Southern racism, fundamentalism in religion, and opposition to modernity.
Commenting on how the Republican Party has evolved into a cult of personality for Donald Trump is now a typical occurrence.
According to a CBS poll conducted in 2023, for instance, “Trump’s voters hold him as a source of true information, even more so than other sources, including conservative media figures, religious leaders, and even their own friends and family.” When asked specifically who they believe to be telling them the truth, 71% of these voters named Donald Trump, followed by 63% by friends and family, 56% by conservative media personalities, and 42% by religious leaders.
This slavish dedication to Trump has remained even after his two impeachments and four indictments, surpassing his slavish devotion to his friends, family, and religious leaders (! ), and long after the majority of the world began to recognize, from his two impeachments and four indictments. Since taking office, Donald Trump has proven to be a blatant conman, a narcissist, and a dangerous one.
O, this cultishness meme has become popular, but I wonder that enough thought has been given to whether this political growth is a worrying indicator for the future of liberal democracy or at the very least for American culture.
In a two-party system, how can a democracy continue to exist with just one active party? Or, if the nation continues to operate much as it has for years despite the public collapse of its ostensible form of government, how meaningful could a democracy have been in the first place? Despite the farce of all those public conversations between elected officials, couldn’t the deep state not have been in charge all along? And shouldn’t Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping be justified in rejecting democracy as a workable alternative?
