Hi, Stephen. I heard you on "the New Abnormal" podcast and found your political-psychological analysis highly clarifying. Are there other identity-conferring groups that you think could replace the MAGA cult? Dem messaging increasingly focuses on democracy and reproductive rights. It doesn't seem like many MAGA types would identify more with being pro-democracy, given the right-wing tribal epistemology (xenophobic, securitarian, parochial) you lay out. Maybe some right-leaning women would identify with the freedom to control their bodies?
Thank you, Jeff, for taking the time to read and comment on my piece. The short answer to your question is yes. If you read my book, you'll get a fuller sense of the historical and psychological continuity of right-wing tribal identities. Group and issue identities can overlap, but they are not the same. Reproductive freedom, pro and con, is one of those issues saturated with identity.
Thanks, Stephen. Just watched the documentary "Bad Faith," on Prime Video. We can thank Reagan for currying favor with the Christian Nationalists. This movement is so scary for our democracy. It's not just stopping Trump. Project 2025 will live on long after Trump is gone. How the hell do we change the hearts and minds of these people? My brother is not a part of that world yet he supports Trump. And he is a Vietnam vet. He is small town Kansas, no degree but smart, and he votes against his own best interest.
My friend was in Sterling, KS last July 4th and she said the parade was a Trump Parade NOT a July 4th celebration. 😢
Thank you for your thoughts, Ann. With the recent decisions by the MAGA majority on the Supreme Court, it is clear that the implementation of Project 2025 has already begun. Obviously, the only solution to that is adding pro-democracy justices to the court, which will require a Democratic trifecta victory in November.
Sorry to hear about your brother. As I argue in my book, there is a self-interest that can eclipse all others, even health, economics, and life itself -- our membership in identity-conferring groups, what I refer to as tribes. That is why MAGA has such a powerful cult-like grip on its members.
Wow! Sterling, KS, sounds like a paradigmatic example of what I've written about in this piece.
Hi, Stephen. I heard you on "the New Abnormal" podcast and found your political-psychological analysis highly clarifying. Are there other identity-conferring groups that you think could replace the MAGA cult? Dem messaging increasingly focuses on democracy and reproductive rights. It doesn't seem like many MAGA types would identify more with being pro-democracy, given the right-wing tribal epistemology (xenophobic, securitarian, parochial) you lay out. Maybe some right-leaning women would identify with the freedom to control their bodies?
Thank you, Jeff, for taking the time to read and comment on my piece. The short answer to your question is yes. If you read my book, you'll get a fuller sense of the historical and psychological continuity of right-wing tribal identities. Group and issue identities can overlap, but they are not the same. Reproductive freedom, pro and con, is one of those issues saturated with identity.
Thanks, Stephen. Just watched the documentary "Bad Faith," on Prime Video. We can thank Reagan for currying favor with the Christian Nationalists. This movement is so scary for our democracy. It's not just stopping Trump. Project 2025 will live on long after Trump is gone. How the hell do we change the hearts and minds of these people? My brother is not a part of that world yet he supports Trump. And he is a Vietnam vet. He is small town Kansas, no degree but smart, and he votes against his own best interest.
My friend was in Sterling, KS last July 4th and she said the parade was a Trump Parade NOT a July 4th celebration. 😢
Thank you for your thoughts, Ann. With the recent decisions by the MAGA majority on the Supreme Court, it is clear that the implementation of Project 2025 has already begun. Obviously, the only solution to that is adding pro-democracy justices to the court, which will require a Democratic trifecta victory in November.
Sorry to hear about your brother. As I argue in my book, there is a self-interest that can eclipse all others, even health, economics, and life itself -- our membership in identity-conferring groups, what I refer to as tribes. That is why MAGA has such a powerful cult-like grip on its members.
Wow! Sterling, KS, sounds like a paradigmatic example of what I've written about in this piece.