Fascism

MAGA leverages three latent forces in our country: religion, racism, and fascism. These forces are appealing to millions of Americans who feel anxious about social change. MAGA's mission is to stop social change to take the country "back". There are rational arguments against MAGA. However, politics is an emotional game. In the end, most Americans will vote based on tribalism and identity, following the instinct of self-preservation.    

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We are deeply divided in our country, and that is a actually a very good thing. It's comforting when everyone thinks the same way, but we run the risk of falling into an abyss. If we are happily going in the wrong direction, we perish even if merrily. Diversity of thought and disagreement allow us to test out different solutions and hedge our bets about what direction to take. Some may fall into an abyss, while others may be able to survive and thrive.  

It is naive to think that a Nation of our size and complexity should be bound by common group think. We don't have to think alike or agree in everything to be good Americans. We can think differently, and agree to disagree in our opinions and preferences. After all, we are still a free country. 

Neither conservatives nor progressives are 100% correct in their views. Political discourse and the battle of opinions are what make our Nation great. The constant battle of ideas and diverging ideals propels our country forward and to the top of the world. 

Religion

On one end of our political spectrum, you find plant-based vegans / agnostics / atheists / liberals wanting to take the country forward through science-based progress and socioeconomic change. On the other end, you find carnivores / believers / Christians / conservatives wanting to stop social change and take the country "back" and backwards. 

Science and religion are very much the opposite of one another. 

Science is discovery based on measured observation. Science seeks to find truths that can be proven by observation and measurement. Science looks for truths that can be replicated to make predictions and to develop technological applications. 

Religion is population control based on dogmatic indoctrination. Religion dictates an absolute truth that cannot be challenged. The religious dogmas cannot be proven right or wrong, but must rather be accepted by faith. Religion seeks to maintain social order and control under the premise of imaginary divine forces. 

Both science and religion are here to stay.

Religion will not disappear. As primates, we are wired to believe. Faith can also prove extremely addictive to the human brain. The life of an atheist or non-believer can be painful when the person feels alone and overwhelmed. In contrast, believers find comfort in the soothing belief that everything will be alright because the gods are in charge and have a plan. 

Faith takes weight and pressure off our human shoulders. When overwhelmed or confused, just meditate in prayer and the gods will take care of everything else according to common dogmas. Such a pleasant mental "high" can create a strong habit. It's very useful and aids in survival. Abuses or left unhinged, getting high on religion can become a vice leading to stagnation. Human history shows the perilous side effect of religion and how it can curtail social change, innovation, and progress. Look at Christianity in the Middle Ages; Islam in the 1000s; the Taliban today; or our Supreme Court just for a few examples.  

Racism

Racism is a socioeconomic system based on the artificial construct of "race". Races are groups or categories of humanity based on environmental (mostly climatological) outer shell adaptations and mutations. 

Racism and religion are very much alike. They both require believing in artificial (man made) cultural constructs that are given a natural and divine origin. 

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are inadvertent pathways to racism. If you believe in either of those religions, you are most likely a racist too even without realizing it and without wanting it. It's not your fault. It comes with believing in the story of a creator. If you were made believe as a child that there is a god in heaven that created man to his image, you are most likely trapped in a culture of racism. You may believe that such god is of your "race" and that it prefers and benefits your "race". 

If you are Christian, culture makes you believe, consciously or unconsciously, in the image of an old European looking or "white" old guy ruling humans from heaven. Otherwise, how or why would European-looking men be ahead socioeconomically in the world? It would not be for colonization and exploitation, but rather because of the grace of that imaginary European-looking and European-favoring god in heaven. 

When your brain is conquered by religion, you cannot see reality outside of the confines of religious dogmas. Your beliefs control your perception of reality. After all, reality is in part created and projected by the human brain. We see similar reality because we all have the same human brain "head set" on. 

Colors are a good example to illustrate perception. Colors do not exist outside of the human brain in the "real" world. What our brains interpret and project are colors are the different wavelength reflections of light waves hitting our eyes. Colors do not exist, but our brain creates them based on the different reflections of light energy. 

When it comes to judging skin color, culture also fools our perception in other ways. Human skin, for example, is never white. So-called "white" skin is a cultural misnomer trying to associate European pale skin with purity, cleanliness, and other linguistic / cultural associations reserved for the color white. Human skin is never white. Human skin tones range from beige to black. So-called "white" skin is beige and pinkish sometimes, but never white. Wear a white t-shirt or white socks and compare the colors. That is just an example of color perception. Not a big deal. Nothing to be offended about. 

Besides skin tones, religious and cultural beliefs shape your whole understanding of the world. If you believe in a creator, you cannot fully appreciate the simple science about the origin and evolutionary development of our species. All humans are primates of African descent. We are African primates, descendants of other African primates. Now, believing in the fairy tale of a creator, ruins your ability to see yourself as an advanced primate product of millions of years of evolution (i.e. inheritance of specific traits that promote survival by happenstance rather than by design).

Fascism

Fascism is a religious-like dogmatically totalitarian form of government. A fascist government crushes opposition under the weight and force of state powers. Fascism began in Italy and has a Roman Catholic flavor to it. 

Fascism provides many more liberties than communism. Unlike socialism, fascism favors private industry, private property, and capitalism. However, fascism does not tolerate political dissent. Fascism crushes dissent using the full force and weight of the police state. Fascism is not too different of how the Americas were colonized and how the West was won. 

MAGA has a strong flavor of a fascist movement based on religion and racism. The majority of American voters rejected MAGA in 2016 and in 2020. Trump lost the popular vote in both elections. Chances are that MAGA will continue losing steam. Just like some "whites" are pained by the notion of losing racist privilege in society, the vast majority of Americans are pained by the prospect of losing the benefits of a diverse and inclusive society. 

In any event, the political options are very much opposite and thus very clear. Americans can choose between conservative tradition or liberal progress. In reality, both movements collide in developing our future. 

As the country becomes more diverse, and less white anglo saxon protestant (WASP), chances are that MAGA will continue as a minority movement. It will continue to enjoy popular and populist support because voting is not a rational exercise, but rather an emotional one. Most voters will choose based on tribalism. As primates, we are social creatures craving acceptance and fearing rejection. Most voters look at their identity base group to decide how to vote. Politics creates an "us vs them" mindset based on tribal identity. The religious, racist, and fascist tribe in America remains strong, but keeps becoming a minority overall.  

Food for thought. What do you think?

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