathema to a political system focused upon consolidating power and wielding it in a way that allows it to perpetuate itself. The deluge of propaganda that pollutes our media outlets during campaign season confirms what experience has taught me.
That’s why I’m appreciative of the Alabama Political Reporter for providing a stage for me to share my insight with those weary of the cacophony of stale slogans blared at them from all directions. Those who have known me for quite a while may remember that I have not always been on friendly terms with APR, but that was another time, and much has changed since then.
I’ve also learned that the best way to eliminate an adversary is to stop fighting and look for common ground, which is counterintuitive to some of the darkest elements of our human instincts: fear, contempt, hatred, resentment, self-righteousness and idolatry, all of which fuel the fires of political warfare. Political systems do not extinguish those fires; they merely attempt to control them, usually with other fires.
The Christ I have followed since my youth is a veteran firefighter who can extinguish them, unlike the multitude of political idols, impersonators, fraudsters and arsonists who seem to surround us. He is the consummate healer in a world full of harm.
Unfortunately, it is easy to get sidetracked following the wrong savior. It happens all the time. Many imposters have come and gone, and religious and political cults have been built around them. There is nothing wrong with regularly questioning your savior, as John the Baptist did from prison when he asked, “Is it you, or should I look for another?”
Although my faith has been confirmed many times over, I have also been sidetracked more times than I care to admit. Fortunately, it is easy to get back on course. The hard part is recognizing that you are off course in the first place.
Which brings me to the 800-pound political gorilla I have tried to avoid for as long as I could: Donald Trump.
I am not saying that all of our current president’s supporters consider him a savior, but many clearly do, at least politically. There appears to be a multitude of people who adore him at a level matched only by the visceral hatred others have for him.
I can think of nobody more divisive, or anyone who revels more in the heat of political fires, than Donald Trump. Whether hailed as a hero or reviled as a villain, his insatiable appetite for attention has placed him at the center of the political world.
While our country grapples with a great multitude of pressing issues that deserve far more public attention than they receive, the president, aided by both his followers and his detractors, has managed to make himself the dominant issue in the minds of millions of voters across the political spectrum.
Since confession is good for the soul, I will admit that I never held Donald Trump in especially high regard, although my interest in partisanship was already declining for reasons unrelated to him by 2016, when his eventual takeover of the Republican Party was still in its infancy.
Of the large field of Republican presidential candidates that year, he was not even in my top 10.
My first impression of him was that of a crude huckster and an obnoxious, thuggish blowhard whom common-sense conservatives would easily see through. I missed badly on that one, though not entirely. Mostly on the part about conservatives seeing through him. Much of the rest of his behavior since then has exceeded even my original expectations.
Anyone who spends time in politics eventually learns what matters to them, what does not, when to step forward, and when to step back.
By the time the 2018 legislative campaign cycle rolled around, part of me already wanted to leave politics behind. Ethics reform and medical cannabis, however, were issues that would not let me walk away. As an aside, the reclassification of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III strikes me as one of the more lucid policy decisions of the current Trump administration. Bravo.
I had not faced a legislative opponent since 2006, but in 2018 they came at me from all directions. I had opposition from the right in the Republican primary, a Democrat from the left in the general election, and a Libertarian from parts unknown. They likely sensed my waning political appetite, and when blood is in the water, sharks circle.
Polling indicated to my consultant that Republican support for President Trump was extremely high within the district, and like any astute politician, I had no desire to antagonize any portion of my party’s base. The Trump-centered MAGA movement, which many of my friends and supporters had embraced, was gaining momentum quickly.
My consultant insisted that I needed to pacify those voters, but I preferred to avoid the subject altogether since Trump had nothing to do with my legislative service. Still, she persisted and eventually came up with a flyer that met with my approval while allowing me to avoid directly touching the political tar baby.
On one side of the flyer was a photograph of Marine Corps Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis shaking hands with President Trump alongside a caption stating that when President Trump needs to get a job done, he can count on a Marine.
On the other side was a photograph of me and a caption stating that Mike Ball is a veteran Marine you can count on to continue faithfully serving as your state representative in Montgomery.
It was a brilliant piece of political propaganda.
Everything in it was technically true, yet it remains one of the most dishonest things I ever did for the sake of political expediency.
I would like to be a friend to everyone who crosses my path, but that simply is not possible when friendship is conditioned upon shutting my eyes and viewing the world through theirs. That is not friendship as I understand it.
I have known Barry Moore since 2010. Despite our sharply divergent opinions of the current president, and despite not speaking for many years, I still consider him a friend. As far as I can tell, he is as honest as a politician can be, so I believe him when he expresses his unshakable devotion to President Trump.
The president obviously agrees, because personal allegiance appears to be the paramount qualification for earning his endorsement.
It appears my friend may ride that endorsement into a Republican primary runoff, and perhaps even all the way to the U.S. Senate, but not with my vote.
The president’s endorsement is a major turnoff to me because unlike Barry and many of my other friends who looked at Donald Trump and saw a hero, I saw a huckster. To me, he resembles a sinister 21st-century version of P.T. Barnum, who is often credited with the phrase, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
Unlike many fellow Christians who took grave offense at the president’s recent juvenile attempt to portray himself as some sort of Christ-like healer, I did not.
The person depicted in that mind-bending meme bore absolutely no resemblance to my Savior, who is not so weak that He needs me to protect Him from something as vapid as a cartoon caricature.
All I saw was a con artist continuing to play to his marks.
And when it began to appear that the stunt might backfire, and that some of his followers might begin to wise up, he attempted to recover by claiming he was only trying to portray himself as a healer.
Nope.
Neither a savior nor a healer.
All I could see was a huckster.
Maybe it was an optical illusion, because when I stared at it again searching for the doctor healing his patient, all I could see was an emperor with no clothes.
