fishonjazz
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Very good postI 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:
These superfans travel miles to see Donald Trump – and each other
For Trump fans, a MAGA rally is like a rock concert and a revival rolled into one. Waiting for it to begin is a pivotal part of the experience.www.csmonitor.com