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I actually find it’s pretty simple; organized religion teaches blind obedience to an authority figure. That should be god but often it’s to domineering personality male, usually in the form of a bishop/pastor/priest. It also provides them with a community that has its own set of facts and lives in their own reality. It’s no surprise to me when you read interviews with Trumpers and find that they’re often victims of abuse and/or involved with extremist religions. The wreckage that leaves them dependent on an authority figure leaves them easy prey for authoritarians like Hitler, Franco, Pinochet, Putin, and Trump. “Big daddy will give me purpose and safety while promising to punish all the same people we hate.”

The same personalities who’d follow Charlie Manson, Warren Jeffs, David Koresh, would follow Trump. It’s a big part of his draw. He the leader of a counter culture movement against mainstream news, ideologies, and norms. He gives a lot of these bored and emotionally damaged people community and meaning.

Organized religion isn’t all bad. I do think finding community and meaning are part of a healthy life and organized religion can be a big part of that. But the conditioning, especially when you move towards more fundamental sects, is there. You have a background in the LDS church, right? Think back about how inconvenient facts (Joseph Smith having sex with minors or married women) were dismissed or spun. How the prophet was and continues to be worshipped as an omniscient man. How blind obedience (nephi building a ship or Abraham’s willingness to murder his own son) was encouraged. This creates fertile ground for authoritarianism. For some people, that ends up being President Nelson. For others, that ends up being Tim Ballard. And for others, it ends up being Donald Trump.

An incredibly insightful article:

Very good post
 
I actually find it’s pretty simple; organized religion teaches blind obedience to an authority figure. That should be god but often it’s to domineering personality male, usually in the form of a bishop/pastor/priest. It also provides them with a community that has its own set of facts and lives in their own reality. It’s no surprise to me when you read interviews with Trumpers and find that they’re often victims of abuse and/or involved with extremist religions. The wreckage that leaves them dependent on an authority figure leaves them easy prey for authoritarians like Hitler, Franco, Pinochet, Putin, and Trump. “Big daddy will give me purpose and safety while promising to punish all the same people we hate.”

The same personalities who’d follow Charlie Manson, Warren Jeffs, David Koresh, would follow Trump. It’s a big part of his draw. He the leader of a counter culture movement against mainstream news, ideologies, and norms. He gives a lot of these bored and emotionally damaged people community and meaning.

Organized religion isn’t all bad. I do think finding community and meaning are part of a healthy life and organized religion can be a big part of that. But the conditioning, especially when you move towards more fundamental sects, is there. You have a background in the LDS church, right? Think back about how inconvenient facts (Joseph Smith having sex with minors or married women) were dismissed or spun. How the prophet was and continues to be worshipped as an omniscient man. How blind obedience (nephi building a ship or Abraham’s willingness to murder his own son) was encouraged. This creates fertile ground for authoritarianism. For some people, that ends up being President Nelson. For others, that ends up being Tim Ballard. And for others, it ends up being Donald Trump.

An incredibly insightful article:

A fundamental aspect of Christianity is to have "faith" which means, as far as I understand it, that you believe in something for which there is no evidence to support that it is true. Having evidence would make faith impossible and since having faith is the basic quality of being a good and valuable Christian it is better to believe in something for which there is no proof than to believe in something for which you have proof.

So let's take a look at who supports Trump and his unsubstantiated lies more than any other group...

Do not blaspheme the Orange God.
 
He might run into some pushback from the generals. The military is absolutely forbidden from performing police actions against U.S. citizens inside the U.S.. Any order to that effect would be illegal.

It's also illegal to attack our Capitol but he got away with it. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that Trump could get support from a faction of the military to engage in actions against U.S. citizens. We are on the cusp of losing our democracy and anyone who thinks that's an impossibility is not a student of world history. Trump has engaged in tearing down democracy right in front of our eyes for years and 35% of the U.S. population love it and another 15% are too stupid to recognize what's going on.
 
It's also illegal to attack our Capitol but he got away with it. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that Trump could get support from a faction of the military to engage in actions against U.S. citizens. We are on the cusp of losing our democracy and anyone who thinks that's an impossibility is not a student of world history. Trump has engaged in tearing down democracy right in front of our eyes for years and 35% of the U.S. population love it and another 15% are too stupid to recognize what's going on.
Trump is popular amongst low ASVAB score military members and vets. Officers and higher skill military members generally do not support Trump. Trump is anti-military service member. Only the dumbest vets and active service members don't get this.
 
He might run into some pushback from the generals. The military is absolutely forbidden from performing police actions against U.S. citizens inside the U.S.. Any order to that effect would be illegal.
Yeah, I agree, a lot of what he threatens, well, saying it is one thing. He would have help concentrating power in the Executive, though, if the “Project 2025” braintrust can realize its goals for Trump 2.0. I hope not. And would hate to wake up to Trump and both houses of Congress in his corner.

 
Yeah, I agree, a lot of what he threatens, well, saying it is one thing. He would have help concentrating power in the Executive, though, if the “Project 2025” braintrust can realize its goals for Trump 2.0. I hope not. And would hate to wake up to Trump and both houses of Congress in his corner.


Most of what he says is red meat for his base. The dog whistles (Peekaboo?! Holy ****. Look that one up.), gaslighting, and Hitler quotes are all signals that he’s on their team. He can’t legally do most of the stuff he says and promises. He’s the best grifter the world has seen since Putin and the GOP has to ride with him until the inevitable explosion. Like falling off a cliff in slow motion.

Wouldn’t it be beautiful to watch Project 2025 fail after 50 years of planning and waiting, all because they hitched their wagon to Trump?

A girl can dream.


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Trump is popular amongst low ASVAB score military members and vets. Officers and higher skill military members generally do not support Trump.
So you're saying the leadership class of the military, the ones who botched the Afghanistan pull-out, the ones fostering a climate of racial animosity in the ranks through adoption of material from authors such as Ibram X. Kendi, the ones who have overseen the total collapse of recruiting, those are the ones who don't like Trump. You're saying the ones who do the fighting and dying are the ones who do like Trump.

The only thing the worries me about all these things Trump is supposedly about to do is that nearly every one of them is projection. Oh noes! Trump is going to use his position of power to weaponize law enforcement against political opponents. He's going to send police raids to their houses. He's going to tie them up in court all over the country. Didn't you hear? He used the word "vermin" which is Hitler-like signalling exposing a serious antisemitic problem in his party. The politicians and left-leaning outlets publishing these breathless Op/Ed pieces ring like the old anti-gay conservatives who later got exposed trying to pick up men in airport bathrooms.

"Accuse your opponent of what you are doing, to create confusion and to inculcate voters against evidence of your own guilt"
--Saul Alinsky
 
The only thing the worries me about all these things Trump is supposedly about to do is that nearly every one of them is projection.
They are based on Trump saying these things, or documents his advisors produce. The projection is accusing progressives of planning the same tactics when there is no evidence of such.
 
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They are based on Trump saying these things, or documents his advisors produce. The projection is accusing progressives of planning the same tactics when there is no evidence of such.
There is no evidence law enforcement would conduct a raid on Trump's home, or that he'd be tied up in prosecutions all over the country, or there being an anti-Jewish element in the political left? Uh, okay.
 
There is no evidence law enforcement would conduct a raid on Trump's home, or that he'd be tied up in prosecutions all over the country, or there being an anti-Jewish element in the political left? Uh, okay.
A raid wouldn't have necessary if Trump hadn't tried to keep what didn't belong to him. He's tied up in prosecutions because he's a criminal. There are significant anti-Semitic elements all over the political spectrum.
McConnell has done more to damage the progressive agenda than Trump, but his home has not been raided nor have prosecutions been launched. Speaker Johnson is facing neither. Maybe, just maybe, it's just Trump?
 
A raid wouldn't have necessary if Trump hadn't tried to keep what didn't belong to him. He's tied up in prosecutions because he's a criminal. There are significant anti-Semitic elements all over the political spectrum.
McConnell has done more to damage the progressive agenda than Trump, but his home has not been raided nor have prosecutions been launched. Speaker Johnson is facing neither. Maybe, just maybe, it's just Trump?
The other two you mentioned are still in power and have some measure of protection because they are still in elected office. As far as Trump being Trump, remember that Joe Biden also took what didn't belong to him and stored it next to his corvette but there was no FBI raid on his house.
 
The other two you mentioned are still in power and have some measure of protection because they are still in elected office. As far as Trump being Trump, remember that Joe Biden also took what didn't belong to him and stored it next to his corvette but there was no FBI raid on his house.
Lol.
 
He might run into some pushback from the generals. The military is absolutely forbidden from performing police actions against U.S. citizens inside the U.S.. Any order to that effect would be illegal.
We shouldn’t rely on generals to protect American democracy from its elected civilian leaders. Either voters need to give a damn about their democracy or they can live with the authoritarian consequences. Granted, I think the majority of voters care. Unfortunately, the popular vote doesn’t determine who leads the executive branch. Which is why voters need to overwhelmingly vote for Biden. Don’t even give the EC a chance… or the GOP controlled House… a chance to destroy American democracy.
 
Don’t even give the EC a chance … to destroy American democracy.
Don't give the Electoral College the chance to destroy American democracy? It is really saying something that you represent public education. We have a system that has worked for more than two centuries, and in this most recent election proved exactly how robust it makes us in the face of exactly the types of populist movements it is designed to protect against, and you demand that it be stopped. Unbelievable.
 
Pence was also not in power, also had documents, and no raid. Pence and Biden turned over everything on the first request, Trump did not. It's just Trump.
I would like some sort of response from AL about this one.
 
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