Can Trump “Fix It In the Post”?

Creative types will be familiar with the phrase “fix it in the post.” It usually means that problems in the shooting of a video or a film will be corrected in the post-production (or edit) phase of the project. Without getting too deep in the weeds, here’s an example. The lead actor has a long stretch of dialogue and keeps messing up one piece of it. After many takes, the director may say his final “cut” and decide to “fix it in the post.”

The actor will record just the problem line in isolation in a studio booth. The director will be sure to have a cut-away in the can of a close-up of someone listening to the actor’s dialogue. He’ll also have some ambient sound recorded on the set that will be married with the line done in the booth so it meshes with the rest of the speech. The fixed line will be edited into the footage under the cut away shot of the listener.

Many Christians also subscribe to a concept of fixing things in the post. They call it purgatory. That’s where souls go to atone for sins so they are purged clean enough to pass through the pearly gates. Their souls are, in effect, “fixed” post their death.

Now that I have your eyes glazed over, let’s bring this around to the current Presidential election. Some people, even non-supporters, believe that Donald Trump’s antics and vulgarity throughout the primary are simply part of his campaign persona. Trump himself claims that he can be “more presidential” than anyone. Thus far he’s shown little capacity and even less inclination to moderate his extremism. He continues to fuel divisiveness with angry rhetoric.

There’s anger and the potential for violence on both ends of the political spectrum. At one recent rally a 78-year-old Trump supporter cold-cocked a protester who had been subdued and was being escorted out by several security guards. At another event, a left-wing protester stormed the podium and was grabbed by Trump’s Secret Service agents.

Irrational speech and behavior is not new. Nor is concern about the potential consequences. When Obama was elected President, some of his supporters worried that he would be assassinated before his term was up. Fortunately, that worry has proved unfounded despite the constant vitriol that surrounds him.

If Trump is elected President, he’ll have a chance to self-edit and fix his rhetoric and his behavior in the post (election). If he doesn’t do this, someone in the lunatic fringe on the left might be provoked to fix it for him. Here’s another Christian concept to consider (King James version): whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.