What Explains Trump-Voter Vehemence?

 #312: Seven Answers

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Why are city dwellers more likely to be Democrats, and country folk more likely Republican?  That's easy.... Urban settings mean we're exposed to different minds.  In the country, we see the same people day after day.

And when we meet different people often enough, our minds become good at choosing between two ways of doing things.  When we don't, we home in on commonalities.

Each, the contrarian and the common, requires practice.  If you didn't grow up in a family that had affection as a common bond, it'll show.  Likewise, if you didn't learn to think for yourself, critically, doing so feels unnatural.  And, being human, we turn to the familiar and easier path, so it's often the case that we use the crutch of the familiar to avoid developing critical thought, or friendly feeling, or both (see below).

And there's nothing special about our country in this regard.  Places where different cultures mix are almost always better at critical thinking.  Likewise, out-of-the-way places are almost always better at acting agreeably. 

I recently read an article on the BBC's website that points to the Catholic Church as a predictor of whether a given European community would be a place where people think critically.  The theory is that the Catholic church spread taboos against, for example, marrying cousins, and that this raised up the status of the nuclear family in areas of Europe where Catholicism prevailed.  Maybe. But I think the bigger picture is that catholic tastes were spread not only by the Catholic Church, but by exposure to outside ideas in general.  Mediterranean Europe, especially the area where it met Asia (the Levant) was a natural incubator for the broadminded.  Compare that to an inland area, like Tibet, with little interaction vis-a-vis the outside world. 

So, how does this explain Trump-voter vehemence?  For one thing, the interior part of the country just doesn't have as much exposure to 'others'--the milieu that usually forces us to deal with differences.  So it's no accident that rural voters tended to vote Trump.  

But why get so worked up about Donal Trump when John McCain in 2008, and Mitt Romney in 2012 both lost?  What makes Trump's loss different?

Here's my countdown of reasons why (#7, the least important, through #1):

#7: Though one-dimensional, his 'masculinity' appealed to simple minds

#6: His name is Trump, which to the literal, uncritical mind means he's tops

#5: Top dog status meant his blessing was a flame to emotionally needy moths

#4: His positions were extreme, promising big, attractive payouts 

#3: Our history is unfortunately littered with acts of unquestioned, communal terror (Slavery)

#2: Nothing works like propaganda, and Fox News and others served it up

#1: Trump chose to fight, fostering the big lie that the election was rigged

Wrap those seven reasons into a big package, then realize that many Trump voters tend not to think critically.  Instead, they're yes-men, trading veneration for validation in a hierarchy of agreement.  Comparing Trump's behavior to an ideal president's ethics would completely flummox them.  Instead, their minds look for agreement, and when confronted by contrary views--the facts--they're insecure because they haven't learned to think critically.  And this leads to ugliness of one kind or another.  

My own thinking is that the surest way forward is to increase exposure to different ideas, using the internet.  Encourage people to interact with a website that brings people together to discuss issues.

Another possibility is to address the presence of propaganda in media. 

Plus, education.  It may be that only a new generation or three will do the trick.

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Note: As I mention, above, it's a common human failing to fall back on the familiar.  So, those with an inability to think critically gravitate to a sense of belonging, and are often swept under the wing of dominant, high status personalities.  On the other hand, those who are excellent critical thinkers but have nothing much else in their lives are the 'nerds' of the world (think the comic strip character Dilbert).