Saturday, August 13, 2022

Alternate Realities

     Americans have seemed to be in what Alasdair MacIntyre would call an "epistemological crisis;"  a new situation causes people to confuse "seems" with "is."  This goes back at least as far as the Obama birth certificate controversy.   Then came Sandy Hook.   Next came "Pervy Ted," and the idea that Rafael Cruz shot Kennedy.   This was followed by rewriting history to make Robert Mueller and John McCain less than the heroes they are.   Recently Moonbat Taylor-Green claimed that the July 4th Highland Park shooting was a "false flag. "
     And then there's the 800 pound gorilla in the room;  the Save America Riot,  which Orange Blatherskite's apologists have sought to justify while denying their culpability in.   Some of these people still talk about mules and a stolen election. 
     This week's search warrant served on Orange Blatherskite's mansion led Fox to spout vituperation against the FBI along the lines of "they hate Trump, and they've coming for you next!"  This sort of overheated,  hyperbolic rhetoric led a MAGA freak to shoot up an FBI office in Cincinnati. 
     Fox's dishonesty was such that last night (Aug. 12) Fox pretended that the motives of the Cincinnati gunman were unknown.   Just as with January 6, Fox conveniently forgot how much incitement they created for a criminal attack on our government. 
     It is difficult to decide whether the Trump movement's alternate reality is genuine epistemic confusion,  or just a strategy of politics based on prevarication.  The danger is,  of course,  is that this is typically fascist or totalitarian behavior.  The Nazis completely rewrote history to make Germans natives of the Himalayas.   They claimed that Germany had lost WW I although they won every battle.  And,  of course,  their Thule Society worldview made Jews Germany's natural enemies.   This was all rank nonsense,  but the Nazi regime needed it to exist. 
     RINO has gone from meaning a liberal Republican to meaning anyone who rejects this alternate reality.   It doesn't help a bit that Democrats have undermined same Republicans like Peter Meijer by buying ad time for their alternate reality opponents.   Note well that Illinois Democrats intentionally dissolved Adam Kinzinger's district for their own advantage.   Obviously,  Democrats don't see Trump epistemic confusion as a fascist threat,  but as a good opportunity for themselves.