Does Donald Trump really represent Berks County’s values?

by Steve Reinbrecht

Trump has made me realize how conservative I am.

Conservatism as an ideology values traditions, laws and mores that pass down through generations. Conservatives recognize the importance of time-honored customs including self-reliance, the rule of law, fundamental religious edicts, maintaining strong family relationships, and standards of speech and commerce and behavior.

Promoting such values, as many conservative leaders do, serves to keep society stable and preserve its accomplishments. Conservative practices engender the stability and confidence that business and carefree consumption depend on.

I'm glad many thoughtful conservatives have played important roles in United States leadership.

On the other hand are progressives -- inventors, visionaries, experimenters, entrepreneurs, artists, explorers, complainers, critics and disruptors. If not for these sorts, we'd have been hard-pressed to ever learn to control fire.

Balancing these strong currents of thought has made the United States great.

Enter Trump, the anti-conservative AND anti-progressive. Because he doesn't formulate his ideas, there is no way to consider them to see if they would work – the antithesis of thoughtful conservatism. And if he’s a progressive – the sort who have also led the fight for human rights – why is he so roundly rejected by Democrats?

Hillary Clinton is much more conservative than Trump. Republicans and Democrats alike respect things on my list here, though they argue over degree. Trump has molested each of these ideals.

And -- these are ideals I see proclaimed and followed by most people in Berks County. I’ll be very disappointed if we vote to make a deal with the devil.

• Sincere faith
• Fiscal prudence
• Not harming people because of their religion
• Not sexualizing one’s young daughters
• Not boasting of having slept with other people’s spouses
• The value of science
• Ethical business behavior
• Separation of governmental powers
• Deference to judges
• Polite discourse
• Sophisticated diplomacy
• The importance of good will and consensus in decision making
• Teaching people to respect other people
• Protecting the weak and vulnerable
• Having a government too small to find, apprehend and deport millions of residents mixed throughout the general population
• Keeping an American presence across the world