Freedom is frightening -- Why?
The fall of reality and enlightenment rationality
to dark ages emotion, bias, and moral cowardice
By now it is clear and undeniable that the GOP stands firmly opposed to democracy, free elections, secularism, pluralism, regulations on businesses and all inconvenient fact, truth and sound reasoning (IFTSR). IFTSR no longer matter. What feels good and self-affirming matters. That sentiment of going with your guts, emotions, biases, intuitions and tribe-cult over IFTSR seems to be something that increasing numbers of Republicans are willing to say in public.
This mass phenomenon of mental retreat to pre-Enlightenment dark ages seems to be real, not a mirage. It came up when Tucker Carlson admitted in court under oath that he was a liar and no one should believe him. The judge agreed that sane people would not believe the things he said. Despite that public admission, there was no blowback or damage to Carlson's career. His audience does not care about IFTSR. They need to feel good about themselves. They consciously know or unconsciously sense that IFTSR clearly stands against them. They need to find a way to make the cognitive dissonance that IFTSR causes go away.
So why bother with any concern about IFTSR? Why not just admit that feeling good about one's self is more important than the painful cognitive dissonance? Facing and accepting IFTSR takes moral courage. Believing in comforting lies, falsehoods and crackpot motivated reasoning (LFCMR) is far more pleasant and simple. Moral cowardice feels soooo good. And, it's soooo easy and the smug self-righteousness that comes with good feelings is a blast. So why not just give in and enjoy the fantasy ride?
Moral authority for believing LFCMR comes the the highest political, religious and social authority among the elites that control the Republican Party and its propaganda Leviathan. Those elites are ruthless, professional liars, emotional manipulators and radical crackpots. They have less than no concern for IFTSR. They hate it, deny it, distort it and constantly attack it. Well, if the elites that run your cult or tribe rely heavily on LFCMR, then why not accept it as some form of truth?
LFCMR certainly feels right, so maybe it is right, IFTSR be damned.
In my opinion, that "logic" constitutes a basis to mostly understand what most rank and file Republicans are thinking and feeling as they continue to support what is now known to be gigantic lies and even the violent 1/6 coup attempt the GOP leadership downplays as "legitimate political discourse." The elites know exactly what they are doing and what they want, power and wealth. Democracy and free elections stand in the way of power and wealth, so those are under direct attack.
Really? Come on, this can't be possible!
"Escape From Freedom is an analysis of the phenomenon of man's anxiety engendered by the breakdown of the Medieval World in which, in spite of many dangers, he felt himself secure and safe. .... modern man is still anxious and tempted to surrender his freedoms to dictators of all kinds, or to lose it by transforming himself into a small cog in the machine, well fed and well clothed, yet not a free man but an automaton. .... There can be no doubt that in this last quarter of a century the reasons for man's fear of freedom, for his anxiety and willingness to become an automaton, have not only continued but have greatly increased." -- Erich Fromm, Escape From Freedom, 1941
There is precedent for a mass public mental retreat from political and social IFTSR into political and social LFCMR. It was described by psychiatrist Erich Fromm in his 1941 masterpiece on this issue, Escape From Freedom (book review here). Fromm argued that many people are alienated and overwhelmed by complex modern societies. There is just too much complexity, ambiguity and IFTSR in democracy, tolerance and pluralism. The human mind did not
evolve the mental capacity to deal calmly and rationally with all of this.
“. . . . the typical citizen drops down to a lower level of mental performance as soon as he enters the political field. He argues and analyzes in a way which he would readily recognize as infantile within the sphere of his real interests. . . . cherished ideas and judgments we bring to politics are stereotypes and simplifications with little room for adjustment as the facts change. . . . . the real environment is altogether too big, too complex, and too fleeting for direct acquaintance. We are not equipped to deal with so much subtlety, so much variety, so many permutations and combinations. Although we have to act in that environment, we have to reconstruct it on a simpler model before we can manage it.” -- Social scientists Chris Achen and Larry Bartels, Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government, 2016 (book review here)
Matters are made much worse when the public is constantly bombarded with divisive, confusing, distracting and fear-fomenting LFCMR by social, religious and political leaders. For example, consider Faux News and Tucker Carlson's self-professed tactic of lying, deceiving and dividing society for his livelihood. Consider the torrent of gigantic pro-authoritarian, anti-democracy lies and slanders the ex-president constantly spews. Deceptive, manipulative LFCMR propaganda and tactics offer millions of uncomfortable, frightened Americans the escape from freedom, rationality and cognitive dissonance they desperately seek. They are seeking peace and reassurance from people and interests who intend to deliver neither.
Q: Is it likely that as time passes, most Republicans will openly retreat from cold reality and escape to comforting authoritarian LFCMR, or has that already happened?
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