Trump cards

To me, “trump cards” are those phrases or ideas that people of any political orientation throw out when they’re at a loss for where to go next in a discussion. The trump card effectively shelves all debate. Usually, they give the moral high ground to the one using the trump card, and often, they leave the other frustrated.

A common trump card I’ve witnessed is, “You can’t judge that because you aren’t an X, born in Y location, with relationship status Z, working as a V. This string of qualifiers extends one beyond what the other agent in the argument could actually agree to. Let’s give an example:

Trumper: You can’t assume that he knew that setting fire to that stack of newspapers near the gasoline tanks was dangerous.

Other: yes, I can.

Trumper: But you can’t understand what it’s like to be a male from South Jersey.

Other: I actually am a male from south Jersey.

Trumper: Well, you can’t know what it is like to be a single, ex-postal worker, male from south Jersey like he was.

Other: I am, actually.

Trumper: But you’re not a Methopresbatarian are you?

Other: No.

Trumper: See. You just can’t understand where he was coming from.


Another trump card I have noticed is this one. It seems that “market forces” are the answer to just about any problem. Let’s see how this works:

O: But what about fixing public schools.

T: Well, we need vouchers to allow Market forces to take effect.

O: Oil prices?

T: Market forces will take care of that. It’s a matter of supply and demand after all.

O: The rising cost of health care, global warming, and the Detroit Lion’s chances at a Superbowl?

T: Market forces, market forces, and, surprisingly enough, market forces will solve each of those too.