I endlessly try to find ways to understand the Republican Party. I used to be Republican but the Tea Party (Freedom Caucus) drove me out because it seemed to me they were dedicated to destroying needed government services, regulations, standards, and expertise. Then came the Former Guy and he developed the MAGA following which drove me into the Democratic Party.
But who are MAGA? Why do the so unquestioningly follow such a man? David French, Christian conservative and former Republican gives some remarkable insight. I quote most of his recent article here:
What outsiders often can’t see about the appeal of Trumpism |
 | By David French |
I’ve shared this fact with readers before: I live in Tennessee outside Nashville, a very deep-red part of America....This is the world of my friends, my neighbors and many members of my family. ... |
It’s hard to encapsulate a culture in 22 seconds, but this July 4 video tweet from Representative Andy Ogles accomplishes the nearly impossible.... the tweet features Ogles, a cheerful freshman Republican from Tennessee, wishing his followers a happy Fourth of July. The text of the greeting is remarkable only if you don’t live in MAGA-land: |
Hey guys, Congressman Andy Ogles here, wishing you a happy and blessed Fourth of July. Hey, remember our Founding Fathers. It’s we the people that are in charge of this country, not a leftist minority. Look, the left is trying to destroy our country and our family, and they’re coming after you. |
....It’s no coincidence that one of the most enduring cultural symbols of Trump’s 2020 campaign was the boat parade. To form battle lines behind Trump, the one man they believe can save America from total destruction, thousands of supporters in several states got in their MasterCrafts and had giant open-air water parties. |
Or take the Trump rally, the signature event of this political era. ... you see the anger, but you miss the fun. ... the Trump superfans who follow Trump from rally to rally the way some people used to follow the Grateful Dead....They are major life events: festive opportunities to get together with like-minded folks |
... The consistent message from Trumpland of all ages is something like this: “They’re the worst, and we’re awesome. Let’s party, and let’s fight.” |
Why do none of your arguments against Trump penetrate this mind-set? The Trumpists have an easy answer: You’re horrible, and no one should listen to horrible people. ... they know that you’re horrible and that horrible people are capable of anything, including stealing an election. |
At the same time, their own joy and camaraderie insulates them against external critiques that focus on their anger and cruelty. Such charges ring hollow to Trump supporters, who can see firsthand the internal friendliness and good cheer that they experience when they get together with one another. They don’t feel angry — at least not most of the time. They are good, likable people who’ve just been provoked by a distant and alien “left” that many of them have never meaningfully encountered firsthand. |
Trump’s opponents miss the joy because they experience only the rage. I’m a member of a multiethnic church in Nashville. It’s a refuge from the MAGA Christianity that’s all too present where I live, ... “If you ain’t ready for death threats, don’t live in Franklin,” he said. |
Trump’s fans, by contrast, don’t understand the effects of that fury because they mainly experience the joy. For them, the MAGA community is kind and welcoming. For them, supporting Trump is fun. Moreover, the MAGA movement is heavily clustered in the South, and Southerners see themselves as the nicest people in America. It feels false to them to be called “mean” or “cruel.” Cruel? No chance. In their minds, they’re the same people they’ve always been — it’s just that they finally understand how bad you are. And by “you,” again, they often mean the caricatures of people they’ve never met. |
... Many of them will never know that their progressive neighbors have faced threats and intimidation. And even when they do see the movement at its worst, they can’t quite believe it. So Jan. 6 was a false flag. ...” It couldn’t have really been a violent attempt to overthrow the elected government, because they know these people, or people like them, and they’re mostly good folks. ... The real crime was the stolen election. |
It’s the combination of anger and joy that makes the MAGA enthusiasm so hard to break but also limits its breadth....It’s one part Battle for the Future of Civilization and one part booze cruise. |
The battle and the booze cruise both give MAGA devotees a sense of belonging. They see a country that’s changing around them and they are uncertain about their place in it.... they know they have a place at a Trump rally, surrounded by others — overwhelmingly white, many evangelical — who feel the same way they do. |
Evangelicals are a particularly illustrative case.... it’s hard to feel a true sense of belonging unless you’re ideologically united with the people in the pews around you. |
.... You can’t replace something with nothing. And until we fully understand what that “something” is — and that it includes not only passionate anger but also very real joy and a deep sense of belonging — then our efforts to persuade are doomed to fail. I have long believed that the glue that holds MAGA together is a need to belong felt by people who feel left out in today's America. I never saw the FUN and PARTYING involved in this belonging. Logic and facts have very little role to play in trying to convince our MAGA neighbors to let go of the Former Guy. They cannot see us or hear us. But... I believe the bubble will eventually burst. I don't know what it will take to dissolve the veils or delusion, but I have a deep hope and faith in the truth, the rule of law, and a persistent attempt to reach out to all Americans ... ...and maybe most of all, if they can see the goodness in those of us they have been told to fear and hate.... |
