America’s Fascination with Demagoguery: Playing with Fire.

Our neighbours to the south have decided the course their country will take, not only for the next four years, but well into the future.  They chose Trump – the first President Elect in history that has been convicted of a felony, and, at 78, is the oldest person to take office.

It was a long, erosive battle. Tim Alberta, reporter for The Atlantic has interviewed many people inside of Trump’s campaign, and he’s asked them, “Are you sure you want to be doing this?” Many times, they would laugh and say, “Oh, you are part of the fake news”, or “you’re suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome”. However, over the last few months, Tim reports his question has been met with a great deal more introspection and even some of his inner circle expressing disgusted with Trump and uncertainty if they can even ride out the campaign. See MSNBC interview on YouTube.

Many people who have met Trump personally have been charmed by his demeanour. He has a way to make people feel good about themselves, and by extension, good about him. Those who like Trump rally around and defend him when he is being attacked. However, after a time, those who witness Trump in action up close come to the end of the honeymoon. Most of his once closest advisors, including John Kelly, Mark Milley, Mark Esper, James Mattis, John Bolton, Rex Tillerson, Mike Pence, Michael Cowen, and Cassidy Hutchinson now say unequivocally that Trump should never again be allowed anywhere near the levers of power. And yet, despite all the objective evidence about who Trump really is, more than half of America have been convinced… or have convinced themselves, that he can lead them into a better life.

Why?

Americans, by and large, are quite naive about what narcissism is and how to handle it.

The Power of Narcissists

Every narcissist I’ve ever met displays an uncanny ability to charm. My Uncle was such a man. He claimed I was his favourite nephew, and the better I felt about myself because of his attention and praise, the more I was willing to do for him, including illegally drive cars (I was underage and didn’t have a licence), sell tickets for a classic car in an illegal raffle, lie for him, and more.

Some of those times were very formative for me, and I remember them fondly, even though I know I should regret them. It took me years of some painful experiences, watching him go to jail, finding out he was a thief and a con man, for me to finally see his true nature.

When I say “formative”, I mean it.  Some of my core identity – the person I believe I am – was built around a narrative about myself, and about him. This partially explains why I rationalized his behaviours and defended him. I recalled how kind he was to me and ignored his coldly self-serving calculations and manipulations. Why? Because if I ever allowed myself to see his motivations for what they truly were, I’d also have to give up the cool narratives I’d built up about myself.

I believe that’s exactly what’s happened with Trump voters. They’ve built up a narrative about who they are in relation to this man and their community of like-minded friends. For many, the narrative is rooted in their faith – the idea that God will use Trump like a “modern-day king Cyrus”, rather than “you will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15). For others, Trump is tied and their own patriotic identity. They see him as a fighter and beleaguered businessman – an embodiment of what they believe it means to be American.

Education and Objective Truth

Decisions made through votes must reflect the will and interests of the people. That can only happen when voters have a solid understanding of the issues, policies, and candidates. Without education and access to objective truth, people struggle to critically evaluate political messages, candidates, or the long-term consequences of certain decisions.

Critical thinking skills are a vital tool to analyze information, question assumptions, and think independently. In the ever-increasing complexity of issues facing us in the modern world, we need to be able to examine them from a variety of perspectives. Critical thinking is the only way to prevent manipulation by misinformation, lies and propaganda.  Uneducated people seek out simple answers, the bailiwick of the demagogue.

When educated and informed, citizens are more likely to engage with their communities and advocate for positive change. They understand their rights, duties, and the structure of their government, empowering them to actively participate in the democratic process beyond just voting—such as through activism, public debate, and running for office.

Informed citizens hold elected officials accountable. When people are educated, they understand the importance of truthfulness, transparency, ethical governance, and the rule of law. Uneducated people look for leaders who promise to do their thinking for them.

Despite relatively high levels of formal education in the U.S., misinformation and disinformation have become serious issues across the educational landscape. Social media, partisan news outlets, and other sources are actively spreading misleading or false information, often in the guise of opinion pieces.

Much of America’s media has moved away from reporting objective facts in favour of an unrelenting torrent of biased opinion pieces. Is it any wonder that even educated people fall prey to false information?

Why Socrates Did Not Embrace Democracy

We are used to thinking highly of democracy – and by extension Ancient Athens, and the civilisation that gave rise to it. The Parthenon is a byword for democratic values, (which is why so many leaders of democracies like to be photographed there).

However, did you know one of Ancient Greece’s great achievements, Philosophy, was highly suspicious of its other achievement, Democracy. The founding father of Greek Philosophy – Socrates – is portrayed, in the dialogues of Plato, as hugely pessimistic about the whole business of democracy.

In Book Six of The Republic, Plato describes Socrates falling into conversation with a character called Adeimantus and trying to get him to understand the flaws of democracy by comparing a society to a ship.

“If you were heading out on a journey by sea,” asks Socrates, “who would you ideally want to decide who was in charge of the vessel? Just anyone, or people educated in the rules and demands of seafaring?”

“The latter of course”, replies Adeimantus.

“So why then”, responds Socrates, “do we keep thinking that any person should be fit to judge who should be a ruler of a country?”

Socrates’s point was not that democracy shouldn’t exist, but rather, voting in an election is a skill, not a random intuition. And like any skill, it needs to be taught systematically to people. Letting citizenry vote without an education is as irresponsible as putting them in charge of a trireme sailing to Samos in a storm.

Socrates soon saw firsthand voter’s catastrophic failure of foolishness. In 399 BC, the philosopher was put on trial for trumped up charges of corrupting the youth of Athens. A jury of 500 Athenians was invited to weigh up the case and decided by a narrow margin that the philosopher was guilty. He was put to death by hemlock.

Americans have long forgotten the distinction between an intellectual democracy and a democracy by birthright. The right to vote has been gifted to every citizen without connecting it to wisdom. Socrates knew exactly where that would lead: To a system the Greeks feared above all, demagoguery.

Ancient Athens had painful experiences with a demagogue: The louche figure of Alcibiades, a rich, charismatic, smooth-talking wealthy man who eroded basic freedoms and helped to push Athens to its disastrous military adventures in Sicily. Perhaps an ironic premonition of today’s American politics.

When democracy is revered as an unambiguous good – rather than a process of governance that is only ever as effective as the education system that surrounds it, a country’s citizens will be easily exploited by the empty promises and simple answers of demagogues seeking power.

America’s Democratic Experiment Under Threat

Time and again, Trump has spoken wistfully of dictators, threatened minorities, bullied opponents, and promised strife and division.

Those who voted him back into power, educated or not, might see in him an opportunity to advance their own cause, but the nature of a narcissist is to turn on the hand that feeds, if it suites his own interests.

It’s too late now, but recall what Trump’s former Whitehouse Chief of Staff John Kelly said about him: “He meets all the definitions of a fascist” Indeed, Trump said he “will be a dictator on his first day in office”, will reenact the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport millions, fire or relocate more than 100,000 federal employees who live and work in the D.C. region, and lock up his political opponents.

Trump’s triumphant return to the White House will see far fewer checks to his power as he surrounds himself with loyalists. He plans to swiftly enact a sweeping agenda of changes that will transform nearly every aspect of American government. He will be able to act with impunity. The U.S. Supreme Court, which includes three Trump-appointed justices, issued a ruling earlier this year affording presidents broad immunity from prosecution.

Long Live America’s New King!

Mathieu Powell.
Editor.