He gave us a whole phenomenon of infection; a package of sick positions. He built this base out of disaffected people, tens of millions. We saw COVID grow to a Pandemic under him; it was part of his search for chaos. History shows that autocrats need chaos to enhance their power. He gave us a country divided on covid, on medicine, on science, where millions acted against their own interest, refused masks and medicines that would have saved their lives. His legacy is a whole package of sick positions like that.
He fomented racism and hatred, bigotry and violence, Immigration politics that separate children, inhumane bans on abortion, fighting like hell against gun control that would protect us against massacres, ignoring climate change, undermining voting rights and representative government, calling for people to deny the rule of law, even though that makes their lives worse.
Is it that Trump’s base all agree on all these issues? No way. People do not come to him in agreement on these issues. He reaches them on maybe one of those issues, perhaps racism, hatred or bigotry. They come to him on that because they are disaffected with their lives and jealous of others they consider more fortunate. Then they join his madness and accept everything in his package, even if his package is against their interest.
Perhaps they are religious, captured by Catholic or other dogma on abortion (like the Latinos who have joined him). Perhaps they believe women should be subjugated and should not have rights, especially the right of choice. Trump reaches them on that, and they join his narcissism and accept all the points in his package.
Of course, he has charisma and that makes it easier for him. The come to him as a cult figure who rewards them for loyalty on all issues and punishes them for a lack of loyalty on any issue. This solidifies the package, and they find themselves buying mindlessly into everything. It’s a loss of free wIll, and it’s tragic for them and for the country.
Guns are another example. Many people have perverse psychological needs to have guns, including assault rifles they will never need in any legitimate scenario. But Trump and his NRA and Citizens United dark money tap into that in a Faustian bargain and, voila, the fetishists are his and the school shootings continue unabated.
This money, this disregard of civil order and safety, bring them to him, even though any reasonable individual knows that we really don’t need 400 million guns for a make believe militia or any other purpose. .What we get are people who join up to fondle their guns then wind up buying into the whole package, One big happy package calculated to corrupt us and destroy our safety and society. The only thing Trump wants out of it is chaos, notoriety and power.
All these things are connected by a common denominator of disaffection. People who need to hurt others, who who need empowerment, who need to deny the realities of pandemics and climate change to feel adequate. He brings them in on one thing that helps them cope with their inadequacies and they buy it all, every issue he sends their way.
Like a good demagogue, he sells them the whole case of snake oil, and they buy it. He whips them up to a fury to feel togetherness on Jan 6 and beyond. When we asked them why they came to Washington that day, they didn’t say they came about abortion, gun control, climate change, or voting legislation. Again and again they said they came for him, because he told them to come. The rest of the package comes naturally. What they said that day tells you everything.
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