Malcolm Nance: We're 'on the Cusp' of 'Losing the American Constitutional

[Hortensis]

25. There are no "real Americans" left in GOP caucuses,

of course.

And there are more plotters than just Putin. Ultrawealthy right-wingers have been packing legislatures and judiciaries with hard-core ideologues and corrupt scoundrels at every chance for decades now. Putin's efforts mostly supplemented their work to move Americans right and corrupt government to serve them. The religious right is involved also, with some members among ultrawealthy conservatives bridging the groups.

It is our domestic enemies who over time purged the Republican caucuses in congress of all members who would not be corrupted, and those were replaced with both hard-core authoritarians who'd do as they were told and corrupt opportunists, with a great deal of overlap.

Everyone should read about authoritarians and authoritarian leaders. The former are extremely dangerous en mass when just following orders of bad leaders -- as we are seeing among Trump voters now, and the bad leaders are scary as hell.

Robert Altemeyer, a seminal expert on authoritarians, wrote a book for lay readers about his research and made it available without cost on line because he felt it was desperately important for people understand this danger in ourselves and/or others.

Authoritarian Followers: We know a lot about authoritarian followers, ... See if you recognize any of these behaviors in Trump supporters. Compared with most people:

They are highly ethnocentric, highly inclined to see the world as their in-group versus everyone else. Because they are so committed to their in-group, they are very zealous in its cause. They will trust their leaders no matter what they say, and distrust whomever the leader says to distrust. ...

They are highly fearful of a dangerous world. Their parents taught them, more than parents usually do, that the world is dangerous. They may also be genetically predisposed to experience stronger fear than people skilled at “keeping their heads while others are losing theirs.”

They are highly self-righteous. They believe they are the “good people” and this unlocks a lot of hostile impulses against those they consider bad.

They are aggressive. Given the chance to attack someone with the approval of an authority, they will lower the boom.

They are highly prejudiced against racial and ethnic minorities, non-heterosexuals, and women in general.

They will support their authorities, and even help them, persecute almost any identifiable group in the country.

Their beliefs are a mass of contradictions. They have highly compartmentalized minds, in which opposite beliefs live independent lives in separate boxes. As a result, their thinking is full of double-standards.

They reason poorly. If they like the conclusion of an argument, they don’t pay much attention to whether the evidence is valid or the argument is consistent. They especially have trouble realizing a conclusion is invalid.

They are highly dogmatic. Because they have mainly gotten their beliefs from the authorities in their lives, rather than think things out for themselves, they have no real defense when facts or events indicate they are wrong. So they just dig in their heels and refuse to change.

They are very dependent on social reinforcement of their beliefs. They think they are right because almost everyone they know and listen to tells them they are. That happens because they screen out sources that will suggest that they are wrong.

Because they severely limit their exposure to different people and ideas, they vastly overestimate the extent to which other people agree with them. And thinking they are “the moral majority” supports their attacks on the “evil minorities” they see in the country.

They believe strongly in group cohesiveness, and being loyal. They are highly energized when surrounded by a crowd of fellow-believers because it makes them feel powerful and supports their belief that “all the good people” agree with them.

They are easily duped by manipulators who pretend to espouse their causes when all the con-artists really want is personal gain.

They are largely blind to themselves. They have little self-understanding and insight into why they think and do what they do. They are heavily into denial.

I hasten to add that studies find examples of all these things in lots of others, not just authoritarian followers. But not as consistently, and not nearly as much.

If you are the kind of person who would NOT make a good authoritarian follower, you will be wondering “What’s the evidence?” for all these assertions. The scientific evidence, which has stood the test of time for decades now, is at your fingertips.

https://theauthoritarians.org/