Everyone here agrees with you (as nearly as I can detect). I recommend you find the book on Amazon (where you can usually read an excerpt) and read the Introduction and a little of the first chapter. You will see the entire book supports the view we all share and explains how those intolerant believers have hijacked an entire political party and maintain power because they believe they are “called to keep America Christian”. At the very worst you can disagree with the premise and not read the book.
In another thread (I think), Mahaloth, someone of faith I admire, recommended a book titled The Power Worshipers by: Katherine Stewart. I am reading it now and it shows how political power brokers are tricking church congregants into being their army of zombie mutants. They literally use the believers own fears and concerns to accomplish their agenda. Frightening stuff. I believe fifty or sixty years from now the right wing Christians will be seen as mindless creatures driven by a single ideology and their influence over America will be similar to the dark ages of Europe. (Let us hope this religious influence over government does not last as long as the one during the medieval ages.)
There are a number of people who think there is only one right way to live.
For such people, saying that anything other than the way they are living is a right way to live translates to an active attack upon their own way of life: because, if you think there’s only one right way to live, then if some other way of living is right, your own way must be wrong.
This can apply to all sorts of things, some of them quite minor. I once, years ago, had somebody get furious at me because I said I didn’t much like country music*. They interpreted that as my having said that there was something essentially wrong with it and that they shouldn’t like it, either; which wasn’t remotely what I meant.
MAGAts understand message discipline intuitively. It comes from growing up in evangelical churches and whatnot. They understand that sometimes speaking a thing loudly enough, to enough people, makes it come true.
If the party line is that we’re winning and we have no reason to fear, that’s what you profess, no matter your doubts, and you do not speak of your misgivings.
It is not at all uncommon for Trumpists to claim Trump will win states like California or New York, their rationale being that they went to a Trump event and lots of people there were voting for Trump.
The preceding paragraph is one hundred percent serious.
Of the mob of pro-Trump idiots on that have been showing up on a street corner near my house for the past three weeks, numerous among them carry signs saying “Biden = Communist”. Well, no, actually you clearly have no idea what the term “Communist” even means.
Especially delicious when “Trump = Russian Stooge” is so much closer to the truth.
Hell of a note for the US to bloodlessly win the Cold War then hand victory to the enemy’s successor government a mere 30-ish years later. Doubly delicious irony that it’s the “patriots” doing the handing over.
I don’t get the reference (sounds like science fiction outside my experience) but I guess I am being made fun of for stating the obvious. I am used to that.
The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells (1895), film (1960).
In the way distant future, after the world has been devastated by nuclear war, humans split into two species: The Morlocks, who lived underground and ran the machinery of production, and the Eloi, who lived above ground and lived off of the largess of the Morlocks. The Eloi were incurious and docile. In essence, they were ‘cattle’ for the Morlocks, and the Morlocks ate them.
I’m not mocking you - if anything, I’m agreeing with you. I’m just adding that “mindless creatures” shouldn’t be underestimated and are often extremely dangerous.
I was sure it was nothing more than good natured ribbing, and with my woeful ignorance of any sci fi beyond Lucifer’s Hammer, a little mocking might be in order.
Once Johnny_L.A pointed out the source I realized that I knew the reference from it being being adopted into so much pop culture (The Big Bang Theory for one) even though I have never read the original.
But to your point, I hope tonight’s election signals the end of America’s dark ages where the often pious, but less informed can negatively impact society as much as they have been impacting it recently.
Not necessarily. Some of them yes, for reasons beyond understanding some people love Trump and whomever replaces him.
But I believe a lot of Republicans will drop Trump and blame everything on him if he loses. Especially if he loses big.
I was one of them not so long ago and except for the dipshits who love to wear camo, deck their trucks out with flags, and bring guns to polling places – many of us will never go back.
The odd thing is no Democrat could get me to move left, but Trump and his type has pushed me way, way to the left of them.