BELIEFS
America has entered a paradigm that concerns and confuses me. I understand certain aspects of it. The seeds were planted when Ronald Reagan chose to announce his presidential campaign in Philidelphia, Mississippi, the place where three civil rights workers were seized to be executed for promoting voting rights among southern African Americans. This was a "dog-whistle" that, unfortunately, resounded with some normal minds as well as those of bigots.
The seeds germinated through the efforts of Newt Gingrich and others who preached that hatred of political opponents was not only permissible, but a necessity for domination.
The weeds sprouted full grown with the election of a man of color as president of the United States of Americana nourished by 24-hour-a-day fertilization by the Fox organization. Whereas the Germans had real problems to be utilized by the Nazis, false news pundits created false problems in the minds of Americans. It was easier than having to deal with real ones.
So here we are. I understand how many fell into this scheme. I grew up, after all, in the American South. What I don't understand, and what I will carry to the grave with me not fully understood, is the participation of those I thought would never inure such shenanigans.
These are people I once considered friends and fellow believers in the potential for righteousness among Americans. Now I find them posting support of a cult that calls me a sucker and loser for serving my country while calling the January 6 insurrectionists heroes, hostages, and victims. The leader of this cult is one who portrays not one shred of what we call human decency. He seems to strike some emotional chord not explainable by our present moral standards. There must be a source buried deep within our primordial consciousness.
It seems that the answer may reside in our evolutionary disposition for violence in service of our tribe. I shall study this more and return.
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