I agree with Sol. It's pertinent to the discussion of Trump because one of the most frustrating things about his presidency is that he appears to be incapable of recognizing obvious truths that are presented to him . . . instead choosing to believe in whatever happens to make him happy. There's a disturbing parallel with people who engage in homeopathy.
I don't think this is what 's happening. What we're seeing is Trump using the tools of the Presidency to bend and alter reality through altering public opinion. Republicans believe things because he believes them. Society is being cleaved by his usage of words, which do not convey facts, but to establish a social hierarchy of allies and outsiders.
But some intellectual Trump supporters--for example Dilbert Creator Scott Adams--have argued that society actually depends on people believing in these fantasies, and they must often be fantasies that conflict with others' fantasies. You'll note that I used the word "cleave" which can mean either to break apart or to fasten together. Many more people would engage in violence or de-stabilizing behaviors if they understood the facts as they are than do so when they buy into the various fantasies, one of the most important being the relative mobility of society.
Objective reality exists, and isn't altered no matter how many lies you tell. When Trump says that there are wildfires in California because all the water to fight them is being pumped into the ocean, that is objectively a lie. Trump's words convey anti-facts.
If enough people are gullible fools it's certainly possible to alter what they believe by telling them lies, and Trump is capitalizing on this subset of Americans. My hope is that there is at least a majority of the population capable of logically approaching a problem, fact checking things, and coming to a reasonable conclusion. I outright and vehemently reject the notion that living in society depends on believing fantasy and lies.
I read all of these posts. I am looking for better solutions. Who would you want in the White House, and let's speculate about the future Presidency that you think would be best for America. The reasons that many do not like him are well documented. When the mid terms roll around, and ultimately the Presidential election in 2020 what future do you want? What should the priorities of the nation be and who can accomplish this?
Priorities of the nation? In no particular order, off the top of my head you could start in this general area:
- Repair and rebuild failing infrastructure
- Improve environmental regulations and invest in clean energy
- Provide basic health care (including mental health care) to all citizens
- Stop illegal military actions (drone strikes, torture facilities, etc.)
- Reduce military spending
- Roll back corporate tax breaks
- Prevent obvious subversion of the electoral process (gerrymandering and voter suppression tactics should be illegal)
- Provide better transition training for people who are in dead or decaying industrial sectors
- Overhaul the prison system with an eye towards rehabilitation and reduced recurrence of crimes rather than punitive punishment.
- Overhaul the legal system with an eye towards reduced incarceration, particularly regarding less wealthy citizens. (For example, speeding tickets should not be a fixed price, but should be charged based upon a percentage of the person's net worth. That sort of thing.)
- Create a standards committee to fact check news outlets. For a second before a news broadcast, or at the top of a news webpage, the overall fact check results must be displayed to give viewers information about the accuracy of the source they're getting information from.
I get that it is easiest to default to the "people that disagree are not intelligent" argument.
It may well be, but if you'll re-read my post this is not an argument I made. My argument was that if you're willing to overlook objective reality to embrace lies you are not intelligent. Hopefully we can agree upon this?