How Was the MAGA Movement Created?
Without doubt, there are many vectors in American civilization that have all come together to create what we call “Trumpism” or the MAGA movement.
One, of course, is the presence of Trump himself. Until 2015, when he came on the political scene, no one had dared to run for U.S. president on a platform of hate and lies, e.g., immigrants are taking your jobs, the Democrats are coming for your guns, LGTBQs are grooming your children while schools are teaching them to hate America, climate scientists and epidemiologists are corrupt, etc.
Another factor here is the decline in our educational system and the accompanying loss of young people’s capacity for critical thinking.
Yet, to be fair, a great deal of the glue that holds Trump supporters together is the resentment with which they regard our socio-economic landscape, i.e., that their wages have stagnated over the 40+ years, at the exact point in time at which the top 1% have become rich beyond measure. If you were watching the world pass you by in terms of real income and net worth, you may be easy pickin’s for the MAGA rhetoric yourself.
My conservative mother points out that, whenever Trump is attacked, his popularity rises.
America’s favorite poet makes a good point.
Until his retirement, Rick Sikes managed the fleet of cars and trucks operating in the city of Santa Monica, CA, a municipality generally known for its progressive stance with respect to environmental stewardship. He worked hard to integrate alternative-fueled vehicles of all types: electric, yes, but also an interesting array of hydrogen, natural gas, even propane.
Wow.
If there is one good thing about the MAGA cult, it’s that these people are not trying to slip by unnoticed.
As we go through the waning days of 2023 and into what could be called “The Year of the 91 Felonies,” here (at left) is the message the former president wants to convey.
The author of the cartoon here conflates “capacity for critical thinking” and the “training to conduct scientific research,” even though they are two different things.
There is no doubt that the author of the meme here has identified a problem with our food system, though I would argue that it’s not the problem.
Political pundits everywhere are struggling to understand how it’s possible that Biden, given his administration’s admirable performance across a wide range of metrics, has such a lackluster approval rating.
