The difference between the K-motivational abilities of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are quite apparent. Here, Ted talks about aspiring to live in a land where people are free to do what they want.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, released a video telling the story of Dick and Betty Odgaard, the Iowa couple who recently had to shut down their business as a result of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission’s efforts to force them to host a same-sex wedding ceremony in violation of their religious beliefs. The video highlights the Odgaards’ experience with government-sanctioned religious intolerance, as well as their reaction to being targeted. Cruz will host a special event in Des Moines, IA, next month featuring the Odgaards…
New data show Americans are strongly opposed to government forcing business owners to violate their deeply held religious beliefs. Nearly three out of five people (59%) now say that businesses with wedding-related services should not have to provide those services to same-sex couples, an increase of seven percent from April.
“Our country was founded by people who risked everything for religious liberty, free of the government getting in the way,” Cruz tells the Odgaards in the video. “And I want to thank both of you, number one, for taking a stand. But number two, for telling your story.
“Your story is powerful. Your story is inspirational and inspires me, and it inspires millions of believers, believers of many faiths across this country who want to live in a land where we’re free to live out according to our faith and our convictions and it’s not second guessed by the government stepping in and saying, we don’t share your faith and we’re going to shut you down.”
This speech says, “That is so sad, and wouldn’t it be nice if people left us alone…Oh well….”
Trump’s version would be far less eloquent, but much more confrontational. It would not focus on a story of rabbits successfully damaging a K-strategist’s life. It would focus on the story of what we are about to do to the rabbits now that we are rising up. It would begin by pressing emotional buttons designed to raise anger and irritation. In Chinese theory, sadness demotivates (as does depression in psychiatry), but anger drives to action. If there is one problem among the wolves today it is apathy. Anger is the cure for that.
Their story wouldn’t have focused on how hurt their feelings were as they shut down their store after being called names. It would have focused on the oppressive and evil deviants who are not like us, and are conspiring to leave our friend’s family business penniless and them on the street. It would have connected it to other issues to broaden the number of people who felt oppressed and angry. The damage to the economy, government oppression elsewhere, treason in international diplomacy, and betrayals of Americans. It would have brought to mind illegal foreign criminals killing our fellow citizens.
Trump’s speech would have gone something like this:
“Who are these busybody freaks who are trying to tell us what to do every moment of our lives? Who are they to tell us what to think, what to believe, and even to betray our God? Where do they get the right?! Who are these losers, these deviant weirdo’s who are walking into our lives, and trying to destroy our ability to survive, our ability to feed our families, our very nation? And why are they doing it? Because they insist on the right to invade our private lives, and force us to accept their disgusting deviancy? Where do they get the right? Who do they think they are? This is war! This is war!!
“Here’s what I am going to do, when I am President to put the hurt on these evil little bastards that took a great American small business and destroyed it out of spite….”
Now inherent to Ted’s style is a certain classiness and intellectual element. And maybe he is purposely trying to stay below the radar, while Trump absorbs all the flak. But introducing confrontational, ridiculing, in-group/out-group, and mortal salience stimuli needs to become a part of the Republican dialog. Our base needs anger, danger, an enemy, and a fight to be motivated. Try to class it up if you want, but keep the foundation of K-motivation that conservatives need to get that fire in the belly.
Right now, Trump is giving us that, and reaping the benefits at the polls. If he falters at some point, or the media damage grows too severe, Ted needs to be ready to fill his shoes.
