Trying To Understand The American Mind

 

Sometimes when watching my daily half-hour allotment of American network news, I find my curiosity turning philosophical. One of the questions that recur repeatedly is why the American people chose the moronic Trump to lead their country not once, but twice.

In writing about the acolytes of both Trump and Pierre Poilievre, Stephen Maher offers his thoughts, but I am not sure they are the entire answer.

As support for both Trump and Poilievre has diminished — they both have approval ratings of 32 per cent — I am starting to think that their remaining supporters are — how to put it? — not as intellectually inclined as other voters. 

He considers the commonalities of the Conservatives and Trump, and observes that because Carney has definitely moved the Liberals to the right, 

Poilievre is left with the cognitively impaired, the anti-vaxxers, the social conservatives and permanently outraged. 

Those characteristics could also be applied to Trump's supporters, of course, if we add in their innate racism and strong belief in American exceptionalism, two touchstones the President has regularly exploited.

Again, however, I am left with a sense of incompleteness, leading me to speculate in what ways Trump might be a manifestation of the national character. Certainly, we know part of that character embraces rugged individualism and unbridled capitalism, and one thinks of a quote, attributed to various people:  

Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires. 

I wonder if there might be a corollary to this. Is it possible that lurking within the American breast is a dark, hidden, grudging admiration for people who employ 'sharp' practices? In other words, do many of Trump's fanbase admire conmen that both profit from their cons and offer an 'easy way' to riches for themselves, even at the expense of others?

The evidence for my thesis is, at best, circumstantial.

Consider, for example, the long list of evangelical conmen who succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. 

Few will remember him, but the progenitor of the prosperity gospel was a man known as Reverend Ike. His catchphrase, "You can't lose with the stuff I use," promised abundance to those who followed his formula. Essentially this entailed congregants offering up their scarce dollars in the expectation of monetary blessings in return. When he took up the offerings at his services, I remember him saying he didn't want to hear the clang of coins but the rustle of bills. He was also famous for saying that money is not the root of all evil, but the lack of money is.

If you want to see more of Ike's 'philosophy', just look up his sermons on YouTube, but he was essentially an early proponent of 'manifesting' one's reality rather than working hard for success.

And, of course, variations of that message became mainstays of the 'theology' of frauds like Jimmy Lee Swaggart, Jim Bakker, and Benny Hinn, all who profited immensely from their cons. And even when they encountered scandal, they were able to reinvent themselves with some success.

The Jim Bakker Show Launch

Central to the resurrection of his ministry was the return to the airwaves. The Jim Bakker Show began broadcasting with a significantly different tone than the PTL Club. While still utilizing the medium of television, the production moved away from the variety-show format of the past. Instead, it focused on daily discussions regarding Biblical prophecy and current world events. This new platform allowed Bakker to speak directly to a niche audience that remained loyal despite his previous controversies.

Now, instead of hawking salvation, Bakker pushes survivalist paraphernalia in anticipation of the Apocalypse.

Have I proven my thesis? Of course not. Everything from the above could simply and clearly demonstrate Stephen Maher's observations, expressed another way via the ignorance, credulity and rudimentary thinking skills. of the marks faithful and the cultists. 

But that these conmen can flourish in America surely suggests that there is something within their culture nurturing this kind of exploitation. It would seem the American psyche has many dark corridors.

Don't Come A-Knockin' When The Guard Dog's A-Rockin'

One has to hand it to the Americans. They seem endlessly inventive when it comes to devising new ways to inflict mayhem. However, while the following is legal in 48 states, I am sorry to inform those who love to embrace new technology that this stand-in for Fido would likely run afoul of our laws in Canada.

The company lists possible applications of the new robot as "wildfire control and prevention," "agricultural management," "ecological conservation," "snow and ice removal," and "entertainment and SFX." But most of all, it sets things on fire in a variety of real-world scenarios.

And therein lies the rub. Entertain and SFX? I shudder to contemplate the implications, especially in stand your ground states. 

I Rest My Case

Yesterday I offered, shall we say, an unflattering appraisal of the American 'character' and psyche. Further evidence supporting that assessment is to be found in the following video:



Perhaps those of similar disposition dying for a night out on the town should ponder this cautionary tale?

An Armchair Analysis

One of the benefits (and, to be honest, drawbacks) of having a blog is the freedom it confers on the owner. He or she can write on a range of topics which, in my case, is sometimes determined by the mood I'm in. And these days, that mood is often less one of outrage than it is of resignation. The belly fire that once drove me is now often but a vaguely uncomfortable feeling easy to ignore.

But I do soldier on, in fits and starts.

Since compelling empirical proof is hardly a requirement for blog opinions, I shall offer one today about the United States of America. It will hardly be a shattering insight, merely one I have been thinking about more and more during these days of confinement and reading.

The United States of America is an infantile nation.

Consider but a few examples. There is the violence incited by refusal to wear masks; there are the states reopening despite rising numbers of Covid-19 infections; there is fairly widespread defiance of state laws through protests and illegal re-openings of shuttered businesses. And, of course, there is their selection of the Orange Idiot to lead their nation.

Clearly, the United States lacks the kind of character that the world's current situation demands.

Recently, while watching a commercial during the American news, something else also occurred to me. They haven't always been this benighted and childish.

Allow me to illustrate with a few American Public Service Announcements.

The first one is from many years ago; those of a certain age will remember Perry Mason who, each week, bested District Attorney Hamilton Burger in the courtroom. The actor who played him, William Talman, made an anti-smoking ad in 1968 when he was dying from lung cancer:



You will notice that the tone is poignant as Talman invokes the powerful images of his family to show the terrible losses he is facing, urging viewers either not to take up smoking or to quit if they are already in its grips. No one could argue that such an ad is shocking or graphic in any way.

Contrast that restrained tone with what is on offer today:









Each of the above PSAs approach the viewer in a way far different than the Talman ad did, replacing reason and poignancy with what are guaranteed to reach a blunted, debased sensibility: fear and repugnance. If this won't get you to quit smoking, nothing will, eh?

What is my point? Only to suggest that those commercials can serve as a measure of the undeniable decline in the American character. Where once reason and basic sentiment might have served public discourse well, today fear has become the weapon of choice to influence people's behaviour.

And the use of that weapon is most evident in contemporary American politics. The Trump playbook, the one that serves him so very well, is a textbook example. Fear of the other, the Mexican rapists and drug dealers who must be held at bay by massive walls, the deep state conspirators, the Wuhan virus and so many more are all part of his abysmal arsenal.

And the Pavlovian dogs salivate.