Okay, not ACTUALLY OdeO, whose been departed from us these many decades, but an illustration he gave back when I had him as a religion teacher, in high school.
OdeO was about the most practical religion teacher I ever experienced in my 16 years in a church-affiliated schools. He was horrified at teaching that girls who had sex before marriage were spiritually DOOMED. In his opinion, if a girl who slipped believed there that the door to true marriage love was slammed shut forever by her error, she had no reason for making wiser choices in the present, because her sorry future was already decided.
In similar fashion, he warned us about making a rash decision, then thinking we had to do it again in order to justify the first indiscretion. That he knew of girls who, having "gone all the way," felt almost honor-bound to do so again in order set things right with themselves about the original slip.
Thought about that during the GOP Convention, listening to Speaker Ryan & other Republican leaders who stand 4-square against a yuge percentage of what Donald Trump spews. I can't imagine what the Chamber of Commerce was going through at an event that is usually their literally crowning glory. Or the military defense contractors. Or evangelicals hearing him welcome the LGBT community. Envisioning the response of what were once tagged Country Club Republicans, who considered Mitt Romney & Cindy McCain & all the Bushes their own kind, as they watched the head of the Ultimate Fighting League & Scott Baio or Antonio Sabatino grab prime time speaking slots.
They ended up with a vulgar (as in taste & manner), school-yard bully braggart as their presidential candidate. Speaker Ryan & delegates who'd been dreaming for years of a 3rd Bush candidacy or a John Kasich or at least a Ted Cruz found themselves at the Quicken Loan Center (how appropriate) to crown as their candidate Donald John Trump.
When you are forced to swallow such an insult to Republican political principles & accept such outlandish disregard of any semblance of decorum, you've become pretty heavily invested in the outcome, even if it is disastrous, become the girl who, having "lost her virtue" sets out to prove that her momentary loss of judgment was actually intentional, feel compelled to prove to the world that he is The One for them.
Yeah, he might pursue policies you've fought against all your life, might reject positions you've held dear since learning them at Mumsy & Pater's knees. But, like the girl OdeO used in his example, you're going to show them all by making your own what you fear the most.
For years, I've wondered how leaders who would clearly spell disaster for their country came to be elected. Now, I know. We can hope that if HRC is elected, she won't be the train wreck all Conservatives & many Bernie supporters believe in. I have no doubt that, if elected, Donald Trump fully intends to make good on his pledge to shut down immigration & send all illegals south of th border, that he will bring jobs back to America, trash the TTP, pull out of NAFTA, bring down massive financial penalties on companies seeking to offshore jobs or move their hq out of the USA, restrict support of militarily threatened or attacked NATO allies to those who are in good financial standing with the USA, will seek to right things at home before interfering abroad, and many more are convinced she might be.
Whew! As much as they loathe HRC, my guess is they'd typically fear DJT more. But these are not normal times. They've had to swallow the bitter pill of his candidacy; now, they have to go all the way with what they'd normally consider a fate worse than death in order to set things right, if only in their broken heart - vote for Donald John Trump.
So glad I had OdeO all those years ago or else I would be fighting hard to figure out such whacked-out thinking & self-destructive behavior.
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