YES! Thank you for yet another well thought out, well written post. All of our sons and brothers and fathers deserve better than what they can get or think they can get from Trump.
When I think of Trump’s followers I think of cowards. We always go back to The Emperor’s New Clothes. When will the followers realize their leader is naked? He is devoid of leadership skills, integrity, and common sense.
Some may be cowards, but I think that a majority of them are just not "educated self-thinkers". I have a good friend, former US Army, who did two tours in Nam. He is far from being a "coward". He was raised in a red state, poor education, and "indoctrinated" by his family growing up. He is a firm believer in "fairy tales", such as bigfoot, ghost, alien abductions, etc. Because this is how he was raised. Rather like those who believed everything published in that old rag, the National Enquirer. People who believed that Elvis was kidnapped by aliens.
Trump has taken advantage of those like my friend Joe. I feel sorry for them, but only they can choose to start thinking for themselves.
I believe that there is such a thing as being a coward in a psychological sense. Your friend wasn’t a coward in a physical sense. After all he put his life on the line in Nam and I respect him for that. However, he’s a coward in the sense that he refuses to believe in reality. It’s just like children thinking that if they don’t believe in Santa Claus, they won’t get any presents. It’s a matter of recognizing fact when it’s difficult to admit. If he believes that Trump is his “savior”, he’s going to fall very hard when he realizes that it was all a fantasy and not reality after all.
I do understand what you mean, on the psychological issue. Joe is a good guy with a good heart, mind you. I think that it is more along the lines of "brainwashing", if you follow me. Indoctrination from birth leaves a person with a singular viewpoint. A very limited way of looking at things.
Deprogramming a person like that requires getting them to question what they believe in, including what a person's own parents taught them. For most people, the parents are the foundation of what they believe and trust.
Mind you, I am not a clinical psychologist. But I have dealt with some serious mental cases in my family. We all serve or served, and war does things to the mind. Worse when a person was a POW. I grew up hearing my father and my grandfather's nightmares. My one uncle was worst of all, as he had trouble telling the present from the past. He could be very dangerous at times. Waking up during a hip replacement to see an asian surgeon and trying to kill the surgeon because he believed that he was being tortured again.
My point being that everything a person believes and thinks has a foundation, even if that foundation is wrong or isn't even real. Anything added on top of that foundation will carry the faults and flaws in the foundation. The exception is when the person has been raised as a critical thinker. They learn from the start to question and alter the foundation as they experience life.
I hear ya. With regard to being raised as a critical thinker, I have to disagree. I was raised at a time when women were property (1960s) and children were seem, but not heard. I was not permitted to have my own voice as a child and had to accept whatever was told to me. As a result of being raised in an authoritarian environment, I did the exact opposite when I raised my children because I experienced the suppression of my ideas because I was a young girl. Back to the point, just because a person is a critical thinker doesn’t necessarily mean that that person was raised and thereby encouraged to be a critical thinker. The way some people are raised will either replicate those ideals in their futures or it will do the exact opposite. “Indoctrination from birth” may leave some people with a “very limited way of looking at things”, but not everyone may fit that bill. Unfortunately, your friend may indeed need “deprogramming” in order to understand the facts that surround his “reality”.
We are of the same era. It sounds to me like you chose rebellion over cultural conformity. I had 5 sisters, but when it came to social issues, we were all taught a different set of rules.
As an example, and one of the few times that I was truly proud of my father, was during my first trip into town. On the ranch, everyone was "family", no matter the color, etc. Everyone was a veteran, or family of a veteran on the ranch.
My first visit to town was a huge eye opener. For starters, blacks were only permitted on certain streets and on certain sides of the road. Women were need but not heard in the presence of men.
My first time in town, and it wasn't 10 minutes before some mouth on two legs started a fight over one of our ranch hands, who was black, being on the wrong side. My father punched the guy and knocked him on his butt.
My mother started chastising the guy about how people are to be treated, and the same guy my father had justed punched got up and told my father to keep his b_tch's mouth shut. My father hit him again.
It was the first time I had seen actual discrimination. It was a lesson for me on what to expect in town when I started school that year. It was a memory that I have never forgotten.
IF I had to guess, I would say that you are one of the higher intelligence group, which led to your rebellion. BZ for that, well done. When we look at Trump, we have exactly the opposite. Low intelligence and not a self-thinker. His grades were an abomination that, from what I could find, only money could have gotten a passing grade for him, and those were very marginal. He was in the 73 IQ range.
Keep in mind that I am no expert. My degrees are in physics and nuclear engineering. People still confuse me at times.
I love your story. It's great. Growing up on a ranch, having a father with a sense of morals and that first trip into town should gain anybody a good amount of credibility. And then there's the thing about the letters after your name. If we were in a bar or a restaurant, talking over a beer or a cup of coffee, I'd have to ask "How did that happen?" Unfortunately, this is the internet era and those face-to-face meetings no longer occur.
Thank you for such a heartfelt response, and I totally agree about us all having a foundation and what happens to it as we grow and mature.
Luckily, I was raised as a critical thinker in the late 50's and 60's, but I was both too naive and not assertive enough to actually stand up for what I believed in until I met like-minded people in college, where I saw how "my house" could be built on the foundation I had been given.
I also loved your use of the phrase "indoctrination from birth" and think it would make a great book title especially since it can go in many directions. (And I looked it up to see if it's been used yet, but didn't see one, so... 😊)
Mac, I think you hit a several key points-where you live, who your parents are what education you got, or didn’t. I have a friend from an Appalachian town in NC. She is the only one who got away and got educated and has moderate-liberal views. The entire rest of her family, including extended are pro Trumpsters. He knows how to play to their victimhood. The ones I really can’t figure are the educated one’s who support him. My best guess is the were conservative and the Dems have just gone to far with LGBTQ, and condescension toward the lesser educated etc. Trump was their only alternative. I’d be eager to hear your views.
True enough. I am an Okie, but my family are all well educated critical thinkers. I am also a boomer, near the end of the active Korean war. My father's way was to teach you once. After that, painful mistakes were your teacher.
I used to be a Republican. I voted for the Gipper (Reagan). But I always check things and make my own choices. Corruption is all through politics, and I think that many of the old school conservatives are so "programmed" that they fail to look at the facts or think for themselves. It is all about the "label", being on the "team".
Trump has spent his entire life manipulating others. The "big show", so to speak. It is never about LGBTQ, gender, etc. Those have been around for thousands of years. The core of the issue is about control, and manipulation is their most powerful tool. Everyone has some form of "prejudice", some type of bias. And everyone also has their own desires and "self image". Here in the USA, it is very easy to find large groups to manipulate with lies. Lies work because of that self image, which can be appealed to and manipulated.
This is my opinion, at least. I hate politics, personally. But I have observed people for most of my life. As I said, I was an Okie. I went east for my degrees, and suffered extreme culture shock. I kept my mouth shut and watched everyone in my classes and in my dorm. I learned an entire new form of the English language. I learned to drop the "southern" terms and western accent.
All of it taught me how to see the intentions and motivations, and how everyone used words to manipulate each other.
Trump appeals to the key parts of a group's self image. It doesn't matter that he lies, not to them. They "want" to believe because it makes them feel special, better than others.
In 1985 Dire Straits recorded "Brothers In Arms", a brilliant composition which examined life through a musical lens. Included in that album are "The Man's Too Big, The Man's Too Strong" and "Money for Nothin' and Your Chicks for Free". Those songs describe in metaphorical terms both Trump and his followers, the MAGA faithful. As the old Chinese curse suggests - May you live in interesting times. We do.
When will the followers realize their leader is naked? When they have no job, have no workers for their business, can't find a healthcare facility in their area, ETC. ETC. ETC.
I do think when the economy turns down, and it will turn down, it will be interesting to see how his base react. He will surely blame it on Biden or the Fed or…., but I don’t think that will stick because the media is reporting his absurd economicdecisions and when folks start blaming their leader for what’s happening to their wallets and their jobs they can do it with a vengeance. I hope it’s true this time around too.
OMG! "The selfie in the truck cab—sunglasses on, hat pulled low, a stoic expression that says “I mean business,” even though it’s a Tuesday and they’re sitting in a Wendy’s parking lot." So true. We have a Wendy's, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Culver's and Panda Express. And there they are everyday. You have a way with words, sir!
The thought of any soldier supporting our DickWad President, makes me ill when he would throw every last one of them under the bus, any bus anywhere. Just like he did to John McCain. I’ll never forgive that. And I did not agree with McCain on many things, but he was an honorable man and fought for the good of the American people. Seems like a Lost Breed in Republicans these days (present authors excepted😌)
Another beautiful testament; we are not having a masculinity crisis, we are having a leadership crisis. Thanks for continuing to remind us what real leadership is and what it takes to get there.
I’m perplexed by people who fall for Trump because he’s “strong”. He’s the epitome of weakness. No strength of thought or character. No convictions, much less having the courage of them. Immensely thin-skinned. What ever happened to concepts like “honor” and doing the right thing rather than the easy thing? I hear what you are saying about male role models. But it goes beyond gender. The craven awfulness of the women in his administration is equally disturbing.
ADAM, this is an excellent article that I will proudly post. I will add to your peace that women young girls need strong role models so this also applies to females young and old. I want my daughter to look up to women who stand up speak out for what is morally right - women who are supporting what is happening in our government now are “role models” for our young and impressionable girls or young women. It’s dangerous and reprehensible what they are being taught - this is one of your strongest posts and I sincerely thank you for the in-depth observations and your experience. We are new grandparents to a sweet little innocent boy. His parents and grandparents want him to have role models that are truly good role models- You are so right on every level - thank you 🙏🏻 thank you.
Such clear spot on words describing real hero’s, real human beings of ethics, morals and wisdom. Thank you once again. Our country needs a refresher, words to help refocus and get us back on track to be proud of who we are and not embarrassed!
Excellent piece- loved the comment, “Masculinity isn't about screaming louder or winning every argument. It’s about having the courage to do the right thing when it’s hard. It’s about responsibility. It’s about protecting the vulnerable, not mocking them. It’s about punching up, not down. Or if you do, it’s about making those strikes on behalf of a greater cause, exposing the falsehoods of faux masculinity.” Thank you
Trump is the greatest “pussy” of them all! How he cowers to Putin is phenomenal. I don’t understand why this isn’t obvious to everyone, but it goes over many males heads!
YES! Thank you for yet another well thought out, well written post. All of our sons and brothers and fathers deserve better than what they can get or think they can get from Trump.
They can think what their getting is great now but wait till the results come in and then see how they feel!!!
When I think of Trump’s followers I think of cowards. We always go back to The Emperor’s New Clothes. When will the followers realize their leader is naked? He is devoid of leadership skills, integrity, and common sense.
Some may be cowards, but I think that a majority of them are just not "educated self-thinkers". I have a good friend, former US Army, who did two tours in Nam. He is far from being a "coward". He was raised in a red state, poor education, and "indoctrinated" by his family growing up. He is a firm believer in "fairy tales", such as bigfoot, ghost, alien abductions, etc. Because this is how he was raised. Rather like those who believed everything published in that old rag, the National Enquirer. People who believed that Elvis was kidnapped by aliens.
Trump has taken advantage of those like my friend Joe. I feel sorry for them, but only they can choose to start thinking for themselves.
I believe that there is such a thing as being a coward in a psychological sense. Your friend wasn’t a coward in a physical sense. After all he put his life on the line in Nam and I respect him for that. However, he’s a coward in the sense that he refuses to believe in reality. It’s just like children thinking that if they don’t believe in Santa Claus, they won’t get any presents. It’s a matter of recognizing fact when it’s difficult to admit. If he believes that Trump is his “savior”, he’s going to fall very hard when he realizes that it was all a fantasy and not reality after all.
I do understand what you mean, on the psychological issue. Joe is a good guy with a good heart, mind you. I think that it is more along the lines of "brainwashing", if you follow me. Indoctrination from birth leaves a person with a singular viewpoint. A very limited way of looking at things.
Deprogramming a person like that requires getting them to question what they believe in, including what a person's own parents taught them. For most people, the parents are the foundation of what they believe and trust.
Mind you, I am not a clinical psychologist. But I have dealt with some serious mental cases in my family. We all serve or served, and war does things to the mind. Worse when a person was a POW. I grew up hearing my father and my grandfather's nightmares. My one uncle was worst of all, as he had trouble telling the present from the past. He could be very dangerous at times. Waking up during a hip replacement to see an asian surgeon and trying to kill the surgeon because he believed that he was being tortured again.
My point being that everything a person believes and thinks has a foundation, even if that foundation is wrong or isn't even real. Anything added on top of that foundation will carry the faults and flaws in the foundation. The exception is when the person has been raised as a critical thinker. They learn from the start to question and alter the foundation as they experience life.
I hear ya. With regard to being raised as a critical thinker, I have to disagree. I was raised at a time when women were property (1960s) and children were seem, but not heard. I was not permitted to have my own voice as a child and had to accept whatever was told to me. As a result of being raised in an authoritarian environment, I did the exact opposite when I raised my children because I experienced the suppression of my ideas because I was a young girl. Back to the point, just because a person is a critical thinker doesn’t necessarily mean that that person was raised and thereby encouraged to be a critical thinker. The way some people are raised will either replicate those ideals in their futures or it will do the exact opposite. “Indoctrination from birth” may leave some people with a “very limited way of looking at things”, but not everyone may fit that bill. Unfortunately, your friend may indeed need “deprogramming” in order to understand the facts that surround his “reality”.
We are of the same era. It sounds to me like you chose rebellion over cultural conformity. I had 5 sisters, but when it came to social issues, we were all taught a different set of rules.
As an example, and one of the few times that I was truly proud of my father, was during my first trip into town. On the ranch, everyone was "family", no matter the color, etc. Everyone was a veteran, or family of a veteran on the ranch.
My first visit to town was a huge eye opener. For starters, blacks were only permitted on certain streets and on certain sides of the road. Women were need but not heard in the presence of men.
My first time in town, and it wasn't 10 minutes before some mouth on two legs started a fight over one of our ranch hands, who was black, being on the wrong side. My father punched the guy and knocked him on his butt.
My mother started chastising the guy about how people are to be treated, and the same guy my father had justed punched got up and told my father to keep his b_tch's mouth shut. My father hit him again.
It was the first time I had seen actual discrimination. It was a lesson for me on what to expect in town when I started school that year. It was a memory that I have never forgotten.
IF I had to guess, I would say that you are one of the higher intelligence group, which led to your rebellion. BZ for that, well done. When we look at Trump, we have exactly the opposite. Low intelligence and not a self-thinker. His grades were an abomination that, from what I could find, only money could have gotten a passing grade for him, and those were very marginal. He was in the 73 IQ range.
Keep in mind that I am no expert. My degrees are in physics and nuclear engineering. People still confuse me at times.
I love your story. It's great. Growing up on a ranch, having a father with a sense of morals and that first trip into town should gain anybody a good amount of credibility. And then there's the thing about the letters after your name. If we were in a bar or a restaurant, talking over a beer or a cup of coffee, I'd have to ask "How did that happen?" Unfortunately, this is the internet era and those face-to-face meetings no longer occur.
Beautifully stated, Prof Mac. And G_d bless your dad!
Thank you for such a heartfelt response, and I totally agree about us all having a foundation and what happens to it as we grow and mature.
Luckily, I was raised as a critical thinker in the late 50's and 60's, but I was both too naive and not assertive enough to actually stand up for what I believed in until I met like-minded people in college, where I saw how "my house" could be built on the foundation I had been given.
I also loved your use of the phrase "indoctrination from birth" and think it would make a great book title especially since it can go in many directions. (And I looked it up to see if it's been used yet, but didn't see one, so... 😊)
You "hit the nail on the head".
Mac, I think you hit a several key points-where you live, who your parents are what education you got, or didn’t. I have a friend from an Appalachian town in NC. She is the only one who got away and got educated and has moderate-liberal views. The entire rest of her family, including extended are pro Trumpsters. He knows how to play to their victimhood. The ones I really can’t figure are the educated one’s who support him. My best guess is the were conservative and the Dems have just gone to far with LGBTQ, and condescension toward the lesser educated etc. Trump was their only alternative. I’d be eager to hear your views.
True enough. I am an Okie, but my family are all well educated critical thinkers. I am also a boomer, near the end of the active Korean war. My father's way was to teach you once. After that, painful mistakes were your teacher.
I used to be a Republican. I voted for the Gipper (Reagan). But I always check things and make my own choices. Corruption is all through politics, and I think that many of the old school conservatives are so "programmed" that they fail to look at the facts or think for themselves. It is all about the "label", being on the "team".
Trump has spent his entire life manipulating others. The "big show", so to speak. It is never about LGBTQ, gender, etc. Those have been around for thousands of years. The core of the issue is about control, and manipulation is their most powerful tool. Everyone has some form of "prejudice", some type of bias. And everyone also has their own desires and "self image". Here in the USA, it is very easy to find large groups to manipulate with lies. Lies work because of that self image, which can be appealed to and manipulated.
This is my opinion, at least. I hate politics, personally. But I have observed people for most of my life. As I said, I was an Okie. I went east for my degrees, and suffered extreme culture shock. I kept my mouth shut and watched everyone in my classes and in my dorm. I learned an entire new form of the English language. I learned to drop the "southern" terms and western accent.
All of it taught me how to see the intentions and motivations, and how everyone used words to manipulate each other.
Trump appeals to the key parts of a group's self image. It doesn't matter that he lies, not to them. They "want" to believe because it makes them feel special, better than others.
In 1985 Dire Straits recorded "Brothers In Arms", a brilliant composition which examined life through a musical lens. Included in that album are "The Man's Too Big, The Man's Too Strong" and "Money for Nothin' and Your Chicks for Free". Those songs describe in metaphorical terms both Trump and his followers, the MAGA faithful. As the old Chinese curse suggests - May you live in interesting times. We do.
I think the educated ones I
Like JD Vance do it for power & money
Professor Mac, thank you for showing us a difference between physical bravery and "not educated self-thinkers"!
And he is also devoid of basic literacy and knowledge.
That too!
When will the followers realize their leader is naked? When they have no job, have no workers for their business, can't find a healthcare facility in their area, ETC. ETC. ETC.
I do think when the economy turns down, and it will turn down, it will be interesting to see how his base react. He will surely blame it on Biden or the Fed or…., but I don’t think that will stick because the media is reporting his absurd economicdecisions and when folks start blaming their leader for what’s happening to their wallets and their jobs they can do it with a vengeance. I hope it’s true this time around too.
Excellent Adam! You and Liz Cheney are the real heroes who refused to be duped by maga lies.
I have the greatest admiration for you both. Bless you— every time I read one of your pieces I am heartened and inspired.
Where is LIZ??????????
She has gone silent -- WHY?????
RINO -- ED
I have been wondering the same thing. BTW, if you are RINO why not be Dem?
Or Independent!
As long as you vote Dem. Don't waste the vote.
Agree!!!!👍
I too often wonder where is Liz Cheney. Much respect for her and Adam. Maybe Liz is caring for her father ?? I hope she is okay. :-)
OMG! "The selfie in the truck cab—sunglasses on, hat pulled low, a stoic expression that says “I mean business,” even though it’s a Tuesday and they’re sitting in a Wendy’s parking lot." So true. We have a Wendy's, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Culver's and Panda Express. And there they are everyday. You have a way with words, sir!
The thought of any soldier supporting our DickWad President, makes me ill when he would throw every last one of them under the bus, any bus anywhere. Just like he did to John McCain. I’ll never forgive that. And I did not agree with McCain on many things, but he was an honorable man and fought for the good of the American people. Seems like a Lost Breed in Republicans these days (present authors excepted😌)
Another beautiful testament; we are not having a masculinity crisis, we are having a leadership crisis. Thanks for continuing to remind us what real leadership is and what it takes to get there.
I’m perplexed by people who fall for Trump because he’s “strong”. He’s the epitome of weakness. No strength of thought or character. No convictions, much less having the courage of them. Immensely thin-skinned. What ever happened to concepts like “honor” and doing the right thing rather than the easy thing? I hear what you are saying about male role models. But it goes beyond gender. The craven awfulness of the women in his administration is equally disturbing.
Power and Greed has infiltrated both genders.
Please please challenge Abbott for governor. Texas needs a leader like you.
ADAM, this is an excellent article that I will proudly post. I will add to your peace that women young girls need strong role models so this also applies to females young and old. I want my daughter to look up to women who stand up speak out for what is morally right - women who are supporting what is happening in our government now are “role models” for our young and impressionable girls or young women. It’s dangerous and reprehensible what they are being taught - this is one of your strongest posts and I sincerely thank you for the in-depth observations and your experience. We are new grandparents to a sweet little innocent boy. His parents and grandparents want him to have role models that are truly good role models- You are so right on every level - thank you 🙏🏻 thank you.
Absolutely spot on! 💪🏻
Thank you, Janet!
Excuse Ms. Siri...she did not spell a word properly... Not "peace" but "piece" My apologies...Siri has to go back to school .... LOL!
Such clear spot on words describing real hero’s, real human beings of ethics, morals and wisdom. Thank you once again. Our country needs a refresher, words to help refocus and get us back on track to be proud of who we are and not embarrassed!
Excellent piece- loved the comment, “Masculinity isn't about screaming louder or winning every argument. It’s about having the courage to do the right thing when it’s hard. It’s about responsibility. It’s about protecting the vulnerable, not mocking them. It’s about punching up, not down. Or if you do, it’s about making those strikes on behalf of a greater cause, exposing the falsehoods of faux masculinity.” Thank you
Long overdue commentary. I am grateful you initiated it. You and Pete Buttigieg are the only men in this discussion so far.
Yes! Totally agree.👍
Great words Adam, thank you.
Trump is the greatest “pussy” of them all! How he cowers to Putin is phenomenal. I don’t understand why this isn’t obvious to everyone, but it goes over many males heads!
Adam! You nailed it! So well written. I hope the moms see this and step up to guide their sons.
and the dads.
Sir:
Bring it.
This world needs more men like you and Adam.