Follow me, if you will, on this thought experiment. Admittedly it's at the far end of the spectrum, but the premise stands.
You are born to parents who believe, with close to 100% certainty, that the earth is flat.
It's talked about at the kitchen table, and at family get-togethers, and as they tuck you into bed.
From kindergarten on, you are homeschooled or attend private schools that teach, as a core principle, flat earth theology.
You go to summer camps that adhere to flat earth doctrines, and you and your fellow canoeists marvel at how obviously flat the lake is.
As you grow older, you associate only with 'flat earthers', only peruse 'flat earther' websites and blogs, read 'flat earther' books, and watch mostly 'flat earther' TV programs.
The question: Based on this background environment, what are the odds that when someone comes along, citing objective and empirical evidence of a spherical earth, that you will accept their argument?
It's going to be very, very slim, close to zero. You will still believe, with almost 100% certainty, that the earth is flat, and all these scientists and experts are wrong.
So here's the point of all this.
Millions of people, 40% of the Republican Party, have been sucked into the maga/fascist/theocratic movement in much the same way, or to a certain degree, as my hypothetical 'flat earther'. They exist in an ideological silo that is practically impenetrable to outside influence.
And, unlike the earthers, their crackpot notions have the potential to bring down the Republic.
So how do those of us who adhere to objective reality, and a patriotic duty, deal with that threat? What appeal can be made to these folks - many of them friends and family - to bring them back to the realm of reason?
The answer is none. No appeal will work. You're wasting your time if you try.
As implied in the Swift quote above, few are reasoned out of a cultish environment by an external force. Those doors are locked and bolted from the inside.
In fact, the more one tries to force that door open, the more convinced they are that their ideology is sound. It's a key component of the brainwashing conditioning: "Nefarious forces will try to fool you into abandoning the 'Truth' of our doctrines, so be on the alert!"
What about making sport of, or shaming them out of their stupor?
Nope. It might be fun, but it doesn't work either.
It's perceived as persecution. And persecution is the ultimate vindication of their beliefs, in their preconditioned victimhood minds.
So, what's the solution?
You vote, and convince others to vote. There are far more of us than there are of them.
You keep them sidelined, away from power.
Vote as if your life, and millions of other lives, depend upon it.
Because, in reality, that might just be the case.
