Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar's guest essay in The New York Times, "I've Seen How the Biden-Trump Rematch Ends, and It's Pretty Scary," is food for thought. Reflecting on 1996, he sees it as a cautionary tale. "In America today," he writes, "I frequently hear that the fate of democracy hinges on the coming election. I agree. But as Russia's experience shows, it's never as simple as just defeating the bad guy."
Beware of false equivalence. "Evoking" and "using" fear are not the same thing.
There are many ways to evoke fear in the political arena: opinions (e.g., "the fate of democracy hinges on the coming election"), lies, threats, and physical violence, for instance.
Facts also can evoke fear: the exact words a candidate says ("I will be a dictator"; "I am your revenge"), the promises a candidate makes (round up and deport 11 million people; Project 2025), and what the candidate has done in the past (incited violent insurrection), for example. The same facts can evoke fear in some people and approval in others.
Which party cites facts, and which party manipulates emotions with lies and threats? There is *no* equivalence.
As a retired dentist, I have used as my “handle” on certain social media: “Fighter of Truth Decay”, - and I have written “Letters to the Editor” in our local, Miami Herald about this very subject. I quoted President Obama in one piece who said: “these days, it seems that not only do we not have to tell the truth, but the truth doesn’t even matter.” It is a sad day when “truth” itself, ceases to be a beacon of integrity for us humans to aspire to. Without truth, what’s left? While lies have been told by many throughout history, I blame Trump who has made lying almost ‘normal’ behavior in our everyday-lives. What other president can boast that a major newspaper (The Washington Post) dedicated itself to keeping a daily tally of how many lies Trump told each day during his presidency? That number, according to Google, is 30,573. This number is astonishing enough; but what is worse, are the number of Americans who don’t seem to care and actually embrace this pathological, narcissistic man to be their president. God help us.
I think they admire the concept of 'anything goes', favors, and it's 'who you know' society. Their highest value is accumulation of money -- at any cost, clothed in religion and family. Lost moral compasses. That is my observation of those I known that have crossed over. They're good with it! Lost. Rather empty living....
Thank you and Happy Memorial Day, Ruth and all, as we remember, celebrate, mourn and honor those in our family trees and/or others’—including those in the countries of our allies for democracy for all—who 1) fought, perished or remained steadfast in many ways against the evil of tyranny and acts and wars of aggression and who 2) continue today to resist ongoing attacks on our shared constitutional rights and international human rights promised to all since WWII.
Thank you, Ruth, for also so fearlessly exposing the global tyrants of today—and their like of yesterday—as you help show and light our way to life, well-being and freedom from their harms. “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself” (as FDR implored in 1933) because it is that which most compromises our shared humanity and joyful futures.
Whenever I feel uncertain or wary about repercussions to my own many small or larger acts of resistance in these times with others in person locally or nationally or online, I think back to the Shakespeare quote on a mug my brother gave me as a birthday present several years ago: “Virtue is bold, and goodness never fearful.” (which says its from his play called "Measure for Measure"*). While having fear is human and beneficial to a certain degree, rising above it (and also using it to more strategically accomplish moral actions and live to do more of them) is what often makes us humane. That’s why it is always best to act early against tyrants rather than later when they become more entrenched as you often advise!
I appreciate the information about why people believe liars, but I still don't understand what it is to be one of them. My brain just doesn't go there, because I need for things to make sense. I've never heard trump say much of anything that makes sense. I'm also glad that I am not on any social media platforms, which means I don't have to deal with that source of disinformation.
I feel lucky that i never got to understand Facebook well enough to get embroiled in that kind of stuff or to even see it. I found what my friends posted to be annoying enough, along with the realization that Facebook was not trustworthy, that I happily let it go and have never missed it.
This comment is a long question I never asked until people who lied so outrageously that their lies and conspiracies were in the news daily.
People are creatures who want to belong to the group, and belonging to the group usually means conforming, and not questioning the wisdom of the group. When we talk about lying and how lies become so persuasive through repetition that people accept false narratives and live according to the stories they hear, I can’t help but wonder if religions are also made-up, mythic narratives of comforting stories that offer people’s lives meaning and instill belief by repetition. Religions often present examples of good versus bad behavior, offer rules to live by, threaten punishments for breaking the rules and instill fear of others who do not believe the same as ‘we’ do. And, I wonder whether people who were taught, as children, to accept the authority of their parents, teachers, and upholders of religious teachings and dogmas, are more easily convinced by the lies they hear on radio, TV, and social media, because they were taught to believe what the authorities tell them—who is good and who is bad, who is a threat, who to fear, and who will save them and are taught that staying in the group among those of your own kind is best. And the leaders of the groups build anger and hatred to pit one group against the other, and at times use religion like a flame thrower in waging wars.
I don’t disagree with you for a second. It all boils down to the adage: “money is the root of all evil”…. We humans seem to be a pretty wretched species, indeed.
Why do people believe liars, especially authority figures? American citizens demonstrate an unhealthy respect for authority, as demonstrated by the Milgram experiments at Yale in the early 1960's. The details of the experiment are easily researched. The gist of the results was a subject was willing to administer what they thought were electric shocks to an unknown person who provided incorrect responses to questions. The "shocks" were administered despite protests from the "recipients", based solely upon the directions of the "monitor." The percentage of subjects willing to "shock" the recipients were off the chart.
A similar test was performed in Germany a short time later. The thought was the German citizens were so obedient - they fell under the spell of Hitler, in fact - that the results of acquiescence would be much greater than found in the US. The results were contrary to that thought - the US citizens administered shocks at a much greater rate than the German subjects.
Whenever authority figures lie, and repeat the lie, it is far easier for Americans to believe the lie, perhaps to a greater extent than any other population on the planet. When you think of the lies American presidents have declared in the past 50 years, lies like peace with honor, we need to fight them over there or we will be forced to fight them here, weapons of mass destruction, and the list goes on - and we buy into it hook, line, and sinker, time after time, it's discouraging. Combine that with lies we tell ourselves about American history, denials of basic freedoms to all people, justification of slavery, genocide of the indigenous population - the American story is a concocted myth. I don't dare to predict the future, but without truth and reconciliation, I fear the chickens are coming home to roost.
"Digby" has a great writeup today regarding Trump's 'what's in it for ME' attitude this Memorial Day 2024.
https://digbysblog.net/2024/05/27/memorial-day-2024/
Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar's guest essay in The New York Times, "I've Seen How the Biden-Trump Rematch Ends, and It's Pretty Scary," is food for thought. Reflecting on 1996, he sees it as a cautionary tale. "In America today," he writes, "I frequently hear that the fate of democracy hinges on the coming election. I agree. But as Russia's experience shows, it's never as simple as just defeating the bad guy."
Yes, Zygar offers much to think about in his discussion of the downsides of evoking fear. Both parties are using fear to drum up votes.
Beware of false equivalence. "Evoking" and "using" fear are not the same thing.
There are many ways to evoke fear in the political arena: opinions (e.g., "the fate of democracy hinges on the coming election"), lies, threats, and physical violence, for instance.
Facts also can evoke fear: the exact words a candidate says ("I will be a dictator"; "I am your revenge"), the promises a candidate makes (round up and deport 11 million people; Project 2025), and what the candidate has done in the past (incited violent insurrection), for example. The same facts can evoke fear in some people and approval in others.
Which party cites facts, and which party manipulates emotions with lies and threats? There is *no* equivalence.
As a retired dentist, I have used as my “handle” on certain social media: “Fighter of Truth Decay”, - and I have written “Letters to the Editor” in our local, Miami Herald about this very subject. I quoted President Obama in one piece who said: “these days, it seems that not only do we not have to tell the truth, but the truth doesn’t even matter.” It is a sad day when “truth” itself, ceases to be a beacon of integrity for us humans to aspire to. Without truth, what’s left? While lies have been told by many throughout history, I blame Trump who has made lying almost ‘normal’ behavior in our everyday-lives. What other president can boast that a major newspaper (The Washington Post) dedicated itself to keeping a daily tally of how many lies Trump told each day during his presidency? That number, according to Google, is 30,573. This number is astonishing enough; but what is worse, are the number of Americans who don’t seem to care and actually embrace this pathological, narcissistic man to be their president. God help us.
I think they admire the concept of 'anything goes', favors, and it's 'who you know' society. Their highest value is accumulation of money -- at any cost, clothed in religion and family. Lost moral compasses. That is my observation of those I known that have crossed over. They're good with it! Lost. Rather empty living....
Thank you and Happy Memorial Day, Ruth and all, as we remember, celebrate, mourn and honor those in our family trees and/or others’—including those in the countries of our allies for democracy for all—who 1) fought, perished or remained steadfast in many ways against the evil of tyranny and acts and wars of aggression and who 2) continue today to resist ongoing attacks on our shared constitutional rights and international human rights promised to all since WWII.
Thank you, Ruth, for also so fearlessly exposing the global tyrants of today—and their like of yesterday—as you help show and light our way to life, well-being and freedom from their harms. “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself” (as FDR implored in 1933) because it is that which most compromises our shared humanity and joyful futures.
Whenever I feel uncertain or wary about repercussions to my own many small or larger acts of resistance in these times with others in person locally or nationally or online, I think back to the Shakespeare quote on a mug my brother gave me as a birthday present several years ago: “Virtue is bold, and goodness never fearful.” (which says its from his play called "Measure for Measure"*). While having fear is human and beneficial to a certain degree, rising above it (and also using it to more strategically accomplish moral actions and live to do more of them) is what often makes us humane. That’s why it is always best to act early against tyrants rather than later when they become more entrenched as you often advise!
* Good synopsis found: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/measure-measure
I appreciate the information about why people believe liars, but I still don't understand what it is to be one of them. My brain just doesn't go there, because I need for things to make sense. I've never heard trump say much of anything that makes sense. I'm also glad that I am not on any social media platforms, which means I don't have to deal with that source of disinformation.
Agree, social media can bait everyone, then it becomes an echo chamber or feudal territory.
I feel lucky that i never got to understand Facebook well enough to get embroiled in that kind of stuff or to even see it. I found what my friends posted to be annoying enough, along with the realization that Facebook was not trustworthy, that I happily let it go and have never missed it.
If you don’t believe in anything, you’ll fall for everything! Best I can explain!
This comment is a long question I never asked until people who lied so outrageously that their lies and conspiracies were in the news daily.
People are creatures who want to belong to the group, and belonging to the group usually means conforming, and not questioning the wisdom of the group. When we talk about lying and how lies become so persuasive through repetition that people accept false narratives and live according to the stories they hear, I can’t help but wonder if religions are also made-up, mythic narratives of comforting stories that offer people’s lives meaning and instill belief by repetition. Religions often present examples of good versus bad behavior, offer rules to live by, threaten punishments for breaking the rules and instill fear of others who do not believe the same as ‘we’ do. And, I wonder whether people who were taught, as children, to accept the authority of their parents, teachers, and upholders of religious teachings and dogmas, are more easily convinced by the lies they hear on radio, TV, and social media, because they were taught to believe what the authorities tell them—who is good and who is bad, who is a threat, who to fear, and who will save them and are taught that staying in the group among those of your own kind is best. And the leaders of the groups build anger and hatred to pit one group against the other, and at times use religion like a flame thrower in waging wars.
I don’t disagree with you for a second. It all boils down to the adage: “money is the root of all evil”…. We humans seem to be a pretty wretched species, indeed.
Why do people believe liars, especially authority figures? American citizens demonstrate an unhealthy respect for authority, as demonstrated by the Milgram experiments at Yale in the early 1960's. The details of the experiment are easily researched. The gist of the results was a subject was willing to administer what they thought were electric shocks to an unknown person who provided incorrect responses to questions. The "shocks" were administered despite protests from the "recipients", based solely upon the directions of the "monitor." The percentage of subjects willing to "shock" the recipients were off the chart.
A similar test was performed in Germany a short time later. The thought was the German citizens were so obedient - they fell under the spell of Hitler, in fact - that the results of acquiescence would be much greater than found in the US. The results were contrary to that thought - the US citizens administered shocks at a much greater rate than the German subjects.
Whenever authority figures lie, and repeat the lie, it is far easier for Americans to believe the lie, perhaps to a greater extent than any other population on the planet. When you think of the lies American presidents have declared in the past 50 years, lies like peace with honor, we need to fight them over there or we will be forced to fight them here, weapons of mass destruction, and the list goes on - and we buy into it hook, line, and sinker, time after time, it's discouraging. Combine that with lies we tell ourselves about American history, denials of basic freedoms to all people, justification of slavery, genocide of the indigenous population - the American story is a concocted myth. I don't dare to predict the future, but without truth and reconciliation, I fear the chickens are coming home to roost.