Use Psychology, Not Rationality, to Reach Trump's Followers

"Rationality will not save us" is #2 in Secretary of State Robert McNamara's ten lessons from the Vietnam War, as presented in the movie, "Fog of War."  

https://nothingbuttherain.com/2013/08/12/lesson-2-rationality-will-not-save-us/

Although I think some of his ten lessons need modification, I also think that we live in a time of Wonderland-ish psychological warfare (or neurochemical warfare, as I have called it) and that McNamara's lessons apply today, at least as useful springboards of reflection.  In specific, these rules can help us approach Trump's fanatic followers, with a goal of healing the divide in this country--or at least help us stay sane and empower ourselves.

I say "psychological warfare" because Trump is using psychology to divide the country and harness his base into an army of cultish followers, willing to suffer greatly for him; and he has even urged them toward violence with tweets like, "LIBERATE MICHIGAN."  This kind of exhortation, much more than a dog whistle, is becoming more frequent and vehement in his 'take up arms' rhetoric.

I say "Wonderland-ish" because even Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, realizes the craziness.  He used a paraphrase of the Cheshire Cat to describe Trump, "If you don't know where you're going, any path will get you there."

Craziness creates chaos, and chaos can work well as a means to usurp (or create) a throne.  Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine and Disaster Capitalism are relevant here, underscoring that we are less rational and less resistant to fear-mongers when panicked.

If rationality will not save us, then I suggest--as I have before, many times--that we chose another strategy, one that seems obvious.  First, admit that humans are psychological, not rational.  Second, use related techniques to listen, validate, and deal with conflict.

Reason is useful, yes, but only secondarily, when couched in our true way of apprehending and perceiving at the world, a psychological one.

Part of this solution, actually, relates to McNamara's Lesson One:  "Empathize with your enemy."    Lesson Three is great, too, as it focuses on enlightened humility:  "There's something beyond one's self."

In many ways, we continue to pretend that humans are primarily rational.  We cherish the chestnut of the noble, wise voter.   However, every major marketing company in the world knows we are subconsciously motivated.  So does Trump.

If you think you are immune to this, well, maybe you are.  How should I know.  But statistical demographics back up the general trend.  Looking at the big picture, via statistics, large segments of society are subliminally vulnerable.

Again, this doesn't mean that rationality is irrelevant or unimportant, only that we are not designed to accept naked logic without considerable resistance, even if it is solid science.  Part of this is all the pain we carry inside, and how it can be surprisingly activated by any change in our way-of-being or worldview.

We also tend to much more easily accept what we want to hear.  What brings us pleasure.  What backs up our current belief system.  Moreover, we are happy to bend or distort arguments so they fit our preconceptions.  In psychology, this is called confirmation bias.

To respond to Trump's psychological warfare, try psychological techniques.  I offer a number of them here:

http://owlwholaughs.blogspot.com/2017/01/some-observations-on-rising-tyranny.html

To emphasize the very important point--that rationality cannot save us--I supply the following quote, taken from another of my blog entries:

The death-swell of 20th century fascism, its dethroning of empires in an orgy of all-out slaughter, including the fire-bombing runs and the apocalyptic use of fission; how it bred the horrors of the genocidal concentration camps; has not stopped the grim specter from rising again.   

As psychological, evolutionary creatures, we tend to focus on what's around us right now--not long-term or global effects, beyond our immediate perceptual purview.  

http://owlwholaughs.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-ultimate-test.html

Fly Well In the Dark,

Owl