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| PHOTO: Change.org |
Thoughtful Americans have been trying for a decade
or more to understand the mindset of those of our compatriots responsible for bringing this noble nation—admired by the world for nearly two-and-a-half centuries for its vision, values and leadership—to its knees.
I’m still baffled at how such betrayal is possible, but I’ve come up with new angle to consider.
VENGEANCE AT ANY PRICE
Oh I know, we’ve heard this song and dance about Donald Trump’s poor base feeling unheard and un-
appreciated by us conceited “liberal elites.” About their fear of immigrants’ and the poor’s snatching what they see as their entitlement to the American Dream. And about how their perceived suffering merits as much credibility as our own aspirations.
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| PHOTO: Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call |
I don’t buy it. It gives way too much credit to people who somehow managed to turn off both
their brains and hearts and hire the con man of our age to avenge their grievances for them.
A charlatan who figures they won’t notice that he’s destroying their country in their name—while not just impoverishing them, but enriching himself and his family to the tune of more than $1,000,000,000—and that's in just the past year.*
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| GRAPHIC: AmericanProgress.org |
For me, a better answer—perhaps the easiest one—would be that these Trump groupies are simply thoughtless, self-obsessed, philistine, chest-beating assholes. Idiots who’ll pay any price to stick it to people not like them. But the more I think about it, the more certain I am that that’s not the whole story either.
Trump literally tells them what they know and don’t know.
COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE
What makes more sense is that these Trump groupies are just so ashamed of their own ignorance that they're in denial, demonizing anyone honest enough to hold their noses to it. How dare you judge, they feel. Judge not just us, but anything at all! Beauty, kindness, sophistication, style, merit. It's all "woke," not because those attributes are invalid, but because they provide a reflection of their own soullessness.
Judgment—the process of weighing and comparing the truth of stuff—lies at the very heart of intelligence. Along with curiosity and creativity, critical judgment is a key component of acquiring and applying knowledge. And that, to folks with little education and short attention spans, poses a huge threat, because all it does is remind them just how stupid they really are.
This is why their Dear Leader’s tack has been to systematically discredit judgement—and along with it truth. Because he knows his MAGAts not only can’t judge what’s true or not, but wouldn’t buy the truth anyway if it challenged their simplistic, fear- and anger-stoked beliefs.
Playing on those beliefs, their anger, their fears—and their latent shame in their ignorance—Trump literally tells them what they know and don’t know. (Listen for those slick little inter-jections in his unhinged ravings: “Everyone’s saying…,” “Everybody agrees…,” “People know…” and “You know that, right?” )
ALTERNATE TRUTH
The response Trump has incited in his MAGA cult is the cultural equivalent of the nuclear option: I don’t get it…so I’ll be damned if anyone’s going to get it. Instead of elevating our own aspirations, we'll drag down yours. So, yes, let’s yank the U.S. government’s investment from any program, any institution, that stands, even remotely, for intelligence, refinement…or even basic human kindness.
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| PHOTO: Dave Killen/the Oregonian |
Add to the bogeymen hit list anyone purporting to honor the truth. Hey, after being forced to stomach these pompous educators,' researchers,’ scientists,’ doctors’ and journalists’ fancy-pants proclamations all these years, Dear Leader has finally given me permission to claim my own, “alternative” truth…about everything.
The blindness to reality is so complete that these suckers can look right at this master manipu-
lator, this draft-dodging sexual predator who espouses not one of Jesus Christ’s teachings, and believe he’s their model of patriotism, their personal gift from God.
A charismatic leader steps up and shows Americans…that
there’s a better, healthier vision for our country than Trump’s
deeply negative one.
A HEALTHIER VISION
So, that’s my half-assed theory. What of it? What’s to be done? Is there hope for our faltering “shining city upon a hill” Democracy?
I still believe a spark of love and kindness glows at the core of every human being. Like so many of our best qualities, though, it’s gotten buried under layer after layer of concerns and emotions that are very good at pretending to be important. Like fear, anger, conceit…and, yes, shame.
One answer might be for an extraordinarily charismatic leader to step up and show Americans—even those of us who’ve been exploited by Trump—that there’s a better, healthier vision for our country than his deeply negative one. (I think most folks yearn deeply to reclaim hope and joy from the hate fest Tiny Hands has promoted.)And this figurehead must do more than out-Trump Trump with charisma; she/he must, with guidance from the Democratic National Committee, craft a message that’s more appealing to folks than the simple, disciplined—and highly effective—one of grievance and vengeance that’s driven the MAGA movement.
SNEEZIN’ ON THE HOUSE OF CARDS
Another possibility is that Trump eventually miscalculates himself right off the precipice. Takes just one too many liberties with his power. Makes one too many assumptions about his supporters’ depravity.
We’ve already seen a few Congressional Republicans dare risk their careers for integrity. With cause, more might join. Some editorial boards in the mainstream media will draw the line. The trickle builds to a tide, and then to a tsunami of love, generosity and hope that inundates even the most willful ignorance.
And Donald Trump's fools-gold empire, wobbling on its foundation of hubris, collapses, swept away by a smarter, nobler, more joyous vision.
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| IMAGE: Adobe Stock |
But none of this will happen without ever-more-massive public displays of defiance. We must continue to assert our hopes, raise our voices and apply our talents to The Resistance.
We must continue to live our truth, honor our values. Call and write our representatives in Congress. Write opinion pieces. Support thoughtful, principled candidates. Stick our necks out on social media. And, finally, we must display our sheer numbers, joining with other true patriots to take our resolve to the streets.
Don’t lose sight of the vision of a kinder, gentler, renewed America. Do not lose hope.
* Trumps Take-Counter, AmericanProgress.org
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