I know you base your writing on research and I trust you. But this was a hard read. My sister is a Trump supporter and grew up in the same family. She was a teacher. She is so taken in by this fearful and scapegoating mentality that we can no longer talk. Trump is dangerous, but he can't be the mastermind behind all of this. So, how do we somehow work through this--I mean our country, not just me and my sister.
Thank you for your honesty—and your trust. You're right: Trump didn’t invent this mindset; he just amplified and exploited it. The roots run deeper—fear, disconnection, resentment—and they’ve been there a long time.
I don’t have easy answers, but I believe the work begins with refusing to normalize cruelty and continuing to speak hard truths without losing our humanity. That’s the line I try to walk.
As for the country… I think we’re all still searching for a way to hold the center while the edges fray.
I am torn between cutting MAGA followers totally out of my life and trying to find common ground and build bridges, then I see them cheer for Alligator Alcatraz and think shunning may better the better solution.
I hear you. That tension—between reaching out and walking away—is one so many of us are living with right now. The moral instinct to build bridges collides with the reality that some people are cheering on cruelty, deception, and delusion like it’s a sport.
When they laugh at suffering or celebrate authoritarianism, it’s hard not to feel like any bridge you try to build will just be used to invade your peace.
Shunning isn’t always spite—it can be self-preservation. And sometimes, refusing to normalize the behavior is the most honest form of resistance.
I had to shut a 40 year friend from my life for self preservation. The final blow to my tolerance to her many extreme conservative and conspiratorial beliefs was her complete lack of empathy for the human beings being targeted by the Trump administration, both the government firings and the horrendous treatment of immigrants. Her response was that some people like what’s happening now including her. That was the end!
I agree that we need to do what we can to take care of ourselves. I am wondering if there is another choice. A third way. I am trying to see how I feel each moment of each day. We are not locked in to any decisions forever.
yes I also have relatives with similar outlooks - despite being educated at university level - and it just isn't possible to get through to them. I recall a conversation with one when I said: "but what you're advocating there is genocide" and they just said: "yes". where do you go from there?
That’s chilling—and sadly familiar. When someone calmly accepts something as extreme as genocide, there’s no real conversation left to have. It’s not a difference of opinion; it’s a collapse of shared moral ground.
I’ve had moments like that too, where I realize we’re not even speaking the same ethical language anymore. And when that happens with people we love or grew up with, it’s heartbreaking in a very specific, existential way.
Where do we go from there? Maybe not back—but forward, with clear eyes, firmer boundaries, and a deeper commitment to defending what’s humane.
Oh, my goodness…where do you go from there is indeed the question. With my sister, it is a refusal to see hatred and racism. Her response when I said Trump was a white supremacist, she was furious because how could I think she would support him if he was like that. I am finding this complete identification with Trump no matter what to be insurmountable.
The book Predisposed published in 2013 is a good read on this. There are other books as well and some shorter articles in Scientific American and the Atlantic. Just google search genetics of liberal and political thinking.
I so appreciate the information and supporting research. I recall an article a few years ago correlating PTSD/brain damage and right wing Christianity. I’m wondering roughly what percentage of the general population falls into this camp (awkward term). I also wonder if a benevolent leader could appeal to this group. Maybe I’m trying to solve this problem and it’s not possible.
You're not alone in trying to solve it—even if it sometimes feels impossible. That desire to understand, to hope for redemption or reconnection, is deeply human.
Yes, there’s research linking trauma—especially early-life adversity and PTSD—with authoritarianism, rigid belief systems, and attraction to strongman figures, particularly in some expressions of right-wing Christianity. It's not everyone, of course, but those patterns do show up.
As for numbers, estimates vary, but studies suggest that about 15–25% of the U.S. population holds consistently authoritarian or dominionist views—the kind most resistant to change. That’s not the whole right, but it’s a stubborn and often vocal core.
Could a benevolent leader reach them? Maybe a few. But for many, the appeal is not benevolence—it’s certainty, dominance, grievance. That makes persuasion hard, if not impossible.
Still, I believe it’s worth trying—at the margins, with compassion and boundaries. Even if we can’t reach everyone, we can try to protect what’s left of the center, and model a different kind of strength.
White Christian Nationalism, Russel Vought, Trumps OMB guy who controls the purse strings and part Mastermind and go to guy behind Project 2025, people, for Gods sakes, you were warned but refused to listen so I guess that means some may like what the agenda entails and were witnessing it all in real time, the destruction of a government by and for we the people and instead to be run by an autocrat and oligarchs, you voted for evil, those that voted for Trump or simply were sold a lies and fell for it, hook, line and sinker
"so I guess that means some may like what the agenda entails". Absolutely. My brother, college-educated, autistic, with an IQ of 150 can say with certainty that "sometimes bad things have to happen to some people to keep the world right."
Thank you. BTW, I'm the only member of our rather large family who has chosen to remain close to everyone. The rest continue their battles and/or silence.
Kdsherpa, is your brother referring to the Liberals or the Conservatives, or both? What does he mean, “…to keep the world right.” Right in terms of which group?
Thanks for asking. He's with the neo-Nazis and "right" is for America to be "white again". Of course it wasn't for the thousands and thousands of years before the whites came in and slaughtered the 100,000,000 brown-skinned Native people who lived there.
trump is the worst thing to happen to our country. He has turned the country upside down with his calling everything he doesn't agreed with or like a hoax. We need compassion, forgiveness, caring in dealing with our fellow citizens. I fear it's now too late to change. trump is deteriorating rapidly. He is not capable to lead. We need him to be retired to a home ASAP.
This is a tour de force, thorough and supported by solid research. I wonder whether someday this constellation of traits might be considered another form of neurodivergence. Perhaps there will be techniques for managing and mitigating those traits that create suffering for both the individual and the people around them.
I have this ‘ constellation of traits” as a result of trauma, but i am, have always been a New Deal, bernie,aoc progressive. Maybe this is more complicated than coming up with a new bin - neurodivergent!- to throw people in? Maybe it’s a spiritual question that needs spiritual consideration. See the link above. Maybe he is also possessed of these traits as a result of the ongoing trauma of living in a war zone. But he is infinitely compassionate
"Maybe he is also possessed of these traits as a result of the ongoing trauma of living in a war zone. But he is infinitely compassionate." I'm confused. Who is "he"?
I’ve had a lot of trauma, too. Fortunately I had a lot of really good therapy, and that led me to a renewed acceptance of spirituality. I had rejected it for many years because of bad experiences with organized religion. Then I found a spiritual practice that didn’t have the punitive and rigid qualities. Now I follow the teachings of Eckhart Tolle. It’s a work in progress, but I’m much happier now.
I hope we don’t throw anyone into a category and think we’ve explained them. But sometimes it helps to have a name for something so that you don’t have to explain everything from the ground up.
To my conservative friends, this is not attacking your beliefs. This is a diagnosis of your condition. Suppose your physician told you your discomfort was due to a malignant tumor. Would you consider that to be an attack? Would you react by attacking your physician? You could consider getting a second opinion and then devise a plan to solve the problem. You might deny the diagnosis and suffer the consequence. The same options are available in this instance. The problem is that denial has consequences that go far beyond your personal space. Please consider getting a second opinion. Then work to solve your problem before your problem becomes my problem. Rich S, Octogenarian and Contrarian
Rich, my problem with the conservatives has always been that they are trying to impose their draconian ways on me and mine. I do not care if they want to let their wives, daughters, nieces, and granddaughters die due to adverse pregnancy complications (of course I care that someone is going to die but I have no control over them, nor should I), if that is their wish, but for them to impose the same barbarity on others is abhorrent. If they don’t care, because of their stupidity over the 2nd Amendment, that gunmen are apt to go into their children’s and grandchildren’s schools and raise their AK-47s (again, of course I care about those innocent children); that is their choice. But for them to put other’s children in jeopardy is beyond my comprehension of morality. …and the list goes on.
Absolutely brilliant article: it goes deeply into clarifying why these Maga jackasses are they way they are - everywhere - including The Republicans Fascist Congress !
I was at a little neighborhood gathering and this seemingly nice guy started talking politics, which I promised my daughter I wouldn’t get into (lol). I was fine because he was talking reasonably about parties compromising until he mentioned the Trump “tells it like it is” shtick about immigrants. I calmly mentioned that Trump was a bigot and a racist and this guy said he’d never heard Trump speak like that (seriously????!). I told him to research it because I wasn’t making that up out of thin air. 🙄
This reads less like an insult and more like a psychological autopsy. It doesn’t dehumanize—it diagnoses. And the prognosis for democracy? Super grim, unless the rest of us stop mistaking pathology for politics...
As always a very well written and informative piece. Should the US separate and MAGA concentrate into a number states or geographies what is the stability of a MaGa country going to be? It would seem they would descend into a cult or many cults and stagnate. Is North Korea the model?
This was a fascinating article. I have always just assumed that MAGA viewpoints were due to being poorly educated. That there is a scientific basis, even including a brain structural component, is very illuminating. But as you say, it is a reason, not an excuse.
I know you base your writing on research and I trust you. But this was a hard read. My sister is a Trump supporter and grew up in the same family. She was a teacher. She is so taken in by this fearful and scapegoating mentality that we can no longer talk. Trump is dangerous, but he can't be the mastermind behind all of this. So, how do we somehow work through this--I mean our country, not just me and my sister.
Thank you for your honesty—and your trust. You're right: Trump didn’t invent this mindset; he just amplified and exploited it. The roots run deeper—fear, disconnection, resentment—and they’ve been there a long time.
I don’t have easy answers, but I believe the work begins with refusing to normalize cruelty and continuing to speak hard truths without losing our humanity. That’s the line I try to walk.
As for the country… I think we’re all still searching for a way to hold the center while the edges fray.
I am torn between cutting MAGA followers totally out of my life and trying to find common ground and build bridges, then I see them cheer for Alligator Alcatraz and think shunning may better the better solution.
I hear you. That tension—between reaching out and walking away—is one so many of us are living with right now. The moral instinct to build bridges collides with the reality that some people are cheering on cruelty, deception, and delusion like it’s a sport.
When they laugh at suffering or celebrate authoritarianism, it’s hard not to feel like any bridge you try to build will just be used to invade your peace.
Shunning isn’t always spite—it can be self-preservation. And sometimes, refusing to normalize the behavior is the most honest form of resistance.
I had to shut a 40 year friend from my life for self preservation. The final blow to my tolerance to her many extreme conservative and conspiratorial beliefs was her complete lack of empathy for the human beings being targeted by the Trump administration, both the government firings and the horrendous treatment of immigrants. Her response was that some people like what’s happening now including her. That was the end!
I agree that we need to do what we can to take care of ourselves. I am wondering if there is another choice. A third way. I am trying to see how I feel each moment of each day. We are not locked in to any decisions forever.
yes I also have relatives with similar outlooks - despite being educated at university level - and it just isn't possible to get through to them. I recall a conversation with one when I said: "but what you're advocating there is genocide" and they just said: "yes". where do you go from there?
That’s chilling—and sadly familiar. When someone calmly accepts something as extreme as genocide, there’s no real conversation left to have. It’s not a difference of opinion; it’s a collapse of shared moral ground.
I’ve had moments like that too, where I realize we’re not even speaking the same ethical language anymore. And when that happens with people we love or grew up with, it’s heartbreaking in a very specific, existential way.
Where do we go from there? Maybe not back—but forward, with clear eyes, firmer boundaries, and a deeper commitment to defending what’s humane.
Oh, my goodness…where do you go from there is indeed the question. With my sister, it is a refusal to see hatred and racism. Her response when I said Trump was a white supremacist, she was furious because how could I think she would support him if he was like that. I am finding this complete identification with Trump no matter what to be insurmountable.
cognitive dissonance - but how to help them through it?
So they agree to evil
The book Predisposed published in 2013 is a good read on this. There are other books as well and some shorter articles in Scientific American and the Atlantic. Just google search genetics of liberal and political thinking.
I so appreciate the information and supporting research. I recall an article a few years ago correlating PTSD/brain damage and right wing Christianity. I’m wondering roughly what percentage of the general population falls into this camp (awkward term). I also wonder if a benevolent leader could appeal to this group. Maybe I’m trying to solve this problem and it’s not possible.
You're not alone in trying to solve it—even if it sometimes feels impossible. That desire to understand, to hope for redemption or reconnection, is deeply human.
Yes, there’s research linking trauma—especially early-life adversity and PTSD—with authoritarianism, rigid belief systems, and attraction to strongman figures, particularly in some expressions of right-wing Christianity. It's not everyone, of course, but those patterns do show up.
As for numbers, estimates vary, but studies suggest that about 15–25% of the U.S. population holds consistently authoritarian or dominionist views—the kind most resistant to change. That’s not the whole right, but it’s a stubborn and often vocal core.
Could a benevolent leader reach them? Maybe a few. But for many, the appeal is not benevolence—it’s certainty, dominance, grievance. That makes persuasion hard, if not impossible.
Still, I believe it’s worth trying—at the margins, with compassion and boundaries. Even if we can’t reach everyone, we can try to protect what’s left of the center, and model a different kind of strength.
White Christian Nationalism, Russel Vought, Trumps OMB guy who controls the purse strings and part Mastermind and go to guy behind Project 2025, people, for Gods sakes, you were warned but refused to listen so I guess that means some may like what the agenda entails and were witnessing it all in real time, the destruction of a government by and for we the people and instead to be run by an autocrat and oligarchs, you voted for evil, those that voted for Trump or simply were sold a lies and fell for it, hook, line and sinker
"so I guess that means some may like what the agenda entails". Absolutely. My brother, college-educated, autistic, with an IQ of 150 can say with certainty that "sometimes bad things have to happen to some people to keep the world right."
Sad
Yes, it really is. He tore our family apart 50 years ago. He's made ZERO effort to undo the damage he did.
☹️☹️☹️
Go listen to Eckhart Tolle.
Thank you. BTW, I'm the only member of our rather large family who has chosen to remain close to everyone. The rest continue their battles and/or silence.
Kdsherpa, is your brother referring to the Liberals or the Conservatives, or both? What does he mean, “…to keep the world right.” Right in terms of which group?
Thanks for asking. He's with the neo-Nazis and "right" is for America to be "white again". Of course it wasn't for the thousands and thousands of years before the whites came in and slaughtered the 100,000,000 brown-skinned Native people who lived there.
trump is the worst thing to happen to our country. He has turned the country upside down with his calling everything he doesn't agreed with or like a hoax. We need compassion, forgiveness, caring in dealing with our fellow citizens. I fear it's now too late to change. trump is deteriorating rapidly. He is not capable to lead. We need him to be retired to a home ASAP.
This is a tour de force, thorough and supported by solid research. I wonder whether someday this constellation of traits might be considered another form of neurodivergence. Perhaps there will be techniques for managing and mitigating those traits that create suffering for both the individual and the people around them.
https://open.substack.com/pub/freedomline/p/the-human-that-shames-us-all?r=15ipda&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
I have this ‘ constellation of traits” as a result of trauma, but i am, have always been a New Deal, bernie,aoc progressive. Maybe this is more complicated than coming up with a new bin - neurodivergent!- to throw people in? Maybe it’s a spiritual question that needs spiritual consideration. See the link above. Maybe he is also possessed of these traits as a result of the ongoing trauma of living in a war zone. But he is infinitely compassionate
"Maybe he is also possessed of these traits as a result of the ongoing trauma of living in a war zone. But he is infinitely compassionate." I'm confused. Who is "he"?
I’ve had a lot of trauma, too. Fortunately I had a lot of really good therapy, and that led me to a renewed acceptance of spirituality. I had rejected it for many years because of bad experiences with organized religion. Then I found a spiritual practice that didn’t have the punitive and rigid qualities. Now I follow the teachings of Eckhart Tolle. It’s a work in progress, but I’m much happier now.
I hope we don’t throw anyone into a category and think we’ve explained them. But sometimes it helps to have a name for something so that you don’t have to explain everything from the ground up.
Jody Blink, Eckhart Tolle is an incredible person to follow. The best of luck on your journey…
He is remarkable, a modern Buddha. I’m so grateful we have so much of his teaching on video.
So very fortunate!
To my conservative friends, this is not attacking your beliefs. This is a diagnosis of your condition. Suppose your physician told you your discomfort was due to a malignant tumor. Would you consider that to be an attack? Would you react by attacking your physician? You could consider getting a second opinion and then devise a plan to solve the problem. You might deny the diagnosis and suffer the consequence. The same options are available in this instance. The problem is that denial has consequences that go far beyond your personal space. Please consider getting a second opinion. Then work to solve your problem before your problem becomes my problem. Rich S, Octogenarian and Contrarian
I like your approach!!!
Rich, my problem with the conservatives has always been that they are trying to impose their draconian ways on me and mine. I do not care if they want to let their wives, daughters, nieces, and granddaughters die due to adverse pregnancy complications (of course I care that someone is going to die but I have no control over them, nor should I), if that is their wish, but for them to impose the same barbarity on others is abhorrent. If they don’t care, because of their stupidity over the 2nd Amendment, that gunmen are apt to go into their children’s and grandchildren’s schools and raise their AK-47s (again, of course I care about those innocent children); that is their choice. But for them to put other’s children in jeopardy is beyond my comprehension of morality. …and the list goes on.
Absolutely brilliant article: it goes deeply into clarifying why these Maga jackasses are they way they are - everywhere - including The Republicans Fascist Congress !
Brilliant piece! 👏
I was at a little neighborhood gathering and this seemingly nice guy started talking politics, which I promised my daughter I wouldn’t get into (lol). I was fine because he was talking reasonably about parties compromising until he mentioned the Trump “tells it like it is” shtick about immigrants. I calmly mentioned that Trump was a bigot and a racist and this guy said he’d never heard Trump speak like that (seriously????!). I told him to research it because I wasn’t making that up out of thin air. 🙄
Good for you!
Harrowing read. Most definitely but based on fact and that is what we desperately need.
brilliantly and clearly put, thank you!
Neither Empathy nor Compassion can get over the Victimization hurdle…
There are so many variables that impact a developing human.
To choose each day to live your life as a humane being, no matter the circumstances, takes great courage and discernment.
This letter, reliably, was provocative.
Thank you 💙
This reads less like an insult and more like a psychological autopsy. It doesn’t dehumanize—it diagnoses. And the prognosis for democracy? Super grim, unless the rest of us stop mistaking pathology for politics...
As always a very well written and informative piece. Should the US separate and MAGA concentrate into a number states or geographies what is the stability of a MaGa country going to be? It would seem they would descend into a cult or many cults and stagnate. Is North Korea the model?
This was a fascinating article. I have always just assumed that MAGA viewpoints were due to being poorly educated. That there is a scientific basis, even including a brain structural component, is very illuminating. But as you say, it is a reason, not an excuse.
Excellent will be forwarding to many friends appreciate all your research and efforts