What IS the "MaGA Mind"? First, it's got to go.
[By the way, the "a" is in lowercase for "america" because of the dishonesty and disrespect Trump and his contingent offer to our America.]
There's also a poll on X (Twitter) about Donald Trump being tried for his actual crimes and what his punishment should be upon conviction. Life? Death? Too soon?
The internet was built as a place where everyone could have equal footing.
What a fucking mistake THAT was! Because we are NOT equal.
Too many of us are delusional, mentally, or socially ill (racist, MaGA, etc.).
To give equal footing to THAT, was a HUGE mistake.
AS we're seeing now! THEN? We added in algorithms to skew it further, and with autocrats with billions purchasing our social media, altered our realities, with an agenda.
Sigh...
So, there's a lot to cover. I'll be jumping around a bit. For more hit my previous blogs. Also, Rachel Maddow's podcasts should be required for ANY and ALL Americans before they think all is hopeless or fall into MaGA-type nonsense.
Also this:
Marc E. Elias @marceelias
“I think we are going to see mass refusals to certify the election” in November, says Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias. “Everything we are seeing about this election is that the other side is more organized, more ruthless, and more prepared.”
Here are some additional basic elements and labels of MaGA Mind:
We have two "Americas" here. One that is real and seen by the world. The other, is believed to exist by the MaGA supporter. One that is dark and terrible, crumbling and awful, filled with enemies and fear.
See also, Donald Trump's mental defect and TOC for the authoritarian (oddly same as Christian's "AntiChrist"!). Also: Humans default psychologically to "binary thinking" and sociologically to autocracy. Thus in the fight or flight (or freeze) mode to fear cliquishness, tribalism, and emergency protocols are all initiated by authoritarian triggers.
Also this:
Marc E. Elias @marceelias
“I think we are going to see mass refusals to certify the election” in November, says Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias. “Everything we are seeing about this election is that the other side is more organized, more ruthless, and more prepared.”
It’s not that everyone who is a binary thinker falls for those things, but the "scripts" we run in our mind are. " Rolling Sone article
OK then...
Humans are susceptible to "sloppy thinking" and Donald Trump/autocracy uses that to his advantage. Autocracy itself uses many interesting techniques I've spoken to many times. Aside from logic traps or binary thinking ("this or that" when the offer OF "this or that" is disingenuously stacked).
One is what magicians call "forcing techniques":
Forcing Techniques: A variety of methods to make a participant believe they have freely chosen an option when the choice is actually predetermined. This can include:
Classic Force: Making the participant choose a specific card through practiced timing and technique.Equivocation: Also known as the magician’s choice, where the magician guides the participant to a specific outcome regardless of their choices.Timing Forces: Creating a sense of urgency or distraction to make the participant choose a specific option.
But that is not our America. That's not our democracy. That's not our democratic Constitutional Republic. These are messy things that appear dysfunctional and broken because of so many voices and beliefs that come together and iron out progress as we all see it. Not just as one group sees it believing they know best. That is an autocracy, a theocracy, a monarchy, a kleptocracy, or an oligarchy.
US Government: While often categorized as a democracy, the United States is more accurately defined as a constitutional federal republic. What does this mean? “Constitutional” refers to the fact that government in the United States is based on a Constitution which is the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution not only provides the framework for how the federal and state governments are structured but also places significant limits on their powers. “Federal” means that there is both a national government and governments of the 50 states. A “republic” is a form of government in which the people hold power, but elect representatives to exercise that power.
US Government: While often categorized as a democracy, the United States is more accurately defined as a constitutional federal republic. What does this mean? “Constitutional” refers to the fact that government in the United States is based on a Constitution which is the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution not only provides the framework for how the federal and state governments are structured but also places significant limits on their powers. “Federal” means that there is both a national government and governments of the 50 states. A “republic” is a form of government in which the people hold power, but elect representatives to exercise that power.
Yes, the US is a constitutional federal republic: governed by a Constitution, power shared between federal & state govs, and led by elected reps. While not a direct democracy, it embodies democratic principles through elections and citizen participation.
Saying it is a democracy is still correct and others saying we're just a "Constitutional Republic" are using a phrase long used in the seditionist underground of Ultra Right Wing extremists. It's "cool" by their thinking to differentiate. But it's just a whistle call.
What we have is far better, messy as it can be, easily claimed to be broken by more "perfect" forms of social management. As Winston Churchill so aptly put it:
‘Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…’ - Winston S Churchill, 11 November 1947
Or as Ben Franklin put it before him. Monday, September 17, 1787: The Convention Today. The day began with a prepared speech from Franklin (PA) who, eighty-one years old and painfully afflicted with gout and kidney stone, was unable to read it himself and delegated that task to Wilson (PA)
“In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution, with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a General Government necessary for us, and there is no form of government, but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered; and believe further, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government.”
Donald Trump is here, now to be that despot, to tear down what Franklin and the other frame for us, a new country, a "Great Experiment" of states under a federal system. One we should not "game" or play against our best interests to despoil into a "despotic government", such as Trump and his MaGA GOP intend.
The Trump America is a horror fantasy manufactured by a Republican Party that was ripe for an authoritarian to overtake it and plunge it into darkness and disrepute.
"MaGA Mind"? Well? It is not what you think. You likely think it is a label for a group that supports Donald Trump and the propaganda and bizarre things he propagates out to his masses, to our media he discredits so brazenly, all in his inimitable, dumbed down, juvenile, and droll-like way.
But it IS just a brand.
Donald Trump is a branding agent. He is branding and selling...Donald Trump. He is "selling" authoritarianism, he is "selling" Christian nationalism, he is "selling" authoritarianism and Fascism.
All of which are pushing our "over there" and what is "right here" in front of us all. It is a kind of "magic", social engineering, manipulation, and mass hypnosis.
I have to refer back to my short sci-fi dystopian story I wrote in 1984 first published in a horror quarterly on the east coast of America in 1990. "In Memory, Yet Crystal Clear". You may have seen me mention this story before. It's a good example of how insidious what Donald Trump is doing.
It offers the feeling of what I'm intellectually trying to say. Especially those in the MaGA "cult" who can understand better by reading such things, rather than in a rational assimilation. Which is never going to happen They cannot turn on their "tribe', their "cult", their "political" party, their 'brothers in arms", or their fantasy they "see" as their and all of our, reality.
The MaGA mindset conflates, obfuscates distracts, and outright lies. It actuates a stage long previously set up by grievance, religion, and an ability to believe through faith what does not exist. Or is unseen, or disbelieved by others. Nothing offers strength to the fantasy as much as a force to push again, an "Other" who are disbelievers. Or as Islam considers them as, "infidels".
It's a brand that builds within one's mind a barrier that demands it not be infiltrated with knowledge, information, or facts, All reality served up by media or non-believers must be lies by the "Others". Thus we hear of "alt facts". Something so ludicrous that it openly displays the damage and delusion. But not to the "believer", not to the "MaGA Mind".
- Centralized Power: Concentration of power in the hands of a single leader or a small group, often bypassing democratic institutions.
- Suppression of Dissent: Limiting freedom of speech, press, and assembly; punishing or silencing political opponents and critics.
- Propaganda: Use of media to spread the regime’s ideology and to manipulate public opinion.
- Control Over Judiciary: Undermining judicial independence to ensure legal outcomes favor the regime.
- Erosion of Democratic Norms: Disregard for rule of law, checks and balances, and electoral integrity.
- Surveillance: Monitoring and controlling the population through extensive surveillance programs.
- Militarization: Increased use of military and police forces to maintain control and suppress opposition.
- (Christian) Nationalism: Promoting a strong nationalistic sentiment, often at the expense of minority rights and international cooperation.
- Scapegoating: Blaming societal problems on marginalized groups or foreign entities to unite the populace against a common enemy.
- Economic Control: State intervention in the economy to maintain power and control over resources.
- Censorship: Controlling information by restricting access to non-state-approved media and suppressing critical voices.
- Manipulation of Elections: Rigging or undermining electoral processes to ensure the regime’s hold on power.
- Patronage: Distributing state resources and benefits to loyal supporters to maintain their allegiance.
- Cult of Personality: Elevating the leader to a near-mythical status through state-sponsored adulation.
- Legalism: Using laws to give an appearance of legality to actions that subvert democratic principles.
- Fear: Instilling fear in the populace through threats of violence, imprisonment, or other reprisals against dissenters
- Undermining Civil Society: Weakening independent organizations and institutions that could challenge the regime's authority.
- Criminalization of Opposition: Labeling political opponents as criminals, terrorists, or enemies of the state.
- Religious Manipulation: Exploiting religious beliefs and institutions to legitimize the regime's authority, justify policies, and suppress opposition.
This can involve:
- Religious Nationalism: Promoting a specific religion or religious identity as central to the national identity, often marginalizing other religions or secular viewpoints.
- Clerical Alliances: Forming alliances with religious leaders to gain their support and influence over the population.
- Divine Justification: Claiming divine right or support for the regime’s actions and leadership.
- Suppressing Religious Dissent: Persecuting religious groups or individuals who oppose the regime.
- Legislating Morality: Enforcing laws based on religious doctrines to control personal behavior and societal norms.
- Religious Propaganda: Using religious rhetoric and symbols in state propaganda to invoke a sense of moral righteousness and loyalty.
- These tactics serve to consolidate power by aligning the regime with religious authority and using it to influence or control the populace.
But are we children, as Trump wishes, easily led, pliable for his own purposes to suppose his narcissism, his deepest pleasures? Or for us, for ourselves, not himself?
It is the formula for an authoritarian state.
Read Timothy Snyder's "On Tyranny".
And just try not to see Donald Trump all through it. You will fail.
But you can succeed, we all can, just by clearly seeing the "Emperor's New Clothes" of Donald Trump, have never ever existed.
He is the charlatan we can all see.
The "MaGA Mind" is not just a political stance; it represents a dangerous shift toward authoritarianism that threatens the very fabric of our democratic society. It leverages fear, binary thinking, and manipulative techniques to create a distorted view of reality, undermining the principles of our democratic constitutional federal republic.
We can keep our country but as Franklin said, it will take Effort.
Educate yourself and others, read and share, and stay informed. VET your information. Check and double-check it. Dig deep when it sounds either too good to be true, or just simply ridiculous.
Engage in our political process, vote, contact your representatives...share.
Support our Democratic institutions, join organizations, and speak up to protect our free speech before it's gone
Foster community and dialogue by building bridges and combatting disinformation.
Advocate for accountability by demanding justice and promoting transparency.
We all have a role to play. The future of our democracy depends on our collective efforts to uphold our values and principles. By staying informed, engaged, and active, we resist the slide toward authoritarianism and ensure that our government remains of the people, by the people, and for the people. The People. US. ALL of us.
Let us not be swayed by the illusions and disillusions of the "MaGA Mind." Instead, reaffirm our commitment to a just, fair, and democratic society where every voice is heard and respected.
Together, we can indeed preserve this great experiment of democracy that our founders envisioned.
Stand up. Speak out. Act now.
Certainly Vote, it's the least any of us can do. However, this time we may have to take other action if Trump's claims of subverting our electoral process play out.
Our government has to start acting now about this new, but also old threat.
And just try not to see Donald Trump all through it. You will fail.
But you can succeed, we all can, just by clearly seeing the "Emperor's New Clothes" of Donald Trump, have never ever existed.
He is the charlatan we can all see.
The "MaGA Mind" is not just a political stance; it represents a dangerous shift toward authoritarianism that threatens the very fabric of our democratic society. It leverages fear, binary thinking, and manipulative techniques to create a distorted view of reality, undermining the principles of our democratic constitutional federal republic.
We can keep our country but as Franklin said, it will take Effort.
Educate yourself and others, read and share, and stay informed. VET your information. Check and double-check it. Dig deep when it sounds either too good to be true, or just simply ridiculous.
Engage in our political process, vote, contact your representatives...share.
Support our Democratic institutions, join organizations, and speak up to protect our free speech before it's gone
Foster community and dialogue by building bridges and combatting disinformation.
Advocate for accountability by demanding justice and promoting transparency.
We all have a role to play. The future of our democracy depends on our collective efforts to uphold our values and principles. By staying informed, engaged, and active, we resist the slide toward authoritarianism and ensure that our government remains of the people, by the people, and for the people. The People. US. ALL of us.
Let us not be swayed by the illusions and disillusions of the "MaGA Mind." Instead, reaffirm our commitment to a just, fair, and democratic society where every voice is heard and respected.
Together, we can indeed preserve this great experiment of democracy that our founders envisioned.
Stand up. Speak out. Act now.
Certainly Vote, it's the least any of us can do. However, this time we may have to take other action if Trump's claims of subverting our electoral process play out.
Our government has to start acting now about this new, but also old threat.
This conservative activist Republican Party has created an overbalanced activist conservative SCOTUS that is going to require a reset of some short, a correction to balance the court. Liberal and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, need to work together and for decades Republicans have pushed for this situation hoping for, and working toward minority rule.
I touched on this indirectly in my horror sci-fi novel, "The Unwritten", Vol. II of my Anthology of Evil series. In that universe, there is a horrendous Religious War where Science won. There was then a huge Science War where again, science won. We don't want to go through that here.
Let's...not.
But that is where we're headed if America doesn't correct these illiberal imbalances back to where both sides can once again work together
We must let them know we demand action. So that on that day of swearing in, next January 2025 of our new POTUS, America will continue on from the point of our founding over 200 years ago, rather than begin a new day of Trump-led authoritarianism. Losing our right to vote so many died to protect and not simply be left by the fascist wayside of the road once known as America.
Cheers! Sláinte!
