There is an unfortunate reluctance on behalf of many political reporters to ask questions that are abstract or hypothetical in nature. Most politicians have a default setting to avoid obvious ones, but a penchant for answering them nonetheless. The result is a dearth of “but if you could, would you?” questions that illuminate the character, disposition and temperament of both the individuals and the whole of a political movement that is fascistic.
Yes, critics of a dictatorship are always silenced. Cruelty is always the point. Blowing up migrants is horrific but to Stephen Miller’s mind, a very “clean” option Pure evil, dreamed by totally depraved creatures. I cannot call them human: they lack all sense of a common good.
At Saturday’s SC MAGA rally, a woman was interviewed. She was looking forward to Trump’s return, jailing his opponents, and sending the deep state out of DC via the railroad. Only vision I had was those rail lines leading to the concentration camps. Hitler did it and they have a model to follow.
Spot on, Liz! One of the common, salient characteristics of the Right Wing Authoritarian (RWA) personality syndrome, according to Bob Altemeyer (the world expert on this pathology), is the sordid desire to PUNISH perceived "enemies."
And to the RWA personality, anyone disagreeing with his black & white, "you're with us or against us" thinking is the "enemy."
Steve, terrific column today. My jaw was on the floor (but i shouldn't have been surprised) when i read the other day about Miles Taylor's book excerpt on Miller's evil idea.
Steve, we’re listening to you and deeply appreciating what you have to say and how you say it. Are there more influential and important people that you are speaking with? Sometimes I feel utterly helpless in the face of it all.
Steve, you are now a high profile member of the media eligible for credentials at any America political event. Why not show up where these candidates are and ask some of those questions? Or send someone from The Warning? Or both? We all need you to expand your profile to reach more than your current subscribers.
Thank you for making these suggestions. I thought the same as I read this powerful piece. Steve and his cohorts need to be the ones asking the pressing questions. They have both imagination and grit. Alas, not too many others do.
WHERE TF is the charismatic leader (D-OZ) who speaks forcefully with the wisdom of Steve Schmidt to throw a bucket of water on our witch “hunted” malevolence and liberate the minds of these monkey MAGAs??
And steer the majority of the population back to sanity?
What does it tell you that so many photographs of Stephen Miller just reak of malevolence? It is central to his character, his being. A truly frightening figure in American political life.
The cruelty in his face reflects the hate he has toward and evident fear of so many.
I thought it was just my family that said “bad for the Jews” when an MOT acted as Miller did. Then I learned from Muslim , Black, LGBTQ+ and other minority friends that we all did - not wanting the horror of one to reflect on us all.
Miller like Kushner is the grandchild of Survivors. They had to hear stories. Why do they want to repeat them?
This is, Steve, beautifully written. It is also devastating because too few are visibly not shrugging it off.
Along with Michael Flynn and his anti-American brother, both living smugly in Englewood, FL!
Job is drumming on evangelical churches for far Right support! So Florida is a place to love and live? Tucker Carson lives about ten minutes away on Boca Grande Isle! A whole nest of far-right wingers gathering south of Venice on the Gulf of Mexico! A little colony! FREE Florida?
Terrific piece. I was at a small conference on Democracy recently in Europe and a speaker who studies EU situation pointed out that leaders must “pay attention” to the mobilizing fascists. And of course we didn’t in 2016 partly bc we were gobsmacked and bc we believed we were above it and immune. Also you don’t mention the Greek navy seems to have killed the migrants at sea, by homicidal negligence. So Miller is not alone.
Yes we should talk about it, and the best way to write about it is to give examples, just like you did. Thank you. Not pleasant to think about, but we need to face reality. These people are dangerous sociopaths. Miller is an obvious example. Anyone from a targeted group who has the mindset of those threatening him has more than one screw loose. One doesn't have to be trained in psychology to see that. I always ask myself what motivates people like Flynn, Bannon, Stone, Prince, Trump, etc. These aren't the appeasers, the opportunists. Now I see it more clearly. These are deeply disturbed and dangerous sociopaths. Such people are typically, or maybe always (not my field) master manipulators. Dr. Bandy X. Lee has been warning us for years. Your post today helps bring more clarity, as usual.
•Painfully needy confusion between genuine “Love” (a comprehension beyond the narcissistic mind) and Blind Adulation (condition of believing oneself to have achieved divine status thereby cementing vast populations into pious “followers” (listen for his omniscient tone of voice, proclamations and readiness to play “Savior” as he self-aggrandizies to crowds.). His delusion is complete. Of course, like the leader of a vast cult, he will be happy to take his followers down with him.
Sure feels like it. I can't prove you're wrong and won't try to. But I'd like to propose another or an additional explanation. I refer you to Bandy X. Lee and her articles, interviews, and book "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump." I believe her that he's a sick individual who has the same sick mindset of the many incarcerated rapists and murderers she's treated for years. When such a sick individual gains power, his sickness infects his followers. I believe what were seeing is mass mental illness. Lee's writings indicates that stopping Trump and making sure another sociopath doesn't take his place will help many of the people you talk about return to their former selves.
Having read both the first and second editions of Dr. Lee's books on Trump, and having spent 20 of my 40 years as a lawyer representing judges and working with them inside the judicial system on more capital murder prosecutions than I want to recall, I can state with certainty that your comment is spot on.
That noted, if you ask psychologists and psychiatrists about the prevalence of sociopathy in society, they will tell you that studies show its incidence is ~ 1 in 25, or 4%. I suggest to you that the age of Trump and Trumpism has proven that to be wrong. I think that all those studies are off, way off . . . by an order of magnitude. I think the incidence rate is more like 10 in 25, or 40% of the population.
How else to explain why a man who overtly demonstrated every characteristic of a sociopath in 2016, including bragging about committing sexual battery (while dismissing the import of those recorded words by chalking it up to "locker room talk,") still received 46% and nearly 63 million votes?
And then four years later, after an impeachment for bribery and extortion, exponential narcissism, 30,000 lies and stupidity that ended up killing nearly 1,000,000 people because of a shrug your shoulders response to a deadly pandemic, he still received the same 46% of the vote but over 11 million more total votes? How is that possible without the presence of rampant sociopathy in the population itself? Either the people who support him are sociopaths, or have absolutely no problem with a sociopath running our government, in which case there's really no difference between the two.
Hi Frank, I think you are correct in observing the effects of evil on people. I would say Trump is an “antichrist” with a little “a”. Indeed, there have been many little “a” antichrists throughout history starting with Nero. Because evil has an astonishing effect on folks. Otherwise, how to explain how the cultured and civilized country of Bach and Beethoven could produce such a monster like Hitler with much popular support? This is not new but a sad statement of the human condition. It is supported and enhanced by the effects of propaganda and the failure of good people to do anything to counter. The evil is like a miasma, a cloud that our country is under. It’s not enough to recognize the cloud but to find ways to dispel its effect as sunshine does to fog. That’s why this place (The Warning) is so important.But it takes courage and the ability to act in spite of possible failure to make a difference. In our society today, where results are the only thing that counts and the ends are believed to always justify the means, this is harder to accomplish than it might have been in previous years. But we must do it.
Agree totally. Thanks John. I would underscore, "It is supported and enhanced by the effects of propaganda and the FAILURE OF GOOD PEOPLE TO DO ANYTHING TO COUNTER." All caps because I am so frustrated. We contribute to candidates who offer alternatives to MAGA. We support initiatives that aim to increase social justice.
Nothing we do -- even to the best of our means -- is enough, even in the aggregate. We support legislators who we hope will speak out and speak up. They seem like questionable uses of our resources.
Hi meryl, thanks for your comment. I truly share your frustration but we must not be discouraged. We must keep in mind the abundant resources the proponents of autocracy have and keep working to overcome the advantages they have. And let’s not get overwhelmed with polls - there’s only one poll that counts, and that’s the election itself. If we keep up with the same or better resolve than the side that wants to do away with rights and freedom and democracy, I’m convinced that we will prevail. But it’s a long haul and not only one specific race.
Sadly the Catholic church is subject to undermining as well -- the same kind of thing that Stephen Miller promotes. Think about inquisition, the crusades, and all the horrific things over history. This seems to happen to most religions, too. The originator of the religion is usually a wonderful, caring, loving person and, unfortunately, those who subsequently want power take over the religion and turn it in the opposite direction.
I think it is a human failing that takes it this direction; people who want to control others go to extremes.
I believe his followers are unhappy and deluded individuals who want a quick fix to their problems. They are scared of change and want it stopped. They want to turn the clock back to an era which they mistakenly believe was “real America”. TFG is their pill, their antidote, their quick fix. TFG saw what was brewing and turned out heat while stirring the horrible stew. How can these people be helped to get on a better track? Who will they turn to when their faux savior is disrobed and neutered?
Call it whatever seems true and aligns with your faith commitments, Frank. I am agnostic but agree (using different words) with what you are saying. "Something" seems to have transpired to cause a dense fog of ignorance, cruelty and hatred to blanket so many people, all at once. How did so many people spontaneously lose a moral compass? Decide to side with dishonesty and grift? I am not sure why you expect blowback. I don't think you are wrong. I think you have found a worthwhile explanation for an almost inexplicably fast and increasing release of vile attitudes and behavior. Greed and lust for power are nothing new, especially among politicians. This seems to be another order of magnitude, unleashed in a very short period of time.
I also hold an entirely secular belief that no divine power "ordained" that the USA should reign forever... in a self-determined state of being exceptional or superior to other nations. Real, honest, academic scientists have no problems reconciling their respective religious convictions with respect for scientific inquiry and hypotheses. Both can co-exist.
BTW: I agree with you about Steve's essay today is among is very best and most significant.
Like Elizabeth, I can't prove you're wrong either and won't try.
Yet, if good prevails over evil, and we are commanded to love our neighbor, perhaps the Bible parable is an invitation to enlightenment.
It's a reminder that those who fail to love first, and fully, are to be cast out, turned away and shunned before their greed and hatred for Divinity destroys the beauty of their Creator.
First thank you for your years of service. A true public servant, supporting their constituents, should be recognized
I am hesitant to call Trump Miller or his cronies by the blanket term you used. Not that they lack the characteristics, but that it carries even stronger connotations as the term Nazi.
I do not know why good people, and they were good people, would be drawn to such evil. I hope we identify a solution soon
Hello Frank, It doesn’t matter what you call him he is a guy who’s only way to avoid the dark and debilitating feeling of self hate and feel righteous and powerful for a while is to use certain defenses like hate, blame, successful manipulation of another person, being rich and staying rich. Being miserly, having a beautiful girlfriend, and other trinkets of status, hoarding, one’s belongings
I pressed the send button by accident. Sorry. ...so all these are effective ways to feel worthy. When Donald feels sad or worthless, nothing dispels that better than getting mad at the person who caused the sadness, blaming that person, getting even with that person, being richer than that person, having a prettier wife and so forth. There are millions of men who feel weak and worthless. Donald shows them how to correct the problem. He is their hero because he saves their lives every day with his narcissistic behavior. Bottom line. To WIN. Everything is made into a competition that he must win at all cost. Everyone is dumb but him.
I believe it began with an experience of being humiliated when he was a young man. People pointed and laughed at his humiliation. From that day on his mission was to avoid having it happen again. My take.
Who needs coffee to wake up when your columns can slap me across the face with such phrases as, "one of Trump’s masturbatory power fantasies." Your choice of words to convey an image or message is 💯! Although coffee still rules my morning, The Warning now supercedes it each a.m.
THanks to time difference (I am in California)... I can read The Warning first thing.. while still comfy in bed. Then I get coffee to keep the fire burning.
Steve, excellent piece. One of your best. I love the examples as it make the point better than just your words and makes us realize the problem.
I just finished a University class on the Holocaust and was amazed at how slowly the horror developed and deepened. I think the beginnings may have been much earlier than 1933 when Hitler took power, probably all the way back to when he was criticized for his art work in high school, probably about 1908. He held a grudge. He tested different approaches and realized how far he to could take things because resistance was low. It ended badly.
DeSantis is doing the same thing now -- testing how far he can go. He wants to ban books so that today's youth cannot learn from history and see that he is using Hitler's approach from the 1920's.
Steve, please keep up writing like this -- even repeat this in different media as the message needs to get out.
I agree. The vast majority of our population won’t have the attention span or inclination to focus enough to “get” the point. Steve, your message here is vital! I’m thinking of the story that has passed through centuries, The Emperor’s New Clothes, a revelatory classic. How to illustrate your point about the mass delusion attacking common moral reason? How to promote sanity over the confabulation of a monster? We can not consider this to be a cult. It seems to have sucked nearly half the USA population into a vortex of division by hatred. How can we get millions of people to understand it? “Politics” is a disastrous nightmare of mass moral cognition failure! We need plain spoken insights that your brilliant work messages clearly to the readers lucky enough to focus and read with comprehension. My education and work experience enabled me to appreciate and attend but millions can not, will not. Working factory or farming, daycare or dish duty, delivery or volunteer.... many full time workers with families don’t have time for enhancing their awareness. These folks are not motivated to seek political information. These are the prey of liars and cheats because they are so down-to-earth that they just value their time more than politics. They love slogans hats and know-it-alls! How can your message capture them? They are the weak link and at the same time they are strong in their determined avoidance of confusion. So much so that they balk at factual objectivity.
Linda-your analysis of the mind set that is being preyed upon resonates with me. Most are not evil thinkers, but the truly evil ones talked about here have tapped into their primitive subconscious brains.
How can we spread the alarm to motivate people to action? I hear nothing from Democrats. Failure to act is perilously close to complicity. Our “Warning” community is quite small. I send Steve’s words out ....to like minded people.
How do we amp the volume and decibels and distribution so we can motivate others to act?
Like many of you, my awareness is now referring to what it must have felt like to be a German citizen in the prelude to Hitler/National Socialists’ ascent to power. They were a definite minority that assumed power ....
How do we amp the volume? How do we motivate others to act? I believe the answer is to run Gavin Newsom if he will accept the job. I believe Joe and Kamala and the rest of the like minded have to all move together as one undivided, mighty force to elect this man to the Presidency.
I just now opened Drudge Report to an article about a fundraiser in Bend OR. The people there said “they thought the 55 year old governor offered a glimpse into the future of their party, a bolder, more charismatic and younger potential heir of Biden’s legacy in the post Trump years.” I agree with that.
“I appreciate a lot that Joe Biden has done, but I think it’s time for that next generation of leaders, too," Anderson said. "And I see Gavin Newsom being a part of that.” Another quote from Newsom’s fundraiser.
But how would that work? Would Democrats support him with Biden so big on the scene? We do need a younger, newer campaign, but cannot develop a plan. I think Biden is putting DT back into the White House. Everyone I speak with is very frightened by what we are observing! I do not feel K Harris is getting votes for Biden but losing. I have my great doubt with her as VP, then President? Not a reason to vote for Biden? NO. Serious fear ahead with slate as it appears! Biden needs to take great credit for the last election, and leave the scene to younger person! Our country desperately needs that at this serious time!!!
Those are my thoughts too. I think Joe Biden has been exactly what the country needed at the moment and even better. Outstanding under such circumstances. I hope he and Harris both feel the pull of a Newsom presidency as I do.
We are still under the myth that “it can’t happen here”. Could we be missing something because we only have history to go by? Is something unheard of by humanity? The Jan. 6 Commission’s strategy to interview Trump Administration people and other Republicans was very effective, I thought. But I agree the volume has to be turned way up.
Stephen Miller. A person I have hated for so many years. A person with no morals whatsoever. A person who amongst so many anti-human endevors thought separating children from parents at the boarder was a great idea. Now hearing about his idea to kill people trying to get the US for a better life by boat was a good idea is not at all surprising to me. What is his ignorance in thinking it was perfectly legal. Would Trump have agreed to it? We'll never know.
There has to be a special circle in Hell for people like Stephen Miller. They refuse to learn from the Holocaust. Their answer is to kill other people. What is going on in America? We cannot accept this.
I think you have to try. Hilary’s comment that half of Trump’s supporters are deplorable was impolitic, but true. Her point, which got lost in the uproar was that half of them were ordinary Americans who have been left behind by the neoliberal capitalism of the last 40 years. We can’t write them off. We have to try and reach them through the fog of lies from Fox and OAN.
My mother, radicalized by Bush the Lesser and his overlords after 9/11, is an ardent Fox watcher. I’ve tried to help her see the light, but she’d much rather think bad things about Blacks, Muslims, Mexicans, pot smokers, wind turbines, Joe Biden, CFL lamps, and anything else she hears from the idiots on Fox. It is sad really.
Bill: I believe we cannot write off the entire lot of them. We have to look at the sociology and economics of what has happened ... since Reagan, in my opinion. He really solidified the idea of the rich getting richer at the expense of others. And the protected accumulation of personal wealth. He also sowed the seeds of many of the grievance driven, divisive social issues. Yes, capitalism has run amok. I so not know the answer, but I am not a socialist. I believe in benevolent capitalism -- if there is such a thing. (Canada??)
According to Ruth BeEn-Ghiat, one of the world's leading experts on fascism, many will change their thinking once their dear leader is held accountable and punished.
In advertising and communication, it is well-established there are some people who will never be convinced, inspired or motivated to change their thinking. Attempting to do is usually a waste of energy and resources. If they ever change their minds, it will be a result of personal experience...not convincing or coercing by others
Addendum: democracy does not break up families and lock children in cages, and throw away the key “as a deterrent.” Stephen Miller’s was responsible for this and he should be criminally charged.
I am normally an even handed, thoughtful person. In Stephen Miller’s case, I think your opinion is fully justified and fair. The harm and misery he caused is obscene.
This awesome exposition is more than an essay. It is a brilliant lesson and a description of Tyrrany’s gestation and delivery reminiscent of mass human exterminations in history. On the surface innocent inquiry seeds the growth of awareness and the imaginative postulations of conception and intent. Unimaginable ideation can and even has morphed into reality more than once in the cognition of our species. If for no other reason, it’s free to subscribe and read this one. It exposes the mania of predicament in America.
Yes, critics of a dictatorship are always silenced. Cruelty is always the point. Blowing up migrants is horrific but to Stephen Miller’s mind, a very “clean” option Pure evil, dreamed by totally depraved creatures. I cannot call them human: they lack all sense of a common good.
At Saturday’s SC MAGA rally, a woman was interviewed. She was looking forward to Trump’s return, jailing his opponents, and sending the deep state out of DC via the railroad. Only vision I had was those rail lines leading to the concentration camps. Hitler did it and they have a model to follow.
Spot on, Liz! One of the common, salient characteristics of the Right Wing Authoritarian (RWA) personality syndrome, according to Bob Altemeyer (the world expert on this pathology), is the sordid desire to PUNISH perceived "enemies."
And to the RWA personality, anyone disagreeing with his black & white, "you're with us or against us" thinking is the "enemy."
Steve, terrific column today. My jaw was on the floor (but i shouldn't have been surprised) when i read the other day about Miles Taylor's book excerpt on Miller's evil idea.
Steve, we’re listening to you and deeply appreciating what you have to say and how you say it. Are there more influential and important people that you are speaking with? Sometimes I feel utterly helpless in the face of it all.
Steve, you are now a high profile member of the media eligible for credentials at any America political event. Why not show up where these candidates are and ask some of those questions? Or send someone from The Warning? Or both? We all need you to expand your profile to reach more than your current subscribers.
This is a great idea!
Thank you for making these suggestions. I thought the same as I read this powerful piece. Steve and his cohorts need to be the ones asking the pressing questions. They have both imagination and grit. Alas, not too many others do.
WHERE TF is the charismatic leader (D-OZ) who speaks forcefully with the wisdom of Steve Schmidt to throw a bucket of water on our witch “hunted” malevolence and liberate the minds of these monkey MAGAs??
And steer the majority of the population back to sanity?
.
What does it tell you that so many photographs of Stephen Miller just reak of malevolence? It is central to his character, his being. A truly frightening figure in American political life.
Craig, I thought the same thing about Stephen Miller. His affect is flat in the same kind of way as Putin's. Both are psychopaths.
The cruelty in his face reflects the hate he has toward and evident fear of so many.
I thought it was just my family that said “bad for the Jews” when an MOT acted as Miller did. Then I learned from Muslim , Black, LGBTQ+ and other minority friends that we all did - not wanting the horror of one to reflect on us all.
Miller like Kushner is the grandchild of Survivors. They had to hear stories. Why do they want to repeat them?
This is, Steve, beautifully written. It is also devastating because too few are visibly not shrugging it off.
A shanda. He shames us before our very G-d.
Along with Michael Flynn and his anti-American brother, both living smugly in Englewood, FL!
Job is drumming on evangelical churches for far Right support! So Florida is a place to love and live? Tucker Carson lives about ten minutes away on Boca Grande Isle! A whole nest of far-right wingers gathering south of Venice on the Gulf of Mexico! A little colony! FREE Florida?
Terrific piece. I was at a small conference on Democracy recently in Europe and a speaker who studies EU situation pointed out that leaders must “pay attention” to the mobilizing fascists. And of course we didn’t in 2016 partly bc we were gobsmacked and bc we believed we were above it and immune. Also you don’t mention the Greek navy seems to have killed the migrants at sea, by homicidal negligence. So Miller is not alone.
Yes we should talk about it, and the best way to write about it is to give examples, just like you did. Thank you. Not pleasant to think about, but we need to face reality. These people are dangerous sociopaths. Miller is an obvious example. Anyone from a targeted group who has the mindset of those threatening him has more than one screw loose. One doesn't have to be trained in psychology to see that. I always ask myself what motivates people like Flynn, Bannon, Stone, Prince, Trump, etc. These aren't the appeasers, the opportunists. Now I see it more clearly. These are deeply disturbed and dangerous sociopaths. Such people are typically, or maybe always (not my field) master manipulators. Dr. Bandy X. Lee has been warning us for years. Your post today helps bring more clarity, as usual.
What motivates them? Only two things.
•Power over masses by money and favor.
•Painfully needy confusion between genuine “Love” (a comprehension beyond the narcissistic mind) and Blind Adulation (condition of believing oneself to have achieved divine status thereby cementing vast populations into pious “followers” (listen for his omniscient tone of voice, proclamations and readiness to play “Savior” as he self-aggrandizies to crowds.). His delusion is complete. Of course, like the leader of a vast cult, he will be happy to take his followers down with him.
This piece is the most important one you have written.
I am overwhelmed by people who supported me during my 22 years in the PA State House that have turned into...into monsters!
Were these folks, sons and daughters of immigrants from Italy and Hungary, always filled with such hate? Did I miss something? Am I that naive?
I am a devout Catholic who believes in an Antichrist.
I believe that the ability to control the minds and hearts of people is supernatural.
I'm a very intelligent, moderate Democrat who got elected 11 times in a district that once reflected the same values I hold.
I'm not a religious nut.
I am a Catholic Christian who sees chilling similarities between scripture and what's happening before our very eyes.
I expect blowback from other devotees of The Warning.
In fact, I welcome it.
I want someone to explain to me how donald trump has mastered control over so many, so quickly.
I am convinced this man is the Antichrist and I anxiously await anyone's explanation of why I'm wrong.
Sure feels like it. I can't prove you're wrong and won't try to. But I'd like to propose another or an additional explanation. I refer you to Bandy X. Lee and her articles, interviews, and book "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump." I believe her that he's a sick individual who has the same sick mindset of the many incarcerated rapists and murderers she's treated for years. When such a sick individual gains power, his sickness infects his followers. I believe what were seeing is mass mental illness. Lee's writings indicates that stopping Trump and making sure another sociopath doesn't take his place will help many of the people you talk about return to their former selves.
BTW, Dr. Lee is also a devout Christian with a Divinity degree.
Her book is EXCELLENT.
Having read both the first and second editions of Dr. Lee's books on Trump, and having spent 20 of my 40 years as a lawyer representing judges and working with them inside the judicial system on more capital murder prosecutions than I want to recall, I can state with certainty that your comment is spot on.
That noted, if you ask psychologists and psychiatrists about the prevalence of sociopathy in society, they will tell you that studies show its incidence is ~ 1 in 25, or 4%. I suggest to you that the age of Trump and Trumpism has proven that to be wrong. I think that all those studies are off, way off . . . by an order of magnitude. I think the incidence rate is more like 10 in 25, or 40% of the population.
How else to explain why a man who overtly demonstrated every characteristic of a sociopath in 2016, including bragging about committing sexual battery (while dismissing the import of those recorded words by chalking it up to "locker room talk,") still received 46% and nearly 63 million votes?
And then four years later, after an impeachment for bribery and extortion, exponential narcissism, 30,000 lies and stupidity that ended up killing nearly 1,000,000 people because of a shrug your shoulders response to a deadly pandemic, he still received the same 46% of the vote but over 11 million more total votes? How is that possible without the presence of rampant sociopathy in the population itself? Either the people who support him are sociopaths, or have absolutely no problem with a sociopath running our government, in which case there's really no difference between the two.
SPOT ON.
Hi Frank, I think you are correct in observing the effects of evil on people. I would say Trump is an “antichrist” with a little “a”. Indeed, there have been many little “a” antichrists throughout history starting with Nero. Because evil has an astonishing effect on folks. Otherwise, how to explain how the cultured and civilized country of Bach and Beethoven could produce such a monster like Hitler with much popular support? This is not new but a sad statement of the human condition. It is supported and enhanced by the effects of propaganda and the failure of good people to do anything to counter. The evil is like a miasma, a cloud that our country is under. It’s not enough to recognize the cloud but to find ways to dispel its effect as sunshine does to fog. That’s why this place (The Warning) is so important.But it takes courage and the ability to act in spite of possible failure to make a difference. In our society today, where results are the only thing that counts and the ends are believed to always justify the means, this is harder to accomplish than it might have been in previous years. But we must do it.
Agree totally. Thanks John. I would underscore, "It is supported and enhanced by the effects of propaganda and the FAILURE OF GOOD PEOPLE TO DO ANYTHING TO COUNTER." All caps because I am so frustrated. We contribute to candidates who offer alternatives to MAGA. We support initiatives that aim to increase social justice.
Nothing we do -- even to the best of our means -- is enough, even in the aggregate. We support legislators who we hope will speak out and speak up. They seem like questionable uses of our resources.
Hi meryl, thanks for your comment. I truly share your frustration but we must not be discouraged. We must keep in mind the abundant resources the proponents of autocracy have and keep working to overcome the advantages they have. And let’s not get overwhelmed with polls - there’s only one poll that counts, and that’s the election itself. If we keep up with the same or better resolve than the side that wants to do away with rights and freedom and democracy, I’m convinced that we will prevail. But it’s a long haul and not only one specific race.
Sadly the Catholic church is subject to undermining as well -- the same kind of thing that Stephen Miller promotes. Think about inquisition, the crusades, and all the horrific things over history. This seems to happen to most religions, too. The originator of the religion is usually a wonderful, caring, loving person and, unfortunately, those who subsequently want power take over the religion and turn it in the opposite direction.
I think it is a human failing that takes it this direction; people who want to control others go to extremes.
Yes. You hit the bullls eye... why I cannot be active in a big religion of any kind.
I believe his followers are unhappy and deluded individuals who want a quick fix to their problems. They are scared of change and want it stopped. They want to turn the clock back to an era which they mistakenly believe was “real America”. TFG is their pill, their antidote, their quick fix. TFG saw what was brewing and turned out heat while stirring the horrible stew. How can these people be helped to get on a better track? Who will they turn to when their faux savior is disrobed and neutered?
I don't want to see those people disrobed but neutered and silenced would be good.
Call it whatever seems true and aligns with your faith commitments, Frank. I am agnostic but agree (using different words) with what you are saying. "Something" seems to have transpired to cause a dense fog of ignorance, cruelty and hatred to blanket so many people, all at once. How did so many people spontaneously lose a moral compass? Decide to side with dishonesty and grift? I am not sure why you expect blowback. I don't think you are wrong. I think you have found a worthwhile explanation for an almost inexplicably fast and increasing release of vile attitudes and behavior. Greed and lust for power are nothing new, especially among politicians. This seems to be another order of magnitude, unleashed in a very short period of time.
I also hold an entirely secular belief that no divine power "ordained" that the USA should reign forever... in a self-determined state of being exceptional or superior to other nations. Real, honest, academic scientists have no problems reconciling their respective religious convictions with respect for scientific inquiry and hypotheses. Both can co-exist.
BTW: I agree with you about Steve's essay today is among is very best and most significant.
Like Elizabeth, I can't prove you're wrong either and won't try.
Yet, if good prevails over evil, and we are commanded to love our neighbor, perhaps the Bible parable is an invitation to enlightenment.
It's a reminder that those who fail to love first, and fully, are to be cast out, turned away and shunned before their greed and hatred for Divinity destroys the beauty of their Creator.
First thank you for your years of service. A true public servant, supporting their constituents, should be recognized
I am hesitant to call Trump Miller or his cronies by the blanket term you used. Not that they lack the characteristics, but that it carries even stronger connotations as the term Nazi.
I do not know why good people, and they were good people, would be drawn to such evil. I hope we identify a solution soon
Hello Frank, It doesn’t matter what you call him he is a guy who’s only way to avoid the dark and debilitating feeling of self hate and feel righteous and powerful for a while is to use certain defenses like hate, blame, successful manipulation of another person, being rich and staying rich. Being miserly, having a beautiful girlfriend, and other trinkets of status, hoarding, one’s belongings
I pressed the send button by accident. Sorry. ...so all these are effective ways to feel worthy. When Donald feels sad or worthless, nothing dispels that better than getting mad at the person who caused the sadness, blaming that person, getting even with that person, being richer than that person, having a prettier wife and so forth. There are millions of men who feel weak and worthless. Donald shows them how to correct the problem. He is their hero because he saves their lives every day with his narcissistic behavior. Bottom line. To WIN. Everything is made into a competition that he must win at all cost. Everyone is dumb but him.
I believe it began with an experience of being humiliated when he was a young man. People pointed and laughed at his humiliation. From that day on his mission was to avoid having it happen again. My take.
I meant to say young boy. Young.
Who needs coffee to wake up when your columns can slap me across the face with such phrases as, "one of Trump’s masturbatory power fantasies." Your choice of words to convey an image or message is 💯! Although coffee still rules my morning, The Warning now supercedes it each a.m.
THanks to time difference (I am in California)... I can read The Warning first thing.. while still comfy in bed. Then I get coffee to keep the fire burning.
Steve, excellent piece. One of your best. I love the examples as it make the point better than just your words and makes us realize the problem.
I just finished a University class on the Holocaust and was amazed at how slowly the horror developed and deepened. I think the beginnings may have been much earlier than 1933 when Hitler took power, probably all the way back to when he was criticized for his art work in high school, probably about 1908. He held a grudge. He tested different approaches and realized how far he to could take things because resistance was low. It ended badly.
DeSantis is doing the same thing now -- testing how far he can go. He wants to ban books so that today's youth cannot learn from history and see that he is using Hitler's approach from the 1920's.
Steve, please keep up writing like this -- even repeat this in different media as the message needs to get out.
I agree. The vast majority of our population won’t have the attention span or inclination to focus enough to “get” the point. Steve, your message here is vital! I’m thinking of the story that has passed through centuries, The Emperor’s New Clothes, a revelatory classic. How to illustrate your point about the mass delusion attacking common moral reason? How to promote sanity over the confabulation of a monster? We can not consider this to be a cult. It seems to have sucked nearly half the USA population into a vortex of division by hatred. How can we get millions of people to understand it? “Politics” is a disastrous nightmare of mass moral cognition failure! We need plain spoken insights that your brilliant work messages clearly to the readers lucky enough to focus and read with comprehension. My education and work experience enabled me to appreciate and attend but millions can not, will not. Working factory or farming, daycare or dish duty, delivery or volunteer.... many full time workers with families don’t have time for enhancing their awareness. These folks are not motivated to seek political information. These are the prey of liars and cheats because they are so down-to-earth that they just value their time more than politics. They love slogans hats and know-it-alls! How can your message capture them? They are the weak link and at the same time they are strong in their determined avoidance of confusion. So much so that they balk at factual objectivity.
Linda-your analysis of the mind set that is being preyed upon resonates with me. Most are not evil thinkers, but the truly evil ones talked about here have tapped into their primitive subconscious brains.
How can we spread the alarm to motivate people to action? I hear nothing from Democrats. Failure to act is perilously close to complicity. Our “Warning” community is quite small. I send Steve’s words out ....to like minded people.
How do we amp the volume and decibels and distribution so we can motivate others to act?
Like many of you, my awareness is now referring to what it must have felt like to be a German citizen in the prelude to Hitler/National Socialists’ ascent to power. They were a definite minority that assumed power ....
How do we amp the volume? How do we motivate others to act? I believe the answer is to run Gavin Newsom if he will accept the job. I believe Joe and Kamala and the rest of the like minded have to all move together as one undivided, mighty force to elect this man to the Presidency.
WHY Gavin Newsom? He is foreign to most of us outside CA?
I just now opened Drudge Report to an article about a fundraiser in Bend OR. The people there said “they thought the 55 year old governor offered a glimpse into the future of their party, a bolder, more charismatic and younger potential heir of Biden’s legacy in the post Trump years.” I agree with that.
“I appreciate a lot that Joe Biden has done, but I think it’s time for that next generation of leaders, too," Anderson said. "And I see Gavin Newsom being a part of that.” Another quote from Newsom’s fundraiser.
Bend Oregon is filled with Californians.
If he runs he won’t be foreign for long.
But how would that work? Would Democrats support him with Biden so big on the scene? We do need a younger, newer campaign, but cannot develop a plan. I think Biden is putting DT back into the White House. Everyone I speak with is very frightened by what we are observing! I do not feel K Harris is getting votes for Biden but losing. I have my great doubt with her as VP, then President? Not a reason to vote for Biden? NO. Serious fear ahead with slate as it appears! Biden needs to take great credit for the last election, and leave the scene to younger person! Our country desperately needs that at this serious time!!!
Those are my thoughts too. I think Joe Biden has been exactly what the country needed at the moment and even better. Outstanding under such circumstances. I hope he and Harris both feel the pull of a Newsom presidency as I do.
We are still under the myth that “it can’t happen here”. Could we be missing something because we only have history to go by? Is something unheard of by humanity? The Jan. 6 Commission’s strategy to interview Trump Administration people and other Republicans was very effective, I thought. But I agree the volume has to be turned way up.
Steve, please do a writing on Michael Flynn in the future.
Stephen Miller. A person I have hated for so many years. A person with no morals whatsoever. A person who amongst so many anti-human endevors thought separating children from parents at the boarder was a great idea. Now hearing about his idea to kill people trying to get the US for a better life by boat was a good idea is not at all surprising to me. What is his ignorance in thinking it was perfectly legal. Would Trump have agreed to it? We'll never know.
I think we can confidently surmise the answer to this. It is a loud and clear YES. He's a sadist and there are many examples to back this up.
Probably
There has to be a special circle in Hell for people like Stephen Miller. They refuse to learn from the Holocaust. Their answer is to kill other people. What is going on in America? We cannot accept this.
Miller should be put on one of those boats
Horrifyingly accurate.
And how do we reach the MAGA voter who only watches or reads OAN etc.? Some of them do not understand the very definition of a dictator.
I don’t think you can reach them,Kay.
I think you have to try. Hilary’s comment that half of Trump’s supporters are deplorable was impolitic, but true. Her point, which got lost in the uproar was that half of them were ordinary Americans who have been left behind by the neoliberal capitalism of the last 40 years. We can’t write them off. We have to try and reach them through the fog of lies from Fox and OAN.
My mother, radicalized by Bush the Lesser and his overlords after 9/11, is an ardent Fox watcher. I’ve tried to help her see the light, but she’d much rather think bad things about Blacks, Muslims, Mexicans, pot smokers, wind turbines, Joe Biden, CFL lamps, and anything else she hears from the idiots on Fox. It is sad really.
Bill: I believe we cannot write off the entire lot of them. We have to look at the sociology and economics of what has happened ... since Reagan, in my opinion. He really solidified the idea of the rich getting richer at the expense of others. And the protected accumulation of personal wealth. He also sowed the seeds of many of the grievance driven, divisive social issues. Yes, capitalism has run amok. I so not know the answer, but I am not a socialist. I believe in benevolent capitalism -- if there is such a thing. (Canada??)
ditto
According to Ruth BeEn-Ghiat, one of the world's leading experts on fascism, many will change their thinking once their dear leader is held accountable and punished.
In advertising and communication, it is well-established there are some people who will never be convinced, inspired or motivated to change their thinking. Attempting to do is usually a waste of energy and resources. If they ever change their minds, it will be a result of personal experience...not convincing or coercing by others
Todays piece is perfectly timed a day ahead of the 4th. I certainly appreciate your dedication to connecting the dots of history. Thank You !
Addendum: democracy does not break up families and lock children in cages, and throw away the key “as a deterrent.” Stephen Miller’s was responsible for this and he should be criminally charged.
I reiterate: Miller should be sentenced to live the rest of his maleficent life in a border detention area ... not a cushy prison.
I am normally an even handed, thoughtful person. In Stephen Miller’s case, I think your opinion is fully justified and fair. The harm and misery he caused is obscene.
This awesome exposition is more than an essay. It is a brilliant lesson and a description of Tyrrany’s gestation and delivery reminiscent of mass human exterminations in history. On the surface innocent inquiry seeds the growth of awareness and the imaginative postulations of conception and intent. Unimaginable ideation can and even has morphed into reality more than once in the cognition of our species. If for no other reason, it’s free to subscribe and read this one. It exposes the mania of predicament in America.
Hopefully the mainstream media will quote this piece and take it seriously. Thanks for the warning. Now I can’t sleep.