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Robert Golden's avatar

The "otherization" message is always explicit: taking action against specific groups will benefit those struggling, suffering, or feeling left out. Trump didn't only attack immigrants as others. He falsely claimed immigrants were taking American jobs, lowering American wages, and increasing the tax burden on American citizens.

These erroneous claims have been culturally rooted and refreshed over decades, making it easier for Trump to make his case. The incorrect messages also contain an intuitive but false promise that limiting those who share in the pie will result in more significant pieces for everyone. Four years of Trump has proved his claims to be historically and empirically false. The real American Crisis was a system that produced & supported someone like Trump and the citizens who wrongly thought a wall would solve their problems.

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alis's avatar

Reporter Sean Illing asked psychologist Paul Bloom in a December 2017 Vox interview: "So cruelty isn’t an accident or an aberration, but something central to who and what we are?" He answered: "It’s many things, and I don’t think there’s ever going to be a magic bullet theory of cruelty. I think some cruelty is born of dehumanization. I think some cruelty is born out of a loss of control. I think some cruelty is born out of an instrumental desire to get something you want — sex, money, power, whatever." Thom's examples all track.

Bloom also said: "We need a culture less obsessed with power and honor and more concerned with mindfulness and dignity." The Biden Build Back Better plan is about dignity. This could be an important week concerning choices.

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