Where to Draw the Line (11-29-16)
I recommend considering the future of the USA now, and deciding
when you will abandon the nation. If you wait as we gradually
slide into fascism, it will be easy to wait too long and be unable
to escape.
Some people say I should trust the system to limit Trump's
ability to do what he has promised to do. But I don't see
how a GOP majority in the Supreme Court, Congress, and the
Senate constitute any limitations on his madness. The only
real limit to what he can do is the dim flicker of actual
goodness and morality within the Quisling Republicans who
have decided to support him. A very dim hope at best.
If you don't think it could happen here, I certainly hope
you are right, but I don't see much logic in that belief.
Which of these events would be too much for you?
Religious Freedom
Muslims registered and tracked
Muslims herded into ghettos, forced to wear marks
Muslims forced into concentration camps
Same for Jews, atheists, etc.
State religion declared
Temples & religious treasures destroyed
People killed for refusing the state religion
Leader claims superhuman powers
Leader proclaims himself a God
Leader forms a harem, forces women into sexual servitude
Ethnic cleaning squads exterminate forbidden groups
Civil Liberties
Leader is above the law
Abortion banned
Torture approved
Internal passports and travel restrictions inside the USA
Travel outside the USA restricted
Punishment and execution without trial
Collective punishment of families
Summary execution at whim of leader
Homosexuality outlawed
Police are corrupt and worthless
No private gun ownership
Mandatory military service
Leader and cronies live in extreme luxury, vast gap between rich and poor
People trapped in their social class, no upward mobility
Free Speech
Leader legitimizes fake news
Writers silenced for criticizing the regime in power
Informants reporting individuals for unpatriotic speech
Press seized by government, converted to propaganda
Internet censored
Government surveillance ubiquitous
Books banned & burned
News sources blocked, replaced by propaganda
Arts censored, replaced by propaganda
Education
School lessons censored by the state
History rewritten, punishments for teaching true history
"Hitler Youth" movement to brainwash children
Public colleges closed
Fake schools put up by government to teach lies
Faculty silenced by government for teaching the truth
Loyalty oath and political orthodoxy tests required of teachers
Elections
Regime in power imprisons its political opponents
Elections suspended
Leader revered, posters and statues of him everywhere
Flattery of leader required on official documents
Congress, Senate, and Supreme Court neutralized, no checks on leader's power
Leader declared King for life
Power transferred to leader's children, no elections
Social Safety Net
Pensions unpaid without consequences
Medical care denied to the poor
Social security eliminated; funds stolen by leaders
Child labor
Slavery
Forced servitude
Starvation
Cholera and other diseases of extreme poverty
Water shortages
Finance
Private ownership of gold banned
Public officials demand bribes for service
Government nationalizes private businesses
Money replaced by ration books
Leader steals money from rich citizens at will
Quality goods and services reserved only for political cronies
Domestic goods are inferior, imports are much better
Rampant inflation, local currency worthless
Black market the only source of essential goods and services
Trump, Obama, and Evangelism (11-25-16)
Shock
Like many Democrats, I was shocked and horrified when Hillary lost to Trump--an
obvious fraud, charlatan, and bigot, not remotely worthy of the office of
President. Hillary, while not perfect, was a fine candidate, experienced,
qualified, sensible, and poised to continue on the path Obama had started
America on. For a few weeks I was too upset to think calmly about it.
But now I am seeing it more clearly, and I think I understand what happened,
and what we should do going forward.
The Ecstacy
My first question is, "Why did people support Trump?" I've read and heard
economic explanations, but they don't convince me at all because Trump has
nothing in common with struggling heartland middle-class workers, and he
has no realistic plan to bring their jobs back. In fact, Trump's
speeches are meaningless, self-contradictory, and senseless. He has no
principles, no plan, and no shame. And none of that matters--he said
himself that he could shoot someone in the street and his supporters
wouldn't care, and that is clearly true.
I looked at Trump's rallies, with people leading chants of "Lock her up!"
and whipping the crowd up into a frenzy, and I realized I've seen this all
before. I've lived through it. In church.
I grew up in rural Pennsylvania, and my church was a fundamentalist
commune, with speaking in tongues, miracle healing services,
prophesies, and unquestioning blind obedience to the leaders.
And when those leaders stole the money and skipped town, we were all
bewildered and lost, like baby ducks without their mommy.
Why do people do this? I don't know much about psychology or sociology,
but I can tell you why I did it.
The Hero Illusion
I grew up on a diet of science fiction, superhero comic books, and
Protestant religion. All these things told me that one man could
change the world, fight evil, and stand above all others as a figure
to be admired and followed. This was clearly my proper goal and
destiny, and it was immoral and cowardly to settle for anything less.
When I passed the breeding years, I was finally able to see this for what
it was: simple male showing off; the same thing that makes bucks
ram their horns together, and that makes roosters puff out their feathers
and crow. But while I was doing it, I was utterly unable to see it
that way.
Trump's rallies make sense to me now. He spouts out lies like
"Hillary Clinton founded ISIS" and people chant and cheer. No one cares
if his statements are true. The point of them is that they make his
followers feel special, powerful, important, righteous, and outnumbered.
They are all bound together in a noble cause, to stamp out great evils
like Hillary selling sex slaves from a pizza shop. The election is rigged,
Democrats are monsters, scary terrorists are flooding in to kill us all, etc.
Higher brain functions are shut down, and the followers revel in
righteous anger; marching forth to fight evil.
Logic is irrelevant, facts mean nothing, and anyone who questions the
Leader is evil and deluded. All that matters is staying high on that
drug of pride. And if it ever bothers you that you're throwing Muslims,
Hispanics, and many other groups of people under the bus, it doesn't matter
because none of those people matter. The only people that matter are the
ones inside your special group, fighting the good fight against evil.
After you win and bring in the Golden Age, everyone will thank you.
Obama
Obama had a similar effect on many of his supporters. They chanted
"Yes We Can!" and marched off, dreaming nonsense about how he was going
to bring "Change We Can Believe In." I was amazed at their enthusiasm,
and the deep disappointment they felt after he won and turned out to be
an ordinary President, not able to change so much after all.
The Difference
Obama was principled, thoughtful, and sincerely good-hearted.
His campaign tried to bring out the best in people, inspiring
them to be their best selves. But he would never have won without
stirring up the herd instinct in the emotion-driven voters, who
just wanted to chant and feel good about themselves. He won because
he was not only thoughtful and good, he was a charismatic preacher,
appealing to the base, primitive part of our brains that just follows
the leader and blends into the herd. Gullible voters imagined that
he would fix all their problems, and worked to rally others to
the cause.
Trump is stupid, sloppy, rude, bigoted, and unrelentingly self-centered.
He has no idea what a bad person he is, because he never looks inside
himself. He feeds the worst in people, making them hate their neighbors
and blame others for their problems. But he has the charisma to make them
feel good, and that's all that matters.
Now that he has won, his followers will be confronted with the ridiculous
mess he'll make of the government, as he forgets all his promises and just
grabs more money for himself, utterly unaware that there's anything wrong
with him. Some of them will realize that just feeling good is not enough
basis to choose a leader, but most of them will not. They will build a
rationlization of some sort, blaming others so they can continue to
feel virtuous and powerful and not have to admit that they were fooled.
Why Hillary Lost
Hillary had none of this charisma. She seemed like a guilty person in a courtroom,
carefully choosing words to avoid admitting wrongdoing. I don't know
anyone who really voted for her--they just voted against Trump.
Hillary had the right policies and the moral high ground. But she lost because
Trump gave people a good feeling, and she gave people a bad feeling.
What Next?
I agree with Michael Moore: Trump will quickly destroy himself. He won't finish
his term; he'll either resign or be impeached. He has no clue what a President
does and he can't be bothered to understand or obey the law.
So we'll enter a generation of Republican fascism, with the very worst
Tea Party alt-right people controlling the entire government, and packing
the Supreme court.
For the remainder of my life, the US will be digging out of the hole
this election created. We will probably lose most of environmental regulations,
a woman's right to choose, the social safety net, scientific research
and education, worker safety, religious freedom, and civil rights.
But the left will rise again, and the sooner it does, the less ground we will
lose. We need a leader who is an effective preacher, like Martin
Luther King. We need someone who can make crowds chant, and march into
danger, and feel good about it. Unfortunately, being correct and good
are of very little importance--what matters is the skill of rabble-rousing.
Bernie has the charisma we need more than anyone else, but he may be too old
to try again. And it will probably take 8 years of neo-nazi fascism to make
America ready to embrace his socialist agenda.
Who else have we got? I can only think of Elizabeth Warren and Gavin Newsome. Not
very inspiring options, but until someone else stands up, they seem to be our
best hope. But whoever we get, we should have no illusions: policies,
integrity, and arguments don't matter. What matters is making people feel
inspired. A large block of voters don't think or listen to any message
longer than a bumper sticker. The thing they remember is how the
candidate makes them feel. We need to choose a leader with that skill,
or lose.
Posted 11-25-16 by Sam Bowne
A typo fixed 11-27-16