Яepublicans have guilty consciences, causing defensiveness, blame-shifting, lying, changing the subject with distractions, anger, false allegations of mistreatment, and other self-serving, endless coping mechanisms to avoid facing being wrong. For 250 years, the US government has unfairly supported white Christian men over other groups, leading to an unearned sense of entitlement. But it’s impossible to live in this country without being aware of the unjust history, so their blindness and misunderstanding is willful, driven by guilty consciences evading any degree of responsibility. This is the primary driver of their irrational xenophobia, racism and fascism behind today’s Яepublican party.
Stolen Land
Most states in the US have Native American names, and all were either Native American or Polynesian originally. The US government waged a 150 year war on Native Americans to clear them off the land their ancestors lived on since before history. Many of our largest and most populous states—e.g. Florida, Texas, California, and Arizona—were Hispanic before they became more Anglo. The US government took land in war, by forced relocation, by treaty, and with cash, land from Spain, Russia, France and Britain.
And the US government gave preferential treatment to white immigrants, giving them stolen land for homesteading, excluded Chinese, and requiring English for citizenship, all before Native Americans gained the right to vote. Яepublicans know this, but their history only talks about the pioneers, who brought disease, stole water sources, took native children from their parents, and hypocritically blamed natives for crime.
Stolen Labor
Яepublicans are the party that defends the traitorous slavery-backing Confederates, but their guilt makes them work hard to evade blame. It’s “valued heritage”, and they quickly explain that most of southern soldiers did not own slaves. They ignore the fact that the food they ate, the clothes they wore, the nails and boards in their homes, the shoes on their feet, and the tobacco they smoked were all the cheap products of slave labor. Many soldiers chose to fight, instead of paying more to give fair wages to black laborers.
Яepublicans know slavery is morally indefensible, but they don’t want to discuss our shameful history, let alone try to rectify it. So their guilt drives them to whitewash history.
Unequal Education & Voting Rights
Slavery enforced illiteracy for centuries, and equal education and voting rights were denied to non-whites for 100 years after emancipation. Women were not allowed to vote for most of our history. Яepublicans learned all this in grade school, but they don’t want to admit that white, heterosexual men have received special treatment from our government for over 200 years, let alone face the consequences. So their guilt drives them to dismantle civil rights and oppose DEI.
Environmental Devastation
Яepublicans know that their policies pollute the air and water, destroy forests, and worsen climate catastrophes. Their party used to admit the need for EPA, national parks, and weather warnings. They didn’t forget these realities. They just don’t want to face the consequences, because they feel guilty about their role in polluting our planet. They know that wildlife is diminishing and that their children will blame them for making the future worse. They just don’t want to look in the mirror. There’s no reason to add smokers to a pickup truck, unless you are working overtime to deny the reality of the climate crisis.
Guilt Drives Conspiracies
Яepublicans know that their policies make the poor suffer, just as they know scripture.
20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
— Luke chapter 6, KJV
But they fear judgment. So they blame the poor for their suffering, and create more problems for the needy. And they wash their hands of the consequences.
Don’t Misunderstand
For those confused rational folks out there who try to understand what Яepublicans are saying and doing, don’t believe their guilt-driven lies and nonsense. They don’t.
They know their leader doesn’t have any rational policies. They know that more coal mining won’t make America better. They know that invading Canada is a bad idea. They know that Putin is a bad guy, that guns & measles kill kids, and that the environment is getting more deadly every year. They only pretend to like that stuff, because sharing delusions is easier than admitting that they themselves are bad.
So instead of taking the bait, just ask them why they feel guilty. Why are they talking crazy, instead of making America better? Why don’t they have real solutions for reducing the national debt, for gun violence, for improving education or healthcare, for addressing carbon pollution, or for anything else that would improve most people’s lives? What have they been doing positively for the past decade? Why can they neither admit mistakes nor tell the truth? Why do they support a convicted felon, a proven liar, and Fascism?
“Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?”
—Joseph Welch to Sen McCarthy, 1954
Ways to Handle Guilt
Яepublicans must be made aware of what’s making them feel guilty. They must be honest enough to admit their mistakes. Instead of suppressing their guilty consciences, they must talk about those issues that make them uncomfortable. Truth and reconciliation require acknowledging what’s wrong and what must be done to try to make things right. And centuries of terrible mistakes require making amends.
Unless and until we address their guilt, they won’t change.
