Partisan Viewpoints: Article Review
The article found on RealClearPolitics (RealClearPolitics.com) and sourced from the Miami Herald, (MiamiHerald.com) and titled “Trump’s DeSantis-induced meltdown the act of a jealous, deluded narcissist. This is your leader, GOP?” clearly displays conservative and liberal viewpoints. The thesis can clearly be identified in the Headline, showing both a conservative and liberal perspective. Though this article is written about the reformation of the modern Republican party, it stands to create its own deceptive dichotomy which suggests to the reader that you are either an advocate of Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis. The content was written just three days after the midterm elections, yet while initially appearing to be Conservative, praising Ron DeSantis, eventually divulges into a partisan attack on the Conservative Party. This is evident as Ron DeSantis has just been re-elected by the people for a four-year commitment as Florida and former President Donald Trump has begun hinting at an announcement for his re-election campaign. This is where the article began to reveal itself as Liberal. As Stephen Witham describes, per our presentation, Conservatives hold a Biblical perspective of truth and morality. As with both Trump and DeSantis, Conservatives believe in the absolutes of right and wrong, with specific advocacy of our Constitutional Republic as exceptional and superior to all other forms of governance. (Witham, Stephen)
Analysis. In an overall analysis, the Miami Herald article chosen should be considered Liberal based on the teachings of Professor Stephen Witham, exposing the difference in discerning partisan viewpoints. As discussed, Conservatives view our national problems as self-originating from within our Fallen state. Liberals rebuke Biblical origin, seeking an external change to their environments to meet their needs, both social and economic. In the eyes of the Liberal, human beings are inherently good, and each of us has a duty to submit our economic decisions to the “experts,” allowing the government to make policy by which we must abide. The article which reiterates Trump’s crude reference to Ron DeSantis, as “Ron DeSanctimonious” provides evidence that Donald Trump is as human as the American citizens who need his leadership as President in 2024. The article clearly aims to divide both Conservatives and Republican voters on the position of Conservativism, instigating a wedge to be placed between Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump. Both candidates are of the same party with similar values and economic positions. As Stephen Witham reveals, beyond seeking to control and shape their external environment, Liberals attribute the worldviews of others, as the source of their personal suffering and hardships. It also showed us that Presidential candidates should not be chosen based on their personality, as we are all similarly depraved. By encouraging Republican division between the Ultra-MAGA and the Republican Party, the progressive left-wing radicals can continue to consume our nation by cramming propaganda coated in reimagined interpretations of our Founder’s intent, and God’s image. This has led to the revocation and desecration of western traditional values. As defined by Professor Witham, Conservatives must search within themselves to produce a change, not hold faith that the government will usher in a lasting change that benefits the public over their own interests. If Conservativism is based on Biblical Truth, how should Conservatives view Liberals? God explains this answer to us in many ways throughout the Bible. One message that purveys this is found in the second to last book in the Bible, the Book of Jude. It states that “’In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.’ These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.” (NIV Jude 1:18,19) By the Lord’s standard, and Stephen Witham’s descriptions of Liberals and Conservatives the article is a great indication that the interests of our society have become publicly accommodated to Liberals. Toleration and diversity remain as the highest priorities, peace is thought to be achieved by disarmament of the public, and emphasis is placed on World government, such as the United Nations. The Liberals refer to Nationalism as “isolationism” and feel that U.S. sovereignty prevents solving world problems, and therefore many see Trump as a threat. Professor Witham explains that Conservatives know peace is achieved not through submission to man, but through a strong military. In addition, Conservatives distrust World government and reject total control of our foreign policy through the United Nations, where 193 countries (UN.org) have equal votes in world affairs. Conservatives believe in the Judeo-Christian tradition that America’s greatest strength is our national sovereignty and that relinquishing this would mean deposing the authority of our U.S. Constitution. As Professor Stephen Witham explains although God and Jesus are not specifically mentioned in our Constitution, “the year of our Lord” is written on the final page before the Founder’s signatures. This detail alone invalidates many Liberal viewpoints which plague Conservative Americans' values today, suggesting the entirety of the Constitution was created to uphold the Biblical image of God, taking the same structure from the law of the Lord. Yet the debate and ideological conflict continue today, even among many Conservatives, as evident in this article.
Citations
The Miami Herald. (November 11, 2022, 2:14 PM). Trump’s DeSantis-induced meltdown the act of a jealous, deluded narcissist. This is your leader, GOP? | Editorial. https://www.aol.com/news/trump-desantis-induced-meltdown-act-191443471.html.
Witham, Stephen. (Friday February 09, 2018). Liberty University: Liberalism and Conservatism – Part 1: GOVT220: American Government (D04). https://canvas.liberty.edu/courses/342012/pages/watch-liberalism-and-conservatism-part-1?module_item_id=42041798.
Witham, Stephen. (Friday February 9th, 2018). Liberty University: Liberalism and Conservatism – Part 2: GOVT220: American Government (D04). https://canvas.liberty.edu/courses/342012/pages/watch-liberalism-and-conservatism-part-2?module_item_id=42041802.
Bible, New International Version Jude Chapter 1, Verse 18, 19 (Interpretive Literal Transcript of Original Bible Published Originally in 1973, 1978)
United Nations. (2022). About Us | United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/about-us.