Can you ever forgive MAGA voters?

[Martin Eden]

150. Forgive those who know not what they do

Last edited Tue Jun 2, 2026, 07:28 AM - Edit history (1)

That does not include all MAGA voters. Some are irredeemably deplorable.

Please consider:

Trump is a con man. A huge swath of corporate media and the internet is a propaganda machine expertly devised over decades to deceive and manipulate. Much of that is reinforced by a culture that pervades conservative religious belief which indoctrinates children from a very young age. Public education is an insufficient bulwark against this, and can be influenced by rightwing activists like "Moms for Liberty." The Republican voting base has been psychologically conditoned to believe they are on the side of virtue and patriotism.

They do not know they are empowering fascists who are twisting Christianity into something Jesus would abhor, in order to increase their own wealth and power while also subverting and ultimately destroying the Constitutional democracy America's Founders created.

This does not absolve adults from the decisions they make, but it explains why otherwise good people are conned into voting against their own interests -- and into hurting vulnerable groups who've done them no harm.

The hardest thing for almost anyone to do is admit they've been played for a fool and their belief system is terribly wrong -- especially when a deep part of the con is rooted in a religious upbringing that fosters ignorance and fear.

If a person can overcome all that and admit they were wrong, I can forgive them.

Forgiveness is a personal matter, but writ large it may be a political necessity if the American people as a whole are to overcome the powerful forces destroying our democracy.

The core strategy of those powerful forces is divide and conquer. Divide the American people against themselves. Use their vast wealth and media control to misinform and trigger emotional reactions to direct cultivated grievances at fellow Americans who are essentially in the same boat, instead of at the fascist oligarchs laughing at us in their luxury yachts.

Remember what Abraham Lincoln said:
A house divided against itself cannot stand.

The anger we all feel is entirely justifiable. Our nation is in an existential crisis. To save it, we need to channel those emotions into a rational strategy to defeat the fascist oligarchs who are dividing the American people against themselves.

If we can't bring ourselves to forgive our fellow Americans, we must at least not feed into the cycle of hate. Be kind. Love, like hate, compounds.

Which of the two wolves within each of us ultimately wins?

The one we feed.