Trump's Tipping Point

Malcolm Gladwell popularized the phrase “Tipping Point,” which describes a moment when a group (including an entire country/nation) changes direction. The catalyst for the change could be anything, such as a major event, disease, or something else. Regardless of the singular event, the group begins to behave in a different way. Things that had been rare before become normalized. Ultimately, the game changes. The old game is ended and a new game begins.
This is where we find ourselves today. For our entire lifetimes, the pundits and politicians have played their game. The end result of their game was money flowing into their pockets, power accumulating in a small cabal of legislators and donors. On November 8, 2016, this game was given a death blow, and on January 20, 2017, the game reached its conclusion. When Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, he broke the seal on a new game.
Some were quick to catch on. We see former rivals aligning themselves with Trump’s agenda. Examples of this group would be Senator Ted Cruz, White House Cheif of Staff Reince Priebus, and others. Not so long ago, these folks vehemently opposed Trump and what they perceived to be what Trump stood for. However, they are wise enough to recognize that the game has changed. The old rules do not apply, anymore than Monopoly rules are beneficial in a game of Chess. We can see an alteration of their behavior, tone, and even the language that they use.
Others, however, are still trying to play the old game. The game that is boxed up and shoved on a shelf. The game that is no longer being played.
For decades, the Left has used intimidation and threats to stymie the Right. Even the mention of “racism” would send the Right into full-fledged panic, produces incessant proclamations that “we are not racist. We love minorities.” The Left has protested events they did not like. The Right, in its attempts to play fairly and decently, would bend to the protests. The rules favored the Left, and the Right never really figured out how to break through.
Today, the charge of racism is just as likely to get a more tepid response, “so what?” Protesters are laughed at and become the subject of memes that circulate on the internet. The rules have been changed. Sure, there are still some on the Right who have not caught up yet, but give them time.
And that is my point here. We find ourselves in an odd time. We have some folks on the Right who played the rigged game for so long that they are struggling to learn the new rules. While there are some early adapters, there are others that have not yet put it all together. Some of them, though not all, will eventually get it.
Consider Trump himself. Twenty years ago, he was not the man he is today. He was pro-baby killing, and lived an immoral and hedonistic lifestyle. Can you even imagine Trump from twenty  years ago putting Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court? Of course not. But he has apparently changed.
You may still not be sure about him, and that is fine. At the same time, you cannot deny that to this point, he has been a man of his word. What he promised in his campaign has been his focus in his two weeks in the Oval Office. For me, I will continue to give him the benefit of the doubt, and I expect that he will continue to follow through.
But what about those on the Right? My suggestion is to give them some room to come to terms with the new rules. I suspect that we will see more and more of them warming up to the Trump agenda. After a period of time, many of them will make that transition. By 2018, at the mid-term elections, those who have not need to be voted out of office, regardless of party.
This does not mean we should not put pressure on them before then. It might be that our calls, letters, and emails to our elected officials will help them to recognize the new reality. But at the same time, remember that this is a momentous time, and some of them were simply not prepared for such a change. Even up to the inauguration, many believed that Trump would begin to play by the old rules. Those expectations have now been dashed.
We are at a tipping point. The new Trump-directed move through history is going to happen, one way or the other. Those elected officials that recognize it and begin to play by the new rules can help make it happen more smoothly. Those who fail to adhere to the new ways need to go.