“Fear morphs into anger. We don’t want to be afraid. We don’t mind being angry. There are people on the public stage, on the political front, who understand very well that synergy between fear and anger and are masterful at exploiting it.”
Maureen Reagan, daughter of President Reagan
Meet the Press, February 18, 2024
In the 1970 best-seller Future Shock, futurist Alvin Toffler described the socio-pathology that results when people are unable to cope with the accelerating rate of change.
Among many symptoms of future shock, Toffler cites Culture Shock (the disorientation that results from living in a different culture) and Social Alienation (the loss of social connectedness and cohesion) that occur as the rate of change becomes unmanageable and social norms and conventions are transformed or destroyed. Toffler posited that one reaction to accelerating change in large, post-industrial societies would be future social fragmentation and neo-tribalism based on group identity.
Which is precisely what we see today.
Social fragmentation and neo-tribalism also occur in times of extreme economic and cultural disruption. Social antagonism and violent political extremism, in turn, give rise to political demagogues and messianic leaders. The French Revolution and the Russian Revolution are handy examples, but perhaps a better example lies closer to home.
In 1889, a messianic movement called the Ghost Dance arose among the Northern Plains Indians. Grounded in religious fervor, it promised the return of the buffalo, the restoration of traditional values, the resurrection of dead relatives, renewed sovereignty over ancestral lands, and the elimination of whites. It promised to “make America great again” by returning peace, prosperity, and unity.
The parallels between the Ghost Dance movement and today’s MAGA movement are stark.
The Ghost Dance was a reaction to extreme cultural and economic crises that threatened tribal annihilation. The tribal economy, lifeways, cultural identity, and social structure had been destroyed or were being destroyed. It was also a reaction to a future the Plains Indian tribes were unable to cope with: The Puritan work ethic, land ownership, disrespect for and destruction of nature, suppression of tribal culture and language, and hierarchical social status and conventions rife with inequalities.
It was a future so alien, so indecipherable, that most wanted no part of it. The future looked forbidding and defeating and provoked fear over loss of sovereignty and cultural identity — as well as anger among many.
Today, we see much the same reaction to a future that millions of Americans find alienating and disorienting. The destruction of social and cultural norms relating to gender-identity and women’s equality, including the reality of ethnic social leveling, only amplify the alienation and disorientation of those already struggling to cope. But the single most frightening reality to MAGA folks is a future America that embodies a pluralistic society.
Those who fear such a future look at those who represent it with fear, contempt, or hatred.
At the same time, sustained decline over decades in large areas of the country has created grinding economic anxiety for millions of families, only exacerbated by the recent spate of inflation. The rural economy has been hollowed-out by vulture capitalists, agri-business monopolies, and corporate farming. Small towns have been gutted by the loss of population. Globalization has suppressed domestic labor markets and wages while manufacturing jobs have been systematically out-sourced. Social institutions that once provided guidance and protection have proven corrupt, self-serving, deceitful, or simply incompetent.
These are the drivers of discontent that have given rise to Trumpism and the MAGA movement.
For believers, Trump remains a messianic figure. He promised to restore American greatness (however that term is understood). He promised to recover jobs from Mexico and China. He promised to build a border wall and make Mexico pay for it. He promised many things and delivered almost nothing. He blames his failures on conspiracies by the Deep State and Democrats, on betrayals by disloyal Republicans, and on misrepresentation by the media, those ‘Enemies of the people.’
Regardless of his prolific lies and abundant failures, his dismaying incompetence and mismanagement, his puerile excuses and explanations, and his inexcusable corruption and numerous crimes, MAGA supporters continue to believe in him. Trump remains the head of the Republican Party and keeps a knee on the neck of the party leadership because few have the courage or strength to resist. Those who have were turfed-put by MAGA voters.
The Ghost Dance movement ended with the Massacre at Wounded Knee. It is an open question how Trumpism and the MAGA movement will end. But what seems certain is that, until the drivers of discontent are remedied, the country will remain divided socially and politically and the likelihood of future conflict and escalating violence remains.
Trump may get defeated on November 5th, but the drivers of the MAGA movement that he exploits every day with lies, deceptions and disinformation will remain until they are defused.
