I have plenty of friends, relatives, and acquaintances who
stoutly (and very
loudly) insist that:
- tax cuts to the wealthy will make things better for the poor and middle class
- that the Environmental Protection Agency exists for the sole purpose of "killing jobs"
- that there is some kind of "War on Coal"
- that "Clean Coal" is not a contradiction in terms
- that there's no evidence for Anthropogenic Climate Change (and if the climate is changing, then that's a good thing)
- that Whites (especially White Males) are somehow an oppressed underclass in our society
- that our country was founded by God-fearing Christians who intended it to be a Christian theocracy
- that what we really need are more guns in the hands of private citizens
- that Black Lives Matter is a racist hate group
- that we'd all be living in a magical utopia where the air is clear, the streams are sparkling and clear, everyone is rich, there are plenty of pristine wilderness areas teeming with wildlife, there is no such thing as crime, poverty, racism, sexism, or pollution, etc., etc., -- if only we'd get rid of all those onerous regulations that are tying the hands of Big Business, which wants nothing more than to create this utopia and make us all happy
- etc, etc, ad nauseum
There's exactly zero evidence for any of these claims, of course -- and indeed, there's plenty of evidence
against them.
Some time ago, I noted that most of my fervently Republican friends, colleagues, and relatives employ
exactly the same "logic" that Creationists do when espousing their beliefs. In other words, it's pure faith on their part; reason has nothing to do with it. And, in my experience, trying to have a discussion with the average Republican voter is
exactly like trying to have a discussion with a Creationist. Since their beliefs are entirely faith-based and have nothing whatsoever to do with reason or actual facts, attempting to employ either facts or reason is a waste of time -- and if anything, will only anger them.
Obviously, not
all people who support the modern GOP are doing so because they've drunk the Kool Aid. Some of them, no doubt, are perfectly aware that many of the current GOP's positions are deeply irrational and often openly anti-intellectual. But, of course, if they have a personal interest in convincing people to support these positions, they're hardly likely to point out how very harmful many of these policies may be.
Now, an article in
Forbes (of all places) argues that
The GOP Has Become A Dangerous Cult.