Blog#167- 8/3/23
AMERICA AT A CROSSROAD
By Richard Davis
The American legal and political systems are under siege by a large group of people who have created their own world in which lies are accepted as truth. These people have lost any semblance of moral and ethical justice and are acting as would a gang of four year olds in a sandbox battle.
The leader of the sandbox brigade is Donald Trump and his followers, as far as I can tell, have lost the ability to think for themselves and have let a deranged megalomaniac control their lives. I try every day to understand how these people can be considered members of the human community and I am unable to come to any conclusions about what makes them believe that Trump’s lies are the truth.
Then there are the Republicans in Washington who publicly state that Trump did nothing wrong and that all of the indictments are nothing more than a political witch hunt. Many of these people are lawyers and fairly smart individuals but they have abandoned the truth in order to embrace and utilize the power of the Trump base.
This is all old news, but sometimes reviewing the state of dysfunction is helpful. With the current indictments of Trump we have reached a point in the history of the reign of the King of Lies where two roads diverge. One road leads to a world where Trump and his people subvert the legal system and he evades all the charges against him and possibly becomes President again.
The other road leads to higher ground. Following that road, justice prevails in the American legal system and Trump is convicted by juries of all the charges against him and he is faced with decades of jail time. In a just world that is what I would hope for as an outcome of the current legal battles being waged between Trump and the U.S. government.
Even if he is convicted he could still win the election. That would be a dark day for this country. His followers won’t give up on him no matter what he does. The only way we can hope for political justice is for those who have a code of moral and ethical sensibility guiding their lives to vote in large numbers. If the legal system fails us we can still have a victory of, for and by the people.
Just in case you need to better understand how much of a criminal Trump is I urge you to read the 46 page indictment that Special Counsel Jack Smith has presented. It is not only a legal document but it is also a document that details the behavior of a delusional individual who could easily be labelled with a number of official psychiatric diagnoses.
This excerpt lays out the current case simply and clearly. “Shortly after election day, the defendant pursued unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting the election results. In so doing the defendant perpetrated three criminal conspiracies.”
“A conspiracy to defraud the United States by using dishonesty, fraud and deceit to impair obstruct and defeat the lawful federal government function by which the results of a presidential election are collected, counted and certified by the federal government in violation of 18 USC 371.”
“A conspiracy to corruptly obstruct and impede the January 6 congressional proceeding at which the collected results of the presidential election are counted and certified and a conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted in violation of 18 USC 241.”
If these charges do not stick and if Trump is not held accountable for his actions, that will mean that this country took the wrong road from which there may be no return to a just, moral and ethical United States.
Why not ask?
Richard Davis writes:
” I try every day to understand how these people can be considered members of the human community and I am unable to come to any conclusions about what makes them believe that Trump’s lies are the truth.”
Richard, have you asked any Trump supporters? What did they tell you? Of this “large group of people,” couldn’t you find one capable of conversing with you?
Cult
I’ve been asking the same question, and one reply I got- not from MAGAite- was that people who are in the cult value a sense of belonging more than truth or integrity or so-called “reality”. So they go along, despite any cost. And when you are inside, the dogma is inviolate.
For some, the illusion of community is better than isolation
From personal observation, I think AnneODyne’s insight explains a lot. My “Maga” friend refers to propagandists whom he follows by their first name, in a warm tone as though they are part of his circle of friends.
My take on it is that so long as my friend subscribes to their extremist narratives, and particularly purchases their products (some of which are of good quality, but probably over-priced) the illusion of relationship remains intact.
But if my Maga Friend were to question their narrative (that Biden plans to take away our liberty, etc.) and if my friend were to challenge the credibility of their propaganda: the false friendship and false community would be shattered. I do not think that a logical presentation of verifiable facts would, by itself, get my friend to change his perspective.
But I do think that modeling genuine friendship (meaning: I value you, care about your well-being, and honestly tell you why I reject the extremist propaganda (explaining with sensitivity and respect and taking care not to present an overwhelming data-dump) can have a positive impact.
P.S.
My “Maga Friend” is a generous person who goes the extra mile to help other people, not because he might get something in return, but simply because they need support. Even the crazy-stuff (such as that Bill Gates is leading a conspiracy to destroy 90-95% of the world’s population) upsets him because he cares about other people.
I value his friendship, and worry about him. Genuine friendship can be challenging.
No Discussion?
At one time, every post on ibrattleboro seemed to touch off a lively debate. Too often it degenerated into name-calling and personal attacks, but at least we knew that the readers were alive and involved. Why is it so rare these days for even the most thought-provoking story to draw comments?
Richard Davis (for example) regularly pours his heart out, sharing concerns, information, and personal insights, receiving in return very little feedback, even though ibrattleboro is designed to facilitate dialogue. It is the perfect format to develop a sense of online community, yet we readers seem to be squandering this resource.
Can anyone comment on why there is so little active participation?
Seems not
I, too, miss the old give & take, and I commend Richard for his thoughtful contributions. As to the reason for the lack of participation, I’ve heard it said that Facebook and its variants have taken over. Seems akin to Amazon et al wiping out Mom ‘n’ Pop, and the reduction of local media. Fingers crossed for a renaissance of the smaller local venues (if/when?).
Meanwhile, continued thanks to ibrattleboro, Richard, and others like yourself for contributing and appreciating what they do.
Missing from this dialogue
Richard Davis is not required to engage, but I hope he decides to.
A couple of people had given serious, thoughtful responses to a question he raised [about what his inability to understand how Trump supporters can cling to his lies] so I think it would be reasonable for him to acknowledge their efforts and let us know what he thinks about what they said.
I am writing this hoping to that — having had it brought to his attention — Davis might yet share his thoughts.