Ruth, thank you for this clear, solid explanation. The question of "rule of law or do you believe in violence?" is the question we must foster in our conversations with fellow citizens. Because that is the succinct & singular bottom-line.
Survivalist mode -- nothing speaks to this greater than the baby formula crisis. What next? People are lamenting daily on gas, food, covid's continuance, inflation, J6, war in Europe. How do we calm these waters? I think it's helpful to remember that after the Trump volcanic earthquake of four years, these are the systemic after-shocks. These are less about Biden, and more about Trump's years destabilizing us and our democratic institutions. I see these as 'fanned fires' fueled to politically take out Biden. Let's hold strong.
Destabilizing professionals like health professionals, journalists/professional media, educators is right from the playbook. Somehow we have find the right messaging to reach the average super-busy and distracted citizen. They play the 'opposites game', so should we. (Michelle Obama: when they go low, we go high). To message against polarization, we .... build community. Build truthful communities quickly amongst others we know and don't know -- more carefully outside social media. Old-fashioned face-to-face or phone talk. No algorithms to distract.
When I witnessed crimes, it is the aftermath that gets interesting. That is where people talk, trip up, show emotion, make mistakes and reveal themselves. "Truth reveals itself in time, like water to a kettle." That could be why DOJ is moving so slowly. The longer you wait, the more is revealed and ties back to the original incident. Confirms with evidence your intuition. That is how I see these events occurring under Biden's watch, they are reflections of the destabilization.
When they want to spook people into thinking they will/can lose everything -- that's the 'opposites game'. Under authoritarian reign is when you can lose everything. People become as valuable as a kleenex. Here today, gone tomorrow.
The next 5 months are critical to our livelihoods. Now, that's an economic argument since the economy is what voters are funneled in on.
Been thinking about the 'opposites game'. I wonder if this is a known, referred to strategy by authoritarians and criminals. Because it's so simple, it would make your own lies, and all your counterparts' lies, easier to remember in a fast-moving, cooperative, broad based environment. Liars have a hard time keeping track of all their lies as they mount. Following a strategy of the 'opposites game', would allow these nefarious individuals and groups to file their own lies in their mind; and also telepathically know their counterparts positions and language. So they all can walk in step with coordination.
So twisted -- to push / propagandize the opposite of reality. Gas-lighting the masses.
How can we educate, with respect, to the populace the 'opposites game' and that we are being gaslighted? Gas-lighting creates uncertainty and fear. Fear is what must tamped down before November, the griping fear. How do we do that?
I went to grade school at St. Scholastica in Detroit with a Cynicon Implant. Is that you Cynicon ???
Cynicon… you ask some very interesting questions. Speaking only for me, let me share with you what I see as indicia of authoritarianism in today’s America.
* "Fake News.” Sound familiar ??? Fake news... means don't trust the media. Trust only the authoritarian messenger... classic authoritarianism which is one step away from control of the content of the media by authoritarian figures like Putin.
* "Truth and Reality”... are what authoritarian figures tell you to believe (nothing more, nothing less), and you better not voice disagreement or you end up in the Gulag. Think Putin and the head of the Christian Orthodox Church in Russia... both telling the Russian People that God wants Russia to invade the Ukraine. If the Russian people voice disagreement, they have no 1st Amendment to protect them like we Americas, hopefully, still have.
Authoritarians tell you what “truth and reality” you should believe (even if totally lacking in truth and reality). An example… the recent, authoritarian move by Donald Trump and other elected Republicans to cancel out the will of the American voters in the last Presidential election (2020)… with many Republicans claiming (and still claiming) the election was stolen from Donald Trump. The reality (as far as the facts and the evidence) shows a completely different story…
(1) every lawsuit filed (50 or so) found "no evidence" of any wide spread fraud that cost Trump the election (even by Judges appointed by Trump).
(2) Trump in an authoritarian overreach called the Georgia’s, Republican Secretary of State, Raffensperger, and asked him to find Trump the 11,000 votes Trump needed to win Georgia's electoral votes. Thank heaven, Raffensperger stood up to Trumps overwhelming pressure to find votes that didn't exist.
(3) On January 6, 2020, Trump and other Republican authoritarian politicians urged Trump's followers to march on the Capital, and fight like hell to save the Country by forcing the Congress to take away the election victory of Joe Biden, and put the defeated Trump back in office for a second term,
(4) Trump importuned his own Vice President, Michael Pence, to throw out the election results of "We the People" and have the Republican controlled Senate replace the duly elected President (Joe Biden) with Donald Trump... the loser of the election. When Pence refused to cave into this classic authoritarian move, Trump tried to break Pence spiritually and politically.
(5) Trump's self appointed Attorney General, William Barr, told Trump the election wasn't stolen... and then Barr resigned in the last weeks of office rather than listen to the false, authoritarian statement that the election was stolen from Trump.
(6) The Michigan Legislature (controlled by Republicans) investigated the Michigan election results, held hearings, invited Rudy Giuliani to bring in witnesses to show the election was stolen, and (after a full hearing) wrote a written report clearly outlining the end result of the election... "It wasn't stolen.”
(7) all recounts and all audits of the election showed that Biden legitimately won and Trump lost.
(8) Yet, despite all this “no evidence of a stolen election”... Trump and his authoritarian Republican supporters still continued to use the Authoritarian Playbook, and insist upon a false “Truth and Reality” i.e. the election was stolen.
Cynicon, I submit that the above actions, undermining the confidence of the voters in an election are as “authoritarian,” and far reaching as you will ever find. How many generations will it take to return America’s confidence the hallmark of Democracy, i.e. the vote ???
* Authoritarians often hide behind the Bible… a sure way to win over many voters who stand in the middle, like you do Cynicon.
During the George Floyd protests in Washington D.C. Trump decided to go for a Bible walkabout, arriving at a Christian Church, and holding up a Christian Bible for all America to see which side he is on, the Christian side. Forgetting for the moment that Trump has no history of living a “Do unto Others” Christian life, Tumps actions were not only authoritarian, but his actions also violated the 1st Amendment of the Constitution that says Government cannot "establish" (or prefer or promote) a specific religion. The 1st Amendment’s “non establishment” clause is so basic to our cherished American freedoms, that the Founders put it in the very first Amendment to the Constitution. Yet Trump and his Republican followers (who accompanied him on his Bible walkabout) threw the 1st Amendment out the window (in Authoritarian fashion) just to score some political points. I submit Cynicon, only Authoritarians do that.
I have much more to say, but I have probably worn out my welcome in an attempt to answer you question. But, thank you Cynicon … for asking such an excellent question and keeping us anti-authoritarians on our toes.
P.S. Teachers are trained to teach... not parents. Parents send their children to school, because they are not qualified (by and large) to teach their own children. If parents think otherwise, they are free to "home school" their kids.
Fred, so well said regarding the authoritarian threat we face. I would just add, as a Christian woman, these authoritarians are psuedo-Christians who have rejected the Gospel, where Jesus teaches the exact 'opposite' of the authoritarian's behavior. They should not use His name. Agree, on first amendment.
Fascist leaders tend to be charismatic and destructive. What we have seen under the Trump administration is a symbiosis between a destructive charismatic leader and his followers. Typically, these type of leaders gather around themselves, broken and needy people whom are obsequious toward their omnipotent hero. These charismatic leaders demonized those outside the clan, while polarizing his followers against truth, the outside enemy and other ideas. Truth is now driven by emotion, not facts, in a move toward post-truth and postmodernism. Lies from those of authority inside the clan are trusted over the truth coming from anyone outside the clan. Due to the Backfire Effect, once these conservative followers believe something to be true, it is nearly impossible for them to believe otherwise, even when given corrective information. The huge number of people still believing that Trump won in 2020 is an example of this. The belief that their hero was robbed, puts them in the vengeance mode. They feel besieged and angry. They are fighting for survival.
So true. And they are needy, clingy. They in actuality are some of the most vulnerable if authoritarian rule solidifies. They do not realize they are kleenex to the authoritarian. One use and they're gone from usefulness. How can this be messaged? I think the audience we can try for is moderates, still independents and less-frequent voters. With 5 months left, we may need to not, or less focus on these lost souls. Back to focusing on moderates and building communities of trust -- outside social media and algorithms.
As a person who falls right of center (but not a Trump fan), I am struggling to see what Ruth is seeing as it pertains to her claims of Republican authoritarianism. Most of the commenters seem to know exactly what she is talking about but not being from this land I would benefit from some examples. If someone could give me a few it would be greatly appreciated.
Btw, I see a number of examples of authoritarianism from the Democrats ("I don't think parents should be in charge of what their kids learn in school," establishment of the Disinformation Governance board -- aka Ministry of Truth, etc.) Why are these not discussed here?
When Steve Bannon said that he greatly admired Mussolini, we should believe him. He's giving us a window into his thinking. He likes fascism and so does Trump. Fascism was invented by a sociopath (Mussolini) and it has been used by sociopathic leaders in almost all cases since. So fascism is the politics of lunacy. Sociopaths love it because it serves their grandiosity so well. Trump is a sociopath as well. But did he use fascist politics during his rule? Yes. If we look at the characteristics of fascism, we see most of them in use by Trump, and these techniques have not left the Repub Party since. The road to fascism is paved with gullibility, corruption, deception, division, belligerent ultra-nationalism (jingoism), national exceptionalism, far right autocratic rule, belligerent foreign policy, government/business collusion, anti-intellectualism, political bigotry, scapegoating, yearning for the country’s mythical past greatness, a sense of victimhood, anti-Marxism, a cult of machismo, extreme social hierarchy, sadism, a rise in fantastical thinking/wild conspiracies, rejection of modernism, in favor of traditionalism, single party rule and the intolerance of dissent. We do not have single party rule here, but had Trump taken power at Jan 6th, you can bet that he would strive to eliminate any competition from his megalomaniacal quest.
Authoritarians making schools as issue is a flare, a distraction. Now we're all pulled in from the fray. Never in my semi-long life, has public schooling been an intimate issue. It's a fire-torch thrown in from the far-right to sow division. And deplete energy. It's helpful to see it as such.
That did not help to clarify what specific actions from Republicans are authoritarian. Is questioning the teaching of critical race theory authoritarian?
Examples of Republican authoritarianism: their desire to rig the elections, to overturn fair elections, their use of abortion to promote minority rule, they are being fed by the gun lobby to defy 80% of citizens who want gun control, look how they worship the authoritarian Orban in Hungary, a Putin ally, I could go on.
The potential overturning of Roe v Wade, authorizes legalized human trafficking. Children (and women) as financial chattel to be bartered and traded. Seen it. And it can be a money maker and a growth industry for adoptions, adoption agencies and those that run them, family court systems (needing more business), legal entities that can spin up to serve you.
This is a group, we must remember that does NOT care about children, they care about the money they can garner off the backs of citizens without rights (children, under 18).
The GOP strips society of helpful social safety nets, promotes favors, favoritism and who-you-know-ism. Look at Texas, children dialing 911 only to be betrayed by what we've all taught them -- that the police are 'helpers'. In that classroom, their minds must have been twisted and mangled trying to make sense of it. The cruelty is not Christian, if the authoritarians claim to be Christian and to care. It's preposterous. The Gospel of Christ is the 'opposite'.
Your first two examples are standard Democrat tactics. Don't understand your point about abortion. It's legal. We already have gun control. More gun laws won't stop criminals (hint: criminals don't pay attention to laws). Orban is a fan of freedom and individual rights.
SCOTUS is hell bent on making abortion illegal and will gladly do so; perhaps in the next few weeks, as a means to enforce their belief that women should NOT have any control over their own bodies (the next prohibition they are going to be working on is forbidding birth control-5 of the 6 ultra Conservative justices are Catholic.). As far as gun control, the Republicans want to allow essentially no control or safety laws to help keep people safe. Here in NH, the Republican majority legislature has passed a law that guns can be allowed EVERYWHERE and have been trying to pass a law FORBIDDING NH law enforcement to assist w/the Federal government in any issues related to guns. They do NOT want reasonable means of preventing access to guns like universal background checks & red flag laws. As to Orban, please read this piece: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/25/world/europe/hungary-democracy-orban.html
Prof.Ruth, I think we are all aware by now how cultural polarization has been promoted by the Republican party for several decades now as a way of dividing and ruling. What is not so familiar is how polarization is (unintentionally) promoted by our winner-take-all, first-past-the-post electoral system. A large majority of democratic countries have Proportional Representation (PR), in which every significant bloc of voters receives representation in their legislature proportional to the number for votes they receive. This leads to a multi-party system, because voters don't feel, as they do in our country, that they have to vote for one of two great parties in order for their vote to "count" against the party that they oppose. Few if any of the countries that have PR are polarized, currently, in the way that the US is polarized. The US Congress could adopt PR; it doesn't require any change in the Constitution. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in a 2020 report, and Lee Drutman in his _Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multi-Party Democracy in American_ (Oxford U. Press, 2020) both advocate PR (and/or the related Ranked-Choice Voting) for the US as a way of decreasing polarization. Have you explored this aspect of the polarization issue?
Given that our line, Homo Sapiens, flourished, while other lines of human evolution failed (supposedly due to our line of descent being better at "cooperating")... the study by Professor Stafford makes sense... especially "problem solving communities."
Maybe the "problem solving communities" (like Juries) work because everyone is "empowered"... the key word, "empowered"... to contribute. As some of the great prophets have shown us, truly "empowering" others eliminates fear, and, hence... hostility. Reminds me of the definition of "diplomacy"... "the art of letting the other guy get your way."
Seems that we have passed far too many tipping points for our country to ever heal and reunite. Splitting into two mostly separate nations (west coast plus Nevada and HI, upper Midwest and New England down to Maryland as Blue America and the rest of the states as Gilead) may be much better than tearing each other and the country apart while the energy and climate emergencies go largely ignored. Yes, hardly ideal and no states are wholly blue or red, but fracturing may still be our best option.
I would rather be part of a new country focused on democracy and adapting to a threatened planet than to keep living in an increasingly reactionary and authoritarian Trumpistan.
Once people are sold on fascism, they can't seem to get eough of it. But don't try to tell them that they are fascists, because they won't believe it. It is a post-truth mindset, where facts no longer matter. It destroys nations.
Agree. They can't get enough of it. It's like continually sitting up for a dog treat, the next treat might really make a difference -- and rarely does. A lifetime of sitting up to the master for nothing. Just a dream to join the 'big dogs'.
I agree. While I voted for Reagan, a fabulous populist speaker, I think really took off and launched then. I worked for the savings & loan industry in the 80's and deregulation destroyed the industry. Because deregulation became popularized, legislated and then semantics focused on the "private $ector" winnings. People, sadly, left to their own devices are greedy and will blow through stop signs, if not watched. And here we are.
Thank you for your valuable analysis Professor, here my comments and questions.
The polarization of society seems to be the way the Roman governance principle DIVIDE ET RULE takes shape. When a socio-economic system collapses it is natural to move from plurality to polarization and from there to direct violence. Would the therapy for polarization be plurality and dialogue? If not, what would be it?
I have my doubts if this polarization symptom has to be joined by a strong man or woman figure; is it possible that it also comes along with groups with defined shared interests, and not only with a strong leader?
Can polarization be led by institutions or organizations where power is concentrated in several members without that strong person?
What actually is American Exceptionalism suppose to be? I've heard the term, especially last week from Ted Cruz tirade against The Sky reporter. First blush I think of when Europeans use to not like Americans travelers due to our self-focus while traveling...
It’s our collective self righteousness. We are the best at everything … don’t you know who I am - ism. It’s blind pride personified into a culture. That’s how I describe it however I’m certain there are many ways to view this behavior except if your an American.
Thank you Jeanine for that clear explanation. Yes, I see that. It's odd -- and then not, -- that Cruz would brag about that. I feel ashamed, by association, of that self-righteousness of a large swath of our populace. Good to recall, America is only __% of the world population. It's should snap us back into some humbleness that democracy -- now at stake -- has been the environment that allowed and cultivated creative innovation. Reminds me of the phrase 'it takes a village' --- the phrase was not 'it takes a corporation'. When I read your clear explanation, another word that comes to mind is 'grandiosity'. At the end of life, where someday each of us will journey solo, people will emotionally suffer because of their lack of humbleness. It comes roaring in like a freight train to their mind.
Professor Ruth, Thank you so much for your Friday Zoom meetings and your most excellent essays. I've learned so much from you over the past few weeks. I'm looking forward to learning even more when I obtain a copy of your Strongmen book from my local library tomorrow. Your
2 interviews with Ray Suarez on the World Affairs Podcast are most instructive on the topic of authoritarianism. I encourage new followers of your work to listen to them.
Great analysis as always RBG. We also need solutions. It is not enough to say we must educate ourselves and personally respond as individuals. We are up against ENORMOUS and PERVASIVE loudspeakers in Fox, AM radio, social media, etc. And these right wingers have become increasingly organized. How do we counter all that in a way that will not just negate them but persuade people away from all this fascist crap?
Biden's ratings are low. He says he is going to call out Republicans as "extremists." That's not enough. He needs to articulate very clearly what Ruth lays out. How Republicans want to obstruct beneficial actions, so as to be able to brand his presidency a failure. His ratings show they have succeeded. MSNBC reported today he asked his staff for a new message. Dear Joe, ask Ruth.
Thanks Ruth. I think you nailed the concept that "polarization" comes out of fear. As Franklin Roosevelt said... we have nothing to fear but fear itself. And the way out of that fear ??? The cure ??? the cure is simple and straight forward. Rid yourself of crippling fear…
* By learning and studying what you are talking about… "Knowledge is Power."
* By acquiring the skill of critical analysis.
* By acknowledging and checking your own “confirmation bias.”
* By striving for the “intellectual honesty” of an open mind.
But, easier said than done. The problem with the cure ??? It speaks in terms of intellect and logic, and, most times, in the battle of life... “fear” wills out, trumping both intellect and logic. In the historic battle for the human psyche, the “emotion” of the prehistoric part of the brain, the amygdala (fight or flight), has a much more primal and powerful place in the human psyche than logic, deductive reasoning and critical analysis.
I agree. In the lyrics of the 70's song, people should instructed "we ain't seen nothing yet" regarding 'fear'. Regarding authoritarian rule -- people are unknowledgeable about how daily, family-life, job satisfaction, creative innovation will plummet. It is our duty in the 5 months to message as you have indicated above.
Recent psychological research is offering some hope, Fred. Prof Tom Stafford (Univ Sheffield, UK) is popularizing a new paradigm for understanding this current polarization in FOR ARGUMENT’S SAKE: Evidence that Reason Can Change Minds. check out “interactionist model of human reasoning”, discussed in You Are Not So Smart Pod #234. Basic idea is that we think best in a social context (thus the wisdom, e.g. in constitutional requirement that Congress declare war vs. that power in the hands of one person) …our present polarization is a symptom of unprecedented levels of social atomization … as herd animals, our reasoning abilities evolved in a social context (thus the connecting tool of language) … solutions to polarization include forming problem solving communities, with heightened freedom to communicate … So there’s some reason for hope, considering the superior freedom of association and speech in democracies over the rigidity of autocracies, that greatly limits human interaction and speech to discover survival strategies (e.g. western democracies coming together for Ukraine vs Putin’s increased isolation as he gets increasingly paranoid and siloed) … this paradigm also suggests solutions for redesigning social media platforms to incentivize cooperative behavior over competitive interaction.
Love the suggestion of redesigning social media platforms to incentivize cooperative behavior. Is their any movement -- Congress or otherwise for this to happen? I wonder because I know there have been hearings re: social media's algorithms' harm.
Heidi Cuda in RADICALIZED TRUTH SURVIVES podcast reports from several British disinformation experts that legislation is pending in UK Parliament to curtail the algorithms that radicalize; frontporchforum.com is an online service attempting to create community groups in vermont/NY, each group made up exclusively of people who live near each other; there are dozens of FB community groups in my small county (less than 100K folks) … the vitriol flows freely in some, but many are efficiently self-policed to maintain a safe space for discussion, posting news/concerns
Hi Randolph, interesting on all points. I've seen Heidi on the Friday events, that is good to hear her reporting and know that the UK is attempting to lead the way to turn the corner on this. I will have to look into her podcasts too. Thanks for this hopeful info.
Highly recommend the weekly (26 so far) RADICALIZED TRUTH SURVIVES pods …. each week an interview of a front line warrior in the global information war …. dispatches from her co-hosts give previously unreported back stories to widely (but incompletely) reported news …. one of the 1000s of lively experiments in independent journalism, now that print and cable news are on the decline
Love your webinars, thoughtful editorial contributions and helping us better understand what is actually happening in this most confused era of disinformation engulfing our planet.
Ruth, thank you for this clear, solid explanation. The question of "rule of law or do you believe in violence?" is the question we must foster in our conversations with fellow citizens. Because that is the succinct & singular bottom-line.
Survivalist mode -- nothing speaks to this greater than the baby formula crisis. What next? People are lamenting daily on gas, food, covid's continuance, inflation, J6, war in Europe. How do we calm these waters? I think it's helpful to remember that after the Trump volcanic earthquake of four years, these are the systemic after-shocks. These are less about Biden, and more about Trump's years destabilizing us and our democratic institutions. I see these as 'fanned fires' fueled to politically take out Biden. Let's hold strong.
Destabilizing professionals like health professionals, journalists/professional media, educators is right from the playbook. Somehow we have find the right messaging to reach the average super-busy and distracted citizen. They play the 'opposites game', so should we. (Michelle Obama: when they go low, we go high). To message against polarization, we .... build community. Build truthful communities quickly amongst others we know and don't know -- more carefully outside social media. Old-fashioned face-to-face or phone talk. No algorithms to distract.
When I witnessed crimes, it is the aftermath that gets interesting. That is where people talk, trip up, show emotion, make mistakes and reveal themselves. "Truth reveals itself in time, like water to a kettle." That could be why DOJ is moving so slowly. The longer you wait, the more is revealed and ties back to the original incident. Confirms with evidence your intuition. That is how I see these events occurring under Biden's watch, they are reflections of the destabilization.
When they want to spook people into thinking they will/can lose everything -- that's the 'opposites game'. Under authoritarian reign is when you can lose everything. People become as valuable as a kleenex. Here today, gone tomorrow.
The next 5 months are critical to our livelihoods. Now, that's an economic argument since the economy is what voters are funneled in on.
Truth reveals itself in time, like STEAM to a kettle of water. jrs
Been thinking about the 'opposites game'. I wonder if this is a known, referred to strategy by authoritarians and criminals. Because it's so simple, it would make your own lies, and all your counterparts' lies, easier to remember in a fast-moving, cooperative, broad based environment. Liars have a hard time keeping track of all their lies as they mount. Following a strategy of the 'opposites game', would allow these nefarious individuals and groups to file their own lies in their mind; and also telepathically know their counterparts positions and language. So they all can walk in step with coordination.
So twisted -- to push / propagandize the opposite of reality. Gas-lighting the masses.
How can we educate, with respect, to the populace the 'opposites game' and that we are being gaslighted? Gas-lighting creates uncertainty and fear. Fear is what must tamped down before November, the griping fear. How do we do that?
Speak with certainty and truth?
Cynicon Implant…
I went to grade school at St. Scholastica in Detroit with a Cynicon Implant. Is that you Cynicon ???
Cynicon… you ask some very interesting questions. Speaking only for me, let me share with you what I see as indicia of authoritarianism in today’s America.
* "Fake News.” Sound familiar ??? Fake news... means don't trust the media. Trust only the authoritarian messenger... classic authoritarianism which is one step away from control of the content of the media by authoritarian figures like Putin.
* "Truth and Reality”... are what authoritarian figures tell you to believe (nothing more, nothing less), and you better not voice disagreement or you end up in the Gulag. Think Putin and the head of the Christian Orthodox Church in Russia... both telling the Russian People that God wants Russia to invade the Ukraine. If the Russian people voice disagreement, they have no 1st Amendment to protect them like we Americas, hopefully, still have.
Authoritarians tell you what “truth and reality” you should believe (even if totally lacking in truth and reality). An example… the recent, authoritarian move by Donald Trump and other elected Republicans to cancel out the will of the American voters in the last Presidential election (2020)… with many Republicans claiming (and still claiming) the election was stolen from Donald Trump. The reality (as far as the facts and the evidence) shows a completely different story…
(1) every lawsuit filed (50 or so) found "no evidence" of any wide spread fraud that cost Trump the election (even by Judges appointed by Trump).
(2) Trump in an authoritarian overreach called the Georgia’s, Republican Secretary of State, Raffensperger, and asked him to find Trump the 11,000 votes Trump needed to win Georgia's electoral votes. Thank heaven, Raffensperger stood up to Trumps overwhelming pressure to find votes that didn't exist.
(3) On January 6, 2020, Trump and other Republican authoritarian politicians urged Trump's followers to march on the Capital, and fight like hell to save the Country by forcing the Congress to take away the election victory of Joe Biden, and put the defeated Trump back in office for a second term,
(4) Trump importuned his own Vice President, Michael Pence, to throw out the election results of "We the People" and have the Republican controlled Senate replace the duly elected President (Joe Biden) with Donald Trump... the loser of the election. When Pence refused to cave into this classic authoritarian move, Trump tried to break Pence spiritually and politically.
(5) Trump's self appointed Attorney General, William Barr, told Trump the election wasn't stolen... and then Barr resigned in the last weeks of office rather than listen to the false, authoritarian statement that the election was stolen from Trump.
(6) The Michigan Legislature (controlled by Republicans) investigated the Michigan election results, held hearings, invited Rudy Giuliani to bring in witnesses to show the election was stolen, and (after a full hearing) wrote a written report clearly outlining the end result of the election... "It wasn't stolen.”
(7) all recounts and all audits of the election showed that Biden legitimately won and Trump lost.
(8) Yet, despite all this “no evidence of a stolen election”... Trump and his authoritarian Republican supporters still continued to use the Authoritarian Playbook, and insist upon a false “Truth and Reality” i.e. the election was stolen.
Cynicon, I submit that the above actions, undermining the confidence of the voters in an election are as “authoritarian,” and far reaching as you will ever find. How many generations will it take to return America’s confidence the hallmark of Democracy, i.e. the vote ???
* Authoritarians often hide behind the Bible… a sure way to win over many voters who stand in the middle, like you do Cynicon.
During the George Floyd protests in Washington D.C. Trump decided to go for a Bible walkabout, arriving at a Christian Church, and holding up a Christian Bible for all America to see which side he is on, the Christian side. Forgetting for the moment that Trump has no history of living a “Do unto Others” Christian life, Tumps actions were not only authoritarian, but his actions also violated the 1st Amendment of the Constitution that says Government cannot "establish" (or prefer or promote) a specific religion. The 1st Amendment’s “non establishment” clause is so basic to our cherished American freedoms, that the Founders put it in the very first Amendment to the Constitution. Yet Trump and his Republican followers (who accompanied him on his Bible walkabout) threw the 1st Amendment out the window (in Authoritarian fashion) just to score some political points. I submit Cynicon, only Authoritarians do that.
I have much more to say, but I have probably worn out my welcome in an attempt to answer you question. But, thank you Cynicon … for asking such an excellent question and keeping us anti-authoritarians on our toes.
P.S. Teachers are trained to teach... not parents. Parents send their children to school, because they are not qualified (by and large) to teach their own children. If parents think otherwise, they are free to "home school" their kids.
Fred Lauck
Fred, so well said regarding the authoritarian threat we face. I would just add, as a Christian woman, these authoritarians are psuedo-Christians who have rejected the Gospel, where Jesus teaches the exact 'opposite' of the authoritarian's behavior. They should not use His name. Agree, on first amendment.
Fascist leaders tend to be charismatic and destructive. What we have seen under the Trump administration is a symbiosis between a destructive charismatic leader and his followers. Typically, these type of leaders gather around themselves, broken and needy people whom are obsequious toward their omnipotent hero. These charismatic leaders demonized those outside the clan, while polarizing his followers against truth, the outside enemy and other ideas. Truth is now driven by emotion, not facts, in a move toward post-truth and postmodernism. Lies from those of authority inside the clan are trusted over the truth coming from anyone outside the clan. Due to the Backfire Effect, once these conservative followers believe something to be true, it is nearly impossible for them to believe otherwise, even when given corrective information. The huge number of people still believing that Trump won in 2020 is an example of this. The belief that their hero was robbed, puts them in the vengeance mode. They feel besieged and angry. They are fighting for survival.
So true. And they are needy, clingy. They in actuality are some of the most vulnerable if authoritarian rule solidifies. They do not realize they are kleenex to the authoritarian. One use and they're gone from usefulness. How can this be messaged? I think the audience we can try for is moderates, still independents and less-frequent voters. With 5 months left, we may need to not, or less focus on these lost souls. Back to focusing on moderates and building communities of trust -- outside social media and algorithms.
As a person who falls right of center (but not a Trump fan), I am struggling to see what Ruth is seeing as it pertains to her claims of Republican authoritarianism. Most of the commenters seem to know exactly what she is talking about but not being from this land I would benefit from some examples. If someone could give me a few it would be greatly appreciated.
Btw, I see a number of examples of authoritarianism from the Democrats ("I don't think parents should be in charge of what their kids learn in school," establishment of the Disinformation Governance board -- aka Ministry of Truth, etc.) Why are these not discussed here?
When Steve Bannon said that he greatly admired Mussolini, we should believe him. He's giving us a window into his thinking. He likes fascism and so does Trump. Fascism was invented by a sociopath (Mussolini) and it has been used by sociopathic leaders in almost all cases since. So fascism is the politics of lunacy. Sociopaths love it because it serves their grandiosity so well. Trump is a sociopath as well. But did he use fascist politics during his rule? Yes. If we look at the characteristics of fascism, we see most of them in use by Trump, and these techniques have not left the Repub Party since. The road to fascism is paved with gullibility, corruption, deception, division, belligerent ultra-nationalism (jingoism), national exceptionalism, far right autocratic rule, belligerent foreign policy, government/business collusion, anti-intellectualism, political bigotry, scapegoating, yearning for the country’s mythical past greatness, a sense of victimhood, anti-Marxism, a cult of machismo, extreme social hierarchy, sadism, a rise in fantastical thinking/wild conspiracies, rejection of modernism, in favor of traditionalism, single party rule and the intolerance of dissent. We do not have single party rule here, but had Trump taken power at Jan 6th, you can bet that he would strive to eliminate any competition from his megalomaniacal quest.
Authoritarians making schools as issue is a flare, a distraction. Now we're all pulled in from the fray. Never in my semi-long life, has public schooling been an intimate issue. It's a fire-torch thrown in from the far-right to sow division. And deplete energy. It's helpful to see it as such.
That did not help to clarify what specific actions from Republicans are authoritarian. Is questioning the teaching of critical race theory authoritarian?
I believe truth should be the basis of curriculum. Critical race theory exposes the truth. The truth will always set us free.
Examples of Republican authoritarianism: their desire to rig the elections, to overturn fair elections, their use of abortion to promote minority rule, they are being fed by the gun lobby to defy 80% of citizens who want gun control, look how they worship the authoritarian Orban in Hungary, a Putin ally, I could go on.
The potential overturning of Roe v Wade, authorizes legalized human trafficking. Children (and women) as financial chattel to be bartered and traded. Seen it. And it can be a money maker and a growth industry for adoptions, adoption agencies and those that run them, family court systems (needing more business), legal entities that can spin up to serve you.
This is a group, we must remember that does NOT care about children, they care about the money they can garner off the backs of citizens without rights (children, under 18).
The GOP strips society of helpful social safety nets, promotes favors, favoritism and who-you-know-ism. Look at Texas, children dialing 911 only to be betrayed by what we've all taught them -- that the police are 'helpers'. In that classroom, their minds must have been twisted and mangled trying to make sense of it. The cruelty is not Christian, if the authoritarians claim to be Christian and to care. It's preposterous. The Gospel of Christ is the 'opposite'.
Your first two examples are standard Democrat tactics. Don't understand your point about abortion. It's legal. We already have gun control. More gun laws won't stop criminals (hint: criminals don't pay attention to laws). Orban is a fan of freedom and individual rights.
SCOTUS is hell bent on making abortion illegal and will gladly do so; perhaps in the next few weeks, as a means to enforce their belief that women should NOT have any control over their own bodies (the next prohibition they are going to be working on is forbidding birth control-5 of the 6 ultra Conservative justices are Catholic.). As far as gun control, the Republicans want to allow essentially no control or safety laws to help keep people safe. Here in NH, the Republican majority legislature has passed a law that guns can be allowed EVERYWHERE and have been trying to pass a law FORBIDDING NH law enforcement to assist w/the Federal government in any issues related to guns. They do NOT want reasonable means of preventing access to guns like universal background checks & red flag laws. As to Orban, please read this piece: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/25/world/europe/hungary-democracy-orban.html
Prof.Ruth, I think we are all aware by now how cultural polarization has been promoted by the Republican party for several decades now as a way of dividing and ruling. What is not so familiar is how polarization is (unintentionally) promoted by our winner-take-all, first-past-the-post electoral system. A large majority of democratic countries have Proportional Representation (PR), in which every significant bloc of voters receives representation in their legislature proportional to the number for votes they receive. This leads to a multi-party system, because voters don't feel, as they do in our country, that they have to vote for one of two great parties in order for their vote to "count" against the party that they oppose. Few if any of the countries that have PR are polarized, currently, in the way that the US is polarized. The US Congress could adopt PR; it doesn't require any change in the Constitution. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in a 2020 report, and Lee Drutman in his _Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multi-Party Democracy in American_ (Oxford U. Press, 2020) both advocate PR (and/or the related Ranked-Choice Voting) for the US as a way of decreasing polarization. Have you explored this aspect of the polarization issue?
Thanks Randolph.
Given that our line, Homo Sapiens, flourished, while other lines of human evolution failed (supposedly due to our line of descent being better at "cooperating")... the study by Professor Stafford makes sense... especially "problem solving communities."
Maybe the "problem solving communities" (like Juries) work because everyone is "empowered"... the key word, "empowered"... to contribute. As some of the great prophets have shown us, truly "empowering" others eliminates fear, and, hence... hostility. Reminds me of the definition of "diplomacy"... "the art of letting the other guy get your way."
Thanks for broadening my horizon, Randolph.
Fred Lauck
Empower
Ruth, you are a gift to our troubled world. I am spreading your trenchant analyses and thoughts to everyone I can. Thank you!
Seems that we have passed far too many tipping points for our country to ever heal and reunite. Splitting into two mostly separate nations (west coast plus Nevada and HI, upper Midwest and New England down to Maryland as Blue America and the rest of the states as Gilead) may be much better than tearing each other and the country apart while the energy and climate emergencies go largely ignored. Yes, hardly ideal and no states are wholly blue or red, but fracturing may still be our best option.
I would rather be part of a new country focused on democracy and adapting to a threatened planet than to keep living in an increasingly reactionary and authoritarian Trumpistan.
Once people are sold on fascism, they can't seem to get eough of it. But don't try to tell them that they are fascists, because they won't believe it. It is a post-truth mindset, where facts no longer matter. It destroys nations.
Agree. They can't get enough of it. It's like continually sitting up for a dog treat, the next treat might really make a difference -- and rarely does. A lifetime of sitting up to the master for nothing. Just a dream to join the 'big dogs'.
The economic divide is a casum that's been happening for years.
I agree. While I voted for Reagan, a fabulous populist speaker, I think really took off and launched then. I worked for the savings & loan industry in the 80's and deregulation destroyed the industry. Because deregulation became popularized, legislated and then semantics focused on the "private $ector" winnings. People, sadly, left to their own devices are greedy and will blow through stop signs, if not watched. And here we are.
Thank you for your valuable analysis Professor, here my comments and questions.
The polarization of society seems to be the way the Roman governance principle DIVIDE ET RULE takes shape. When a socio-economic system collapses it is natural to move from plurality to polarization and from there to direct violence. Would the therapy for polarization be plurality and dialogue? If not, what would be it?
I have my doubts if this polarization symptom has to be joined by a strong man or woman figure; is it possible that it also comes along with groups with defined shared interests, and not only with a strong leader?
Can polarization be led by institutions or organizations where power is concentrated in several members without that strong person?
American Exceptionalism. We talk about everything Except the Truth
National exceptionalism is one of the characteristics of fascism. It is reckless national chauvinism.
reckless
What actually is American Exceptionalism suppose to be? I've heard the term, especially last week from Ted Cruz tirade against The Sky reporter. First blush I think of when Europeans use to not like Americans travelers due to our self-focus while traveling...
It’s our collective self righteousness. We are the best at everything … don’t you know who I am - ism. It’s blind pride personified into a culture. That’s how I describe it however I’m certain there are many ways to view this behavior except if your an American.
Thank you Jeanine for that clear explanation. Yes, I see that. It's odd -- and then not, -- that Cruz would brag about that. I feel ashamed, by association, of that self-righteousness of a large swath of our populace. Good to recall, America is only __% of the world population. It's should snap us back into some humbleness that democracy -- now at stake -- has been the environment that allowed and cultivated creative innovation. Reminds me of the phrase 'it takes a village' --- the phrase was not 'it takes a corporation'. When I read your clear explanation, another word that comes to mind is 'grandiosity'. At the end of life, where someday each of us will journey solo, people will emotionally suffer because of their lack of humbleness. It comes roaring in like a freight train to their mind.
Professor Ruth, Thank you so much for your Friday Zoom meetings and your most excellent essays. I've learned so much from you over the past few weeks. I'm looking forward to learning even more when I obtain a copy of your Strongmen book from my local library tomorrow. Your
2 interviews with Ray Suarez on the World Affairs Podcast are most instructive on the topic of authoritarianism. I encourage new followers of your work to listen to them.
Kenny Dyas Hayden, Alabama
Got dates on those two podcasts you recommend, Kenny? found Ray’s WORLD AFFAIRS …. prolific fellow - over a 100podcasts since Sept ‘20. Thanks
Randolph, the 01/08/21 podcast was on World Affairs Podcast and the 12/22/20 was on the Public Morality podcast. Sorry for the confusion.
01/08/21 & 12/22/20 - referenced from https://ruthbenghiat.com/category/podcasts/
Wow! Thanks much for the links!! Especially the link to the service that uploads every podcast Ruth has done!!!
Great analysis as always RBG. We also need solutions. It is not enough to say we must educate ourselves and personally respond as individuals. We are up against ENORMOUS and PERVASIVE loudspeakers in Fox, AM radio, social media, etc. And these right wingers have become increasingly organized. How do we counter all that in a way that will not just negate them but persuade people away from all this fascist crap?
Biden's ratings are low. He says he is going to call out Republicans as "extremists." That's not enough. He needs to articulate very clearly what Ruth lays out. How Republicans want to obstruct beneficial actions, so as to be able to brand his presidency a failure. His ratings show they have succeeded. MSNBC reported today he asked his staff for a new message. Dear Joe, ask Ruth.
Our President is reportedly speaking with Heather Cox Richardson..who is also trumpeting the same clarion call in her daily LETTERS to us
Heather and Ruth are in the same choir.
Thanks Ruth. I think you nailed the concept that "polarization" comes out of fear. As Franklin Roosevelt said... we have nothing to fear but fear itself. And the way out of that fear ??? The cure ??? the cure is simple and straight forward. Rid yourself of crippling fear…
* By learning and studying what you are talking about… "Knowledge is Power."
* By acquiring the skill of critical analysis.
* By acknowledging and checking your own “confirmation bias.”
* By striving for the “intellectual honesty” of an open mind.
But, easier said than done. The problem with the cure ??? It speaks in terms of intellect and logic, and, most times, in the battle of life... “fear” wills out, trumping both intellect and logic. In the historic battle for the human psyche, the “emotion” of the prehistoric part of the brain, the amygdala (fight or flight), has a much more primal and powerful place in the human psyche than logic, deductive reasoning and critical analysis.
Fred Lauck
I agree. In the lyrics of the 70's song, people should instructed "we ain't seen nothing yet" regarding 'fear'. Regarding authoritarian rule -- people are unknowledgeable about how daily, family-life, job satisfaction, creative innovation will plummet. It is our duty in the 5 months to message as you have indicated above.
talk every day outside your circle of contacts
Recent psychological research is offering some hope, Fred. Prof Tom Stafford (Univ Sheffield, UK) is popularizing a new paradigm for understanding this current polarization in FOR ARGUMENT’S SAKE: Evidence that Reason Can Change Minds. check out “interactionist model of human reasoning”, discussed in You Are Not So Smart Pod #234. Basic idea is that we think best in a social context (thus the wisdom, e.g. in constitutional requirement that Congress declare war vs. that power in the hands of one person) …our present polarization is a symptom of unprecedented levels of social atomization … as herd animals, our reasoning abilities evolved in a social context (thus the connecting tool of language) … solutions to polarization include forming problem solving communities, with heightened freedom to communicate … So there’s some reason for hope, considering the superior freedom of association and speech in democracies over the rigidity of autocracies, that greatly limits human interaction and speech to discover survival strategies (e.g. western democracies coming together for Ukraine vs Putin’s increased isolation as he gets increasingly paranoid and siloed) … this paradigm also suggests solutions for redesigning social media platforms to incentivize cooperative behavior over competitive interaction.
Love the suggestion of redesigning social media platforms to incentivize cooperative behavior. Is their any movement -- Congress or otherwise for this to happen? I wonder because I know there have been hearings re: social media's algorithms' harm.
Heidi Cuda in RADICALIZED TRUTH SURVIVES podcast reports from several British disinformation experts that legislation is pending in UK Parliament to curtail the algorithms that radicalize; frontporchforum.com is an online service attempting to create community groups in vermont/NY, each group made up exclusively of people who live near each other; there are dozens of FB community groups in my small county (less than 100K folks) … the vitriol flows freely in some, but many are efficiently self-policed to maintain a safe space for discussion, posting news/concerns
Hi Randolph, interesting on all points. I've seen Heidi on the Friday events, that is good to hear her reporting and know that the UK is attempting to lead the way to turn the corner on this. I will have to look into her podcasts too. Thanks for this hopeful info.
Highly recommend the weekly (26 so far) RADICALIZED TRUTH SURVIVES pods …. each week an interview of a front line warrior in the global information war …. dispatches from her co-hosts give previously unreported back stories to widely (but incompletely) reported news …. one of the 1000s of lively experiments in independent journalism, now that print and cable news are on the decline
Ruth,
Love your webinars, thoughtful editorial contributions and helping us better understand what is actually happening in this most confused era of disinformation engulfing our planet.
Keep it up and thank you. Walter Scott Perry