I've
been giving this some thought today and I'd like to make a point. I've
seen a few memes on Facebook in the last two days, and I've re-posted a couple of
them, that deal with this issue of Trump vs Dr. Fauci, asking the
question, "Which one do you trust for information regarding the
pandemic?" It is amazing to me that there are large number of people
who trust Trump to give better factual information on the virus and how
to handle the pandemic more than they trust Dr. Fauci to do so.
It would surprise no one that I have tremendous respect for the integrity and the intelligence of Barack Obama. In fact I have had respect for most of the Presidents that have served during my lifetime. Some more, and some less than others, but I can say with complete sincerity that I would not have trusted President Obama or any other President in my lifetime more than I would trust Dr. Fauci or any other medical/science expert to give the best factual information available to proceed with life in our present day situation.
Now we have Trump and the White House staff going after Dr. Fauci trying to convince the American public that Dr. Fauci has been wrong and Trump has been right throughout the ordeal of the last five months or six months and there are many who believe what they are peddling. And so, to me the evidence is clear that we are dealing with cult mentality here.
A cult can be defined as a group of people joined together by a common ideological system fostered by a charismatic leader who has fostered the belief in the followers that "we have the truth and you do not." If you study the more famous cults of recent history, David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, Jim Jones and The People's Temple (Jonestown), Marshall Applewhite and Heaven's Gate, several things are clear and consistent, the unyielding loyalty and support for the cult leader, the total rejection of factual information that contradicts the cult leaders message, opposition to critical thinking, belief that they’re being offered solid, absolute answers for questions such as good vs. evil, etc., and an "us' vs "them" mentality.
Again, there is no way that I, or any of my more progressive, liberal leaning friends would ever have taken President Obama's word over Dr. Fauci's word regarding public health information, but today we have, and I know a few personally, people who have rejected the expertise of Dr. Fauci, the Center for Disease Control and other medical and scientific experts while buying totally in to the messages that Trump and his minions are selling. That's why we have diminishing numbers of people wearing masks, increasing numbers of people rejecting social distancing, large gatherings of people not following the guidelines put forth be the real experts, promoting "COVID parties, and who knows what else.
Trumpism is a cult just like the Branch Davidians and the people who drank the Kool Aid at Jonestown. The difference is that it is negatively effecting far more people this time, a whole country. A country that today has 3,506,453 cases of COVID19 and 138,700 related deaths all brought to you by a cult leader, perhaps the most dangerous cult leader of our times.
It would surprise no one that I have tremendous respect for the integrity and the intelligence of Barack Obama. In fact I have had respect for most of the Presidents that have served during my lifetime. Some more, and some less than others, but I can say with complete sincerity that I would not have trusted President Obama or any other President in my lifetime more than I would trust Dr. Fauci or any other medical/science expert to give the best factual information available to proceed with life in our present day situation.
Now we have Trump and the White House staff going after Dr. Fauci trying to convince the American public that Dr. Fauci has been wrong and Trump has been right throughout the ordeal of the last five months or six months and there are many who believe what they are peddling. And so, to me the evidence is clear that we are dealing with cult mentality here.
A cult can be defined as a group of people joined together by a common ideological system fostered by a charismatic leader who has fostered the belief in the followers that "we have the truth and you do not." If you study the more famous cults of recent history, David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, Jim Jones and The People's Temple (Jonestown), Marshall Applewhite and Heaven's Gate, several things are clear and consistent, the unyielding loyalty and support for the cult leader, the total rejection of factual information that contradicts the cult leaders message, opposition to critical thinking, belief that they’re being offered solid, absolute answers for questions such as good vs. evil, etc., and an "us' vs "them" mentality.
Again, there is no way that I, or any of my more progressive, liberal leaning friends would ever have taken President Obama's word over Dr. Fauci's word regarding public health information, but today we have, and I know a few personally, people who have rejected the expertise of Dr. Fauci, the Center for Disease Control and other medical and scientific experts while buying totally in to the messages that Trump and his minions are selling. That's why we have diminishing numbers of people wearing masks, increasing numbers of people rejecting social distancing, large gatherings of people not following the guidelines put forth be the real experts, promoting "COVID parties, and who knows what else.
Trumpism is a cult just like the Branch Davidians and the people who drank the Kool Aid at Jonestown. The difference is that it is negatively effecting far more people this time, a whole country. A country that today has 3,506,453 cases of COVID19 and 138,700 related deaths all brought to you by a cult leader, perhaps the most dangerous cult leader of our times.
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