Dear F,
Thanks for your email.
Indeed.
Nikki Haley's decision to vote for Malignant Messiah - again! -- is shocking... almost as shocking as Bill Barr's re-commitment to The Luicferian Asshole.
The longer I live, the more I realize how important it is -- even foundational -- to remember the work of Cal Berkeley professor George Lakoff who has long argued -- and backed up with solid research -- the unpalatable truth (arguably the bitterest of all political pills) that our core political attitudes are embedded in our psyches almost as deeply as our neurons are. (It used to be that "gentlemen's agreements," pork barrel politics and COMPROMISE enabled our democracy to work. Now, it's all about self-righteousness and the perceived need "to get right with God" before the deployment of His Apocalyptic Wrath. https://www.aljazeera.
Anyhow...
The first two links (below) rely - almost entirely - on Lakoff's analysis of how our political psyche works.
The last three articles (below) are blog posts wherein I have a hunch (as I sometimes do) that I'm REALLY onto something.
The first two of these last three links are overtly political, and directly pertinent to our current quandary.
The last of these three links -- actually the last of them is a Psychology Today article -- is both religious and political in nature. Needless to say, the interplay between "the religious" and "the political" is as juicy-tight as lingam and yoni.
Since both political and religious attitudes relate to our most heartfelt values, they are essentially inseparable.
Cynthia has been encouraging me to make a compendium of those writings that I consider most important, and so all the links below are going into that recently created file.
I will probably put the Lakoff pieces in that repository as well, although -- in their current state -- my attempts to summarize Lakoff's critically important findings are not very well-expressed and in places need considerable revision. Hopefully I'll get around to that task.
Short Form:How The Values Of "Strict Father" -- Or "Nurturant Parent" -- Control Our Political ViewsGeorge Lakoff's Analysis
Long Form:"Strict Father" And "Nurturant Parent": The Two World Views That Determine Our Political ValuesGeorge Lakoff's Analysis
"Fear And Anxiety Drive Conservatives' Political Attitudes"(I should point out that a HUGE fear for conservatives is the fear of being cast -- for all eternity -- into The Unquenchable Lake of Fire. Fear of divine retribution is a massive motivator for people (almost all of them Christian conservatives, moonlighting as Armageddon cheerleaders, who never liberated themselves from the tyrannical imposition of God's pending punishment. And so the quest neverendingly for what is called "salvation assurance." It just provokes WAAAYYYYY too much anxiety in these folks to contemplate "going to Hell" without FIRST, FOREMOST, and ALWAYS doing everything in their power to assure themselves that they will "get into Heaven." I refer to this seemingly inescapable psycho-spiritual shackling as Divine Stockholm Syndrome in which a vengeful God has colonized believers' psyches and manipulates their captivity to get them to do whatever TF they think He wants. Up to - and including - praying for Armageddon which would not only put an end to American Democracy, but perhaps the livability of the biosphere. I'm starting to wonder if the reason why we haven't made contact with extraterrestrial societies yet is that they all go down this same goddamned path of becoming convinced that Armageddon is necessary "for religious reasons.")
"Fear And Anxiety Drive Conservatives' Political Attitudes"
(I should point out that a HUGE fear for conservatives is the fear of being cast -- for all eternity -- into The Unquenchable Lake of Fire. Fear of divine retribution is a massive motivator for people (almost all of them Christian conservatives, moonlighting as Armageddon cheerleaders, who never liberated themselves from the tyrannical imposition of God's pending punishment. And so the quest neverendingly for what is called "salvation assurance." It just provokes WAAAYYYYY too much anxiety in these folks to contemplate "going to Hell" without FIRST, FOREMOST, and ALWAYS doing everything in their power to assure themselves that they will "get into Heaven." I refer to this seemingly inescapable psycho-spiritual shackling as Divine Stockholm Syndrome in which a vengeful God has colonized believers' psyches and manipulates their captivity to get them to do whatever TF they think He wants. Up to - and including - praying for Armageddon which would not only put an end to American Democracy, but perhaps the livability of the biosphere. I'm starting to wonder if the reason why we haven't made contact with extraterrestrial societies yet is that they all go down this same goddamned path of becoming convinced that Armageddon is necessary "for religious reasons.")
We Are Re-Made In The Image Of Our God (Or Gods). This Bedrock Fact Makes Me Increasingly Critical Of America As A Judeo-Christian Culture That Worships A God Who Is Wrathful And Punitive. Trump And His Cultists Comprise Incontrovertible Proof That The United States Of America - Which Has Always Been A Punitive, Retributive Society - Now Genuflects At The Altar Of Cruelty. Cruelty Is Not An Aberration. It Is The Central Point Of Unbridled, "Christian" "Conservative" Capitalism. Let's Make Up Our Minds. John The Apostle Says "God Is Love." Is "He?" Or, Is God Punitive And Hellishly Cruel? Do Not Look Away. Do Not Sweep This Under The Rug. Be Whatever You Want To Be. But Do Have The Courage And Integrity To Own Up To The God You Worship, And In Whose Image You Continually Re-Make Yourself
"The Greatest Generation: Labor, Capital And Betrayal Of The Social Contract"
"The Greatest Generation: Labor, Capital And Betrayal Of The Social Contract"
Conservatives And Liberals: "How We Ended Up In 2 Totally Divided Camps, Both Convinced They're Absolutely Right"
How You And I And Everyone Can Create REAL Damning Evidence To Justify Any Damn Thing - Divorce; One's Religious Faith As "The One, True Religion"; Donald Trump As A Godsend; The Advisability Of Provoking Armageddon, Hitler's Heinous Extermination Of Jews
*****
I will also include my post about "why I always vote for the lesser of two evils" - another political "keeper."
How You And I And Everyone Can Create REAL Damning Evidence To Justify Any Damn Thing - Divorce; One's Religious Faith As "The One, True Religion"; Donald Trump As A Godsend; The Advisability Of Provoking Armageddon, Hitler's Heinous Extermination Of Jews
*****
I will also include my post about "why I always vote for the lesser of two evils" - another political "keeper."
Why I Always Vote - And Routinely Compromise My Principles - In Order To Elect A Winnable Candidate Who Is "The Lesser Of Two Evils"
And while I'm at it...
Conservative Christianity, Armageddon As Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, And Return To The Neolithic
(Where "Men Are Men," "Women Are Women," And Upper Body Strength Rules)
Pax et amor
Alan
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