14 reasons why so many voters are supporting a candidate who is equivalent to allowing a known child molester to babysit your young children

Emotions are certainly running high. So many people can’t be totally crazy, so what could be going on? Firstly here’s the fundamental problem

Most of our politicians are on the take and out to lunch and we just disagree on what to do about it.

Normally I wouldn’t bring this up, but this is affecting many of my friends and family who are educated and well off, and I just can’t listen to them any more. Discussing it with them is as fruitless as arguing with a Flat Earther. I’ve lost all respect for them, and in some cases I had to cut them off, and tell them why. Sound familiar? I’m compelled to let them understand that there are consequences for their behavior when they post on social media — and these consequences could result in us squandering the BEST gift ever given to humankind — democracy. And a gift so many gave their lives for! And furthermore they are probably the unwitting participants in the schemes of Putin (who blatantly said the only way to take down the US is with propaganda on social media). Plus Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un. This is physiological warfare — something many are unfamiliar with.

I feel angry, but I think I’m actually more disappointed. The problem is that I’m not able to feel any compassion for my friends who are educated and well off (vs. many others who aren’t so lucky). You see, there is nobody else to blame but the populace. Not the media, not social networks not our politicians. Despite what many many think, this is a democracy (actually a republic), and as Ben Franklin said when asked about what the Constitution gave us

A Republic, If You Can Keep It

It is ultimately OUR responsibility to to decide our destiny. The media and our politicians just keep feeding us what works. Jefferson said

An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people

And today, that includes understanding online/TV fueled propaganda. Sure many people are not aware of it’s power, but what about those who are fortunate enough to be educated and well off, and could spend some of their leisure time reading books and history, but chose not to? Or just simply don’t care.

So what could some of these reasons be:

1. They can’t admit they got conned. This is a well known phenomenon. Some of my friend rather die and destroy their children’s future then admit they made a mistake. I was lucky in that I stumbled on a book in my sister’s bookshelf when I was very young called “The Social Animal” by Elliot Aronson where I was introduced to Cognitive Dissonance.
2. It is their identity and they want their team to win. This is especially powerful in social media
3. They are bored, depressed, and/or feel unimportant. And posting and being a member of a “group” makes them feel better.
4. They’re addicted to it. It’s not that much different from drug, alcohol, or sex/love addiction.
5. They’re in a social media or social group bubble. They don’t interact with anybody outside their bubble. They feel validated, and are unaware of how many people have very different viewpoints. I read a book around the advent of the Internet by Cass Sunstein who predicted cyberbalkanization (not his term) — where social media bubbles were echo chambers which would drive us apart. Some even say that Congressmen and women used to have lunch together in the mess hall, and that they don’t do that much anymore is a big factor in the splintering of our government. I’ve seen a similar phenomenon in distributed or remote work environments.
6. They’re in a cult. Pretty much summarizing all the above
7. They would vote for Joseph Stalin if he promised to lower their taxes
8. They admire people who have little talent and can only be successful being outrageous, loud and disruptive. Because they are in the same situation.
9. They’re uneducated and/or have become stupid due to lack of stimulation. They rarely read books about history, warfare, etc.
10. They think reality TV is real. Probably because they haven’t had a chance to have their own interesting lives. I feel compassion for them, but in most cases they could have done something about it.
11. They think the election is a reality TV show. Or a joke to satisfy their own ego to get attention by posting memes and slogans. They’re not grokking how critically important this is. Of course this is compounded by how bad most of our politicians are — on both sides.
12. They don’t recognize propaganda. Either because they’re dying for a strong leader or they’re feeling angry and anger is the only thing that resonates for them. I have compassion and understand, but ultimately we all need to take responsibility. This is how democracy works.
13. They addicted to simple concepts that explain the world and absolve them of any responsibility to find balance. This could range from religion and even to LGBT+ issues. All types exist in all demographics on both “sides”.
14. They don’t understand that democracy requires engagement beyond just elections. Our education in civics is so bad, you gotta wonder if this is on purpose. Yea, we learn about how the government is structured, but not so much about the need for NGO (Non-Government Organizations) to lobby on behalf of the citizens, how to organize and approach politicians, attend hearings, etc. I used to be a lobbyist, it’s A LOT of work, and in most cases, requires people to get paid just to show up regularly (e.g. by donating to the appropriate NGO’s or activist groups). E.g. Occupy Wall Street feel apart as an organized entity because people had to go back to work! (I learned this by visiting Zuccatti Park just a few days before it disbanded. It was a disorganized shit show with mostly homeless people. Also a reporter who was covering it explained it to me).

What I found is that those of my friends and family who are going down this dark path are the ones who are isolated and spend most of their time online or watching the same news networks. They have a tendency to be in the mountains or rural areas. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I love hanging out with them and interacting the people there — but that only works IN PERSON. Even when this trans woman shows up to places like that they love it — because we’re just real people connecting. They’re interested, they’re curious, it’s fun. But especially during/after COVID, many of us starting collapsing into the dark hole of online psychological warfare. And who are culprits:

• Social Media Platforms
• News networks
• Politicians on both sides
• The very wealthy who want to manipulate the government (e.g. lower taxes, less regulations, less programs to counter the problems they cause)
• And those who take advantage of all the above — e.g. Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un

Before the Internet got big, I had a friend who used to listen to Rush Limbaugh all the time, but we ignored it and never engaged with him on it — it was just a quirk, a hobby. But back then, he wasn’t amplifying anything by posting on social media and influencing other people and elections. He wasn’t an unwitting participant of material coming from the ultra wealthy, politicians, and Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un.

This has been going on for decades. But many decades ago the political parties had filters to stop crazy fringes from taking over — i.e. the political parties did most of the choosing directly. But over time, this was dismantled:

1. More direct primaries
2. Cable TV channel proliferation
3. Continuous news — starting with CNN
4. FCC relaxing of ownership rules to prevent consolidation and manipulation at a mass level
5. Repeal of the Fairness Doctrine requiring balanced viewpoints — created in 1949 to ensure propaganda didn’t spread on evolving media (sound familiar?)
6. All the above resulting in the explosion of new media bubbles, extreme talk shows, religious shows, etc.
7. The first wave of the Internet
8. The second wave — social media
9. The third wave — people meeting online instead of in person — in particular online dating and job searching. Resulting in more stress, less fun, choosing people based on bad information and glossy exteriors and empty interiors
10. The fourth wave — sophisticated manipulation on social media
11. And who knows what is next….

In many ways we are better off, because we don’t have the old power structures controlling information and public perception (e.g. the 3 Networks). But the pendulum has swung too far — the World Wide Web has become the Wild Wild West. But I hope we will learn, and new networks and controls will form to be appropriate for our new age.

That is if we start to bring in politicians who understand technology, and aren’t on the take and out to lunch.

And by the way, I’m running for President. Things have changed much in the past month, but I now support any candidate who has the same principles that am promoting.

Maria for Prez 2024 | Mysite