Bamboozle means, according to dictionary.com, to deceive or get the better of (someone) by trickery, flattery or the like… some synonyms include dupe, cheat, swindle, defraud, flim-flam, delude, mislead and fool.
IJRRed.com, labeled as a home for conservative news and commentary, posted a video on December 1, 2017 of President Trump’s speech during the annual tree lighting at the Whitehouse (this video resurfaced on Facebook for the 2018 Christmas season also). The caption below the video stated “Finally, a president that isn’t afraid to say things like this.” In the video, President Trump read a moving speech about Christ, Christmas and faith. It would have been really beautiful if it had been read from the heart by someone who actually Talked the Talk and Walked the Walk. (Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk was a theme for one of the Sunday School classes I taught a few years ago.)
But, instead, it was used and is being used to pander to his evangelical base who continue to give Trump endless “Mulligans” for his unacceptable behaviors in both the legal and moral realms. As a Christian, I felt personally assaulted by his inauthenticity, and I felt that my faith was being used to give power to a soulless man who is devoid of any understanding of what it would mean to be just one of the “thousand points of light” spoken by the late former President George H. W. Bush.
Please, don’t be fooled by a craftily written and delivered speech that tells you exactly what you want to hear. Look behind the facade for the truth and hold our President accountable for his actions. Don’t accept his lies, bullying and incompetence. Don’t be bamboozled!
reilly m gray 