L&T Publisher Earl Watt
How bad is it when you wear out terms like nazi and fascist and so you have to fall back on using cult as your only means to explain why others disagree with your politics?
We print J. Basil Dannebohm’s column even though online trolls claim we only share one political view.
Mr. Dannebohm and I could not be more opposite in our views, and yet if you see this column on social media you’ll see some people with their usual tropes of how I regurgitate talking points.
It’s laughable if it weren’t so dangerous.
When you completely stop listening to anything outside of one point of view, it is easy to characterize anything in opposition to your own point of view as a cult.
When you have determined your own views to be so laudable and superior to anything else, then everything else must be so far off track that no reasonably-minded person could possibly support any view outside your own.
Simply put, when you have achieved your own version of political nirvana, you have brainwashed yourself, and your cult of intellect is proven in your claim that everyone who disagrees with your enlightenment is, in fact, the real cult.
I’m sure John and Samuel Adams, Ben Franklin, George Washington and the other founders willing to die for the concept of self government were considered a cult by the British and the British loyalists. They simply could not conceive how anyone would not want to be part of the British Empire or live under the loving protection of King George.
When Barack Obama was swept into the White House, he formed a coalition of support through his charismatic presentations and ability to communicate his message of hope.
Obama’s supporters were extremely dedicated, and those claiming that Trump supporters, or MAGA, is a cult would have to call the same people who supported Obama a cult as well.
Neither is true, but the danger of diminishing the term is what should be of concern.
There are true socialists out there who want to turn our nation into a fascist state. But we won’t be able to recognize them because the left has overused the term so much that it no longer carries any weight.
It’s the same for the word nazi. Either those who use it do not have any understanding of history, or they’ve been victims of academic abuse from those who use history as something to manipulate into a modern message to attack political adversaries under the veil of teaching history.
Nazis will forever only refer to the German racist Third Reich led by Adolf Hitler who used mass extermination to murder 6 million Jews and others the German State saw as undesirable. That term does not apply to Democrats or Republicans, and we should be able to agree that neither side is advocating for the eradication of a religious group or race through concentration camps and gas chambers.
Tax policy or social programs does not a Nazi make. There are terms that may apply, but not those.
Cult is another dangerous attempt to damage people by claiming their political support is not based on reason or policy but on being brainwashed.
There are true cults out there.
In the book “Bully Pulpit,” church goers might be able to see the difference between a strong-willed pastor and someone looking to create a cult following.
I’ve read the book and believe I’ve seen behavior that could meet the definition of a cult.
The problem with a cult, especially within a church, is the attempts to silence all opposition to the leader or cause.
There is plenty of opposition to Trump. No one has been sent to a concentration camp or forced to wear a logo on their clothing in public.
The fact that Dannebohm has the freedom to share his views is evidence that Trump is not the leader of a cult, or dictatorial, because opposing views are not allowed.
You don’t hear Republicans call Democrats a cult simply because we have different political views.
Dannebohm claims that talking to a member of MAGA is like talking to a brainwashed clone. Is it because Republicans, who Sen. John Kennedy from Louisiana said is like herding cats, have unified under a few points of agreement? Like bringing jobs back to America? Like keeping boys out of girls sports and locker rooms? Like advocating for a secure border?
Or is it that MAGA conservatives can’t be brainwashed by the left? Is it that independent thinkers who reject big government solutions, who don’t belittle illegal immigrants by reducing them to an under class in society by expecting them to do the lowest level jobs while we turn a blind eye to illegal entry, who don’t believe the government is the path to prosperity but a necessary expense to create an even playing field — just what is it that makes Democrats believe MAGA is a cult?
If repeating a common phrase is an indication of a cult, then those calling MAGA a cult is a cult.
For decades I’ve been saying that the Democratic Party is slipping into socialism. But they refuse to listen to that.
Now, Zohran Mamdani is the socialist representing the Democratic Party in the race for New York City mayor. While they continue to call people a cult, they are voting for leaders who will show them what a cult truly is.
