A Culture of Denial in
America Gerry OShea
In William Shakespeare’s
celebrated play, Hamlet, the character of Horatio, representing science
and reason as opposed to wild imaginings about late-night ghosts, was rebuked
by Hamlet in memorable lines, “There are more things in heaven and on earth,
Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
Steve Bannon,
guru of far-right politics in the United States, was making a similar point
when he explained his central insight for achieving power in America: “People
now move in tribes. Persuasion is highly-overrated.”
The
Republican hierarchy seems to follow the same line of thinking. Amazingly for a
major political party, they did not promulgate a policy manifesto during last
year’s national elections campaign. While they lost the presidency, they
increased their numbers in the House of Representatives, suggesting that American
voters were not particularly impressed by the detailed legislative programs
presented by the Democrats.
Republicans,
especially, are tuned into emotional engagement with the electorate which they
have learned will nearly always trump rational arguments. They realize the
power of promptings about gut-level topics, centering on race, invasions at the
southern border or restrictive gun laws - all issues that stir the blood in the
current political climate in America.
Combine these topics with pushing a shared
conservative sense of victimhood suffered at the hands of media elites and you
have the working plan of the party’s current election strategy.
Social
scientists explain that what they call Confirmation Bias is an important human
dynamic which stresses that people gladly accept information or indeed
propaganda that confirm their own beliefs and prejudices – and this strong
human tendency applies to liberals as much as to conservatives.
Consider the
crucial healthcare issue which is at the center of American political debate
for the last fifty years. What is the Republican alternative to the
disastrously expensive and inadequate prevailing hospital and doctor care
system? Well, they are against the Affordable Care Act, passed by President
Obama, and they really rage against the Medicare-for-all that Senator Bernie
Sanders promotes.
But what are they for? Donald Trump said that
he had a healthcare policy ready just to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. He made
that promise six years ago and it is safe to assert that neither he nor any
other senior Republican has the slightest intention of coming forward with a
proposal in this vital area of public life in the foreseeable future.
In the 2016 presidential
election Hilary Clinton operated from the premise that it was vital to convince
people that she, the first serious female candidate for the White House, was
competent and informed about all the policy issues, while her opponent, Donald
Trump, saw the election as an extension of show business – and he won!
James
Carville’s famous aphorism when he was Bill Clinton’s main strategist that “it
is the economy stupid” carries less weight today. Half of Americans live from
month to month but most vote for the Republican Party which opposes progressive
policies that would lighten the load for working families.
President
Biden’s proposal to continue a generous monthly child allowance for families will
run into stormy waters in Washington because of instinctive Republican
opposition to any welfare program. Reforming the tax system to favor low and
middle-income families will almost certainly meet with the same fate. Ironically,
such sensible progressive proposals will be defeated by senators who received
most of the working class votes in their states.
In Arkansas
and some other Southern States, the Delta variant has multiplied the hospital
admissions for the COVID. Only about one-third of the people in many of these
mostly-red states have chosen to be vaccinated, so, with increased risk from
new and deadlier variants, you might expect a rush to the clinics for Pfizer or
Moderna protection.
Not so! The tribal response in these places elicits
all kinds of rationalizations for inaction. Balderdash talk is at a premium.
Some say that they don’t trust vaccines on advice from local “experts” or from some
Fox News commentators; others say that it is all God’s will and he determines who
lives and dies. Most of all, they resent the fancy all-knowing elitist medics
like Anthony Fauci telling them how to live their lives.
Logic
suggests that a legal mandate compelling vaccination should be seriously
considered in accordance with the sound reasoning that people who refuse a free
inoculation present a real danger to other members of the community. After all,
based on the same thinking, every state requires a driver’s license for car
users to protect the wider community.
President
Biden is against imposing a vaccination mandate, but he urged community leaders
to visit recalcitrant neighbors to persuade them to get vaccinated.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene responded by accusing the president of
using brown-shirt Nazi tactics to push what she considers his immoral agenda. The
Republican base loved her crazy defiance.
The vast
majority of these citizens identify as Trump supporters, who are still
convinced that the presidential election was stolen by Joe Biden.
Interestingly, Mr. Trump and his wife were vaccinated last December, but
without television cameras or any publicity. If their inoculation was touted at
that time, it would surely have encouraged his followers to do the same.
The insurrection
in the Capitol Building on January 6th heightened the tribal
divisions in America. Republicans, who always present themselves as the party
of law and order, had to find some explanation for the riotous behavior of
their supporters on that disgraceful occasion.
Congressman Andrew Clyde from Georgia stated
that what he witnessed on that memorable winter day was followers behaving like
tourists. Another Republican congressman, Paul Gosar from Arizona, claimed that
he only saw peaceful patriots expressing their legitimate political opinions.
Senator Ron
Johnson from Wisconsin described the mood of the rioters as “jovial, serious
but not violent.” He was not afraid during the invasion but if the protesters
were representing BLM or Antifa he would be scared. Donald Trump has declared
repeatedly that the best descriptor of the crowd is “loving.”
Pseudologia Fantastica
(PF) is a fancy technical psychological description of behavior that shows a strong
wish to be right all the time, while overriding rational considerations and
distorting perceptions and memories. It is a form of pathological lying
designed to make a person feel special and normal and correct. It indicates a
very tangential connection with reality and is named in the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual (DSM) as a mental disorder.
Tens of millions of Republicans are convinced
that Donald Trump will be restored to the White House prior to the end of
August or certainly before the new year arrives. There is no chance whatsoever
that this will happen. It is a wild belief that clearly suggests that some
version of PF is embedded and thriving in powerful parts of American culture.
Republicans
have backed themselves into a no-win corner. A clear majority of their
followers believe the Big Lie, that Donald Trump was cheated of victory and
should still be on top in Washington and not twiddling his thumbs in
Mar-a-Lago. Their candidates will run on or will be tied to this outrageous
assertion in the senate and congressional elections next year.
If they try to renege, the Trumpers will repudiate
them. In addition, they are dancing with the selfish anti-vaccinators and
justifying the insurrection of January 6th – both extensions of the
Big Lie.
This is a
recipe for disaster for the Republican Party where only their daft hardliners –
a huge crowd but insufficient for electoral success – will continue to affirm blatant
mendacity. Hugging the far extreme of the political spectrum in La-La Land will
consign them to minority status in the House and Senate.
Expect major Democratic gains in both Houses
in the mid-term elections.
Gerry
OShea blogs at wemustbetalking.com
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