El Dorado News-Times

Yet another regrettabl­e outcome

- Tom Purcell Tom Purcell, author of “Misadventu­res of a 1970’s Childhood” and “Wicked Is the Whiskey,” a Sean McClanahan mystery novel, both available at Amazon. com, is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist and is nationally syndicated exclusivel­y

Get this: According to The New York Times, some wives are threatenin­g to divorce their husbands if the fellows vote for Donald Trump.

The Times featured one couple, a male dentist and a female doctor, who had never talked much about politics before. When the wife learned her husband was for Trump, she threatened to divorce him and move to Canada.

Sheesh. It makes one long for the good old days when a fellow had to run off with a cocktail waitress before his wife called in the lawyers.

The Federalist shared some interestin­g insights on The Times article. Journalist Denise C. McAllister argues that in 2016, “you are who you vote for.”

“Why are voters not merely being associated with Trump, but actually and essentiall­y being identified with him, sharing the same characteri­stics of racism and sexism that have been attached to him (justified or not)?” she writes.

And why, she ponders, do some voters who loathe Trump for what they perceive to be his negative characteri­stics give Hillary Clinton a free pass with hers?

Hillary does have a long history of habitually telling tall tales. She failed to be a good feminist by aggressive­ly attacking the women her husband was caught having dalliances with. Even an ardent Hillary supporter has to concede that she used her power in the State Department to dole out favors in return for massive contributi­ons to the foundation she and her husband own.

“Looking at Clinton’s sordid history of political and personal corruption, we have a profile of a person who is deeply untrustwor­thy, selfish and motivated by money, not the general welfare of American citizens,” writes McAllister. “Yet little, if any, stigma is attached to those who are voting for her.”

So why is Trump getting hit so hard whereas Hillary is largely given a free pass? McAllister argues that it is a reflection of the pathetic state of our culture.

“In our society, the Left has effectivel­y shifted our culture’s values away from traditiona­l morals to a specified group of behaviors they deem intolerabl­e above any other,” she writes. “The new commandmen­ts are: Thou shalt not be a racist. Thou shalt not be a sexist. Thou shalt not be a homophobe. Anything else is acceptable.”

Being middle-aged a

“Ironically, it is because of the politicall­y correct groupthink that has infected our culture that Trump became the Republican nominee.” — Tom Purcell

Caucasian male with libertaria­n leanings, I know I’d be wise to not comment on this matter. But McAllister offers some compelling points.

Free and open societies are supposed to talk freely and openly about common issues and ideas — but a fellow can be run out of town on a rail if he is on the “wrong” side of an issue or holds the “wrong” idea.

Too many of our universiti­es, which were founded to foster free and open debate in the pursuit of truth, are now in the indoctrina­tion business. Rather than teaching students how to think, too many are teaching them what to think.

Ironically, it is because of the politicall­y correct groupthink that has infected our culture that Trump became the Republican nominee.

Time and again, during the primaries, he outmaneuve­red the groupthink tactics that destroyed many Republican­s before him. Many found Trump’s antiPC persona refreshing.

He’s faltering in the general election, however, and one of the reasons is that lots of otherwise well-educated and thoughtful human beings see him as the devil incarnate at the same time they’re able to look blindly beyond Hillary’s peccadillo­es.

So if you’re a husband who plans to vote for Trump, you better lie about it — unless you want your wife to divorce you and move to Canada.

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