I grew up with boomer evangelical parents watching fox news.
It’s pretty much the exact same kind of mindset. Parrot what you hear from the news and don’t think about it. They know they are being fed doublethink; they just aren’t emotionally comfortable challenging it.
The best way I can describe it is being in the closet in the deep south/Texas. You know you are supposed to act one way, but you believe you are pressured to act another way, even if it makes you uncomfortable. It leads to mental gymnastics, going down weird paths (such as wanting to be a priest) and so on. It also can make you an asshole.
Many people aren’t comfortable with the truth; they just want to be emotionally comfortable. If that makes sense.
TLDR; people glued to cable news are delusional like Dallas Cowboys fans.
When you realize Americans are almost completely deprived of community, genuine personal relationships, and frankly just the ability to trust other people, it makes sense that so many choose to live in some sort of bubble. It simplifies a life where you feel completely alone and without answers, and if you aren’t getting emotional comfort from those key interpersonal bedrocks and resources it’s not surprising people seek it in all sorts of places.
In the South, I grew up with that being the church. As I got older, I saw how mean and vicious the politics were and those politics were what ultimately convinced me not to be a priest. I understand people aren’t perfect, but the church frequently exalted its worst members. The rise of Ted Cruz in his father’s church makes a lot of sense to me, because I saw how nasty those politics were first hand. It also shows how easily someone like Trump can rise. Yeah he’s a piece of shit, but isn’t everyone else in the church leadership?
I honestly don’t think a lot of people believe the beliefs they hear at church, at a mosque, at a synagogue, at a temple, at a monastery. It’s a community that adheres to a culture they are familiar with and are emotionally comfortable with.
The only lesson I really think we can learn from the right is that forgiveness is OK. That isn’t to say that people cannot be held accountable, but the scolding culture I saw from libs in this election immediately told me that Trump was going to win. There has to be a balance here. We are only human.
Totally agree with all that. Life is really fucking hard in the states, just for reasons other than poverty (although also poverty :l) so people are able to accept a lot of bullshit to be a part of community-oriented things like churches. I don’t think people really “believe” either, they believe it as a set of social customs moreso than anything else.
I grew up with boomer evangelical parents watching fox news.
It’s pretty much the exact same kind of mindset. Parrot what you hear from the news and don’t think about it. They know they are being fed doublethink; they just aren’t emotionally comfortable challenging it.
The best way I can describe it is being in the closet in the deep south/Texas. You know you are supposed to act one way, but you believe you are pressured to act another way, even if it makes you uncomfortable. It leads to mental gymnastics, going down weird paths (such as wanting to be a priest) and so on. It also can make you an asshole.
Many people aren’t comfortable with the truth; they just want to be emotionally comfortable. If that makes sense.
TLDR; people glued to cable news are delusional like Dallas Cowboys fans.
When you realize Americans are almost completely deprived of community, genuine personal relationships, and frankly just the ability to trust other people, it makes sense that so many choose to live in some sort of bubble. It simplifies a life where you feel completely alone and without answers, and if you aren’t getting emotional comfort from those key interpersonal bedrocks and resources it’s not surprising people seek it in all sorts of places.
In the South, I grew up with that being the church. As I got older, I saw how mean and vicious the politics were and those politics were what ultimately convinced me not to be a priest. I understand people aren’t perfect, but the church frequently exalted its worst members. The rise of Ted Cruz in his father’s church makes a lot of sense to me, because I saw how nasty those politics were first hand. It also shows how easily someone like Trump can rise. Yeah he’s a piece of shit, but isn’t everyone else in the church leadership?
I honestly don’t think a lot of people believe the beliefs they hear at church, at a mosque, at a synagogue, at a temple, at a monastery. It’s a community that adheres to a culture they are familiar with and are emotionally comfortable with.
The only lesson I really think we can learn from the right is that forgiveness is OK. That isn’t to say that people cannot be held accountable, but the scolding culture I saw from libs in this election immediately told me that Trump was going to win. There has to be a balance here. We are only human.
Totally agree with all that. Life is really fucking hard in the states, just for reasons other than poverty (although also poverty :l) so people are able to accept a lot of bullshit to be a part of community-oriented things like churches. I don’t think people really “believe” either, they believe it as a set of social customs moreso than anything else.
Exactly. It explains the rise of MAGA so well.