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Oh, those pesky social media platforms where absolutely any Tom, Dick or Harriet can cobble together a political meme, post said missive, and suddenly have it become the honest to God’s truth. Unless one calls home the underside of an enormous rock or so far deep in the woods and off the grid that civilization – and I use that term ever so lightly – cannot penetrate, every Twitter and Facebook connoisseur has used a meme to hammer friends with their point of view.
One such meme about the Clinton Foundation raised such a ruckus between liberals and conservatives that I was drawn into the drama and proceeded to hunt down my friend from Down Under for a chat about politics in America.
A successful horse trainer in New South Wales, Australia, TJ came to America to work with Mustangs; a breed he feels is worthy of America’s protection. A legal alien now calling Wisconsin home, he is in the process of becoming a citizen. And TJ has traveled to over 26 countries; he has a good grasp of the political reputation America has in Europe. He has a strong, protective view of his new homeland, and knows firsthand the allure of the American dream.
I asked him if he considered himself a Republican or Libertarian, as it was obvious he couldn’t stand Hillary and the DNC.
“I suppose I fall in the conservative camp on almost every issue. Liberalism has and will continue to be the downfall of every country in the world.”
The Clinton Foundation Meme
In a short bullet pointed paragraph, the above mentioned incendiary meme laid out the financial workings of the Foundation, highlighting that only 3% of the hundreds of millions raised went to charitable causes – which we know as fact. But you would think that each respondent was personally insulted by the image.
One man who found it “divisive and misleading” demanded President Trump’s tax returns, and had to be schooled that The Donald has never, and will likely never be, classified as a public non-profit. A woman who characterized herself as a ‘friend’ and East coaster offered a lot of cusswords, misspelled words, and bad grammar to make this delightful point, “What utter crap TJ, you are not even from here.”
Well, but he is, and he reminded the post gremlins with, “Mate do live here and have done for 27 years and I can see what is happening as much as you all. The politicians are crooks.”
TJ has chosen to live in the Heartland, and although he is happily earning a good living, paying taxes, and completing his studies and paperwork for the citizenship exam, he worries about the turn this country has taken under local liberal governments. He recently applied for a permit with Madison, Wisconsin to conduct a fundraising drive, Ride for The Blue, for law enforcement. He was denied, and isn’t happy that ANTIFA, and most recently, March For Our Lives, were granted permission:
“We now have the media and alt left using kids to fight against the 2nd Amendment. And they use the gal who wears Communist patches as a badge of honor and David Hogg, who seems to be everywhere on every issue, and curses his parents. That fella needs a kick up the arse and a good flogging behind the barn.”
A Midwesterner Through and Through
TJ’s opinions mirror those of most folks who live in the flyover states, except displaced liberals living in excruciating social pain in some of the Heartland’s bigger cities. He favored Trump in the last election, and is disappointed in the un-American backlash he has witnessed for the past 24-months against the president, saying, “Give the bugger a real go. Stop this Russia, Russia, Russia whining, make able welfare recipients earn their food stamps and assistance–there is plenty of rubbish in the streets to collect.”
TJ has grown to love America; it gave him an unparalleled opportunity to succeed at doing what he loves to do best–train, teach, and touch the lives of horses and the people who love them. He is a Midwesterner to the core of his being, and he will be a legal voting citizen in the very near future.
