It’s 2024 and the electorate is disgruntled.
The discontent ranges from unhappiness with a party’s (presumed) nominee to a desire “to burn it all down.” Some discontent is publicly visible (through public opinion polls); other discontent is shared internally among members of the MAGA cult.
In last week’s article, The Big A** Elephant in the Room, I wrote that
News mixed with misinformation passes through multiple channels, every day. . . . Individuals who engage with social media get a different view of events than those who receive information via cable TV or print sources. Mass media fragmentation prevents the “general public” from developing a common understanding. As a result, different, cognitively distinct, social realities coexist. . . .
The coexistence of “cognitively distinct social realities” during a period of rapid demographic and environmental change is a problem. A cohesive society requires a shared frame of reference (of language, symbols, meanings) as a basis for social interaction. A democratic society requires a common framework (the rule of law) within which political differences can be adjudicated. Buffeted by the winds of change and the gales of regression, American society isn’t holding up well.
Two realities occupy the same real estate. The simplistic trope, “Red America versus Blue America,” misleads. The paranoid extremism of Q-Anon and Christian nationalism is nurtured in churches and rural enclaves in “Blue” New York and California. Expressions of LGBTQ exuberance, music, art, and progressivism thrive in “Red” Texas and Tennessee. America’s divisions are not between states but between mentalities.
Americans’ opposed world-views are not lifestyle choices; they have deeper social roots. To explore these, I will resurrect an old, creaky paradigm: tradition and modernity.
Everyone assumed Western countries completed a “transition to modernity” (if not post-modernity) some time ago. That conclusion was incorrect in a sense. Of course, modernity gave rise to technologically advanced and globally interconnected societies. But it was a mistake to think that one stage followed the next: tradition, then modernity. A second mistake was to consider modernization as primarily an economic (or socio-economic) phenomenon. An under-appreciated component was cognitive: traditionalism as a belief system.
Tradition reveres hierarchy: men over women, rich over poor, “superior race” over lesser, king over subject. It is the antithesis of the American idea: All men are created equal. Traditionalism lost its first round in the American Revolution, a second in the Civil War; now it’s back for round three.
Tradition snuck back into our politics, this time with powerful patrons. Backed by bankers, media moguls, influencers, trolls, and televangelists, Tradition created the fantasy world of “Earth Two.” Whereas Earth One’s residents live in a “reality based community,” Earth Two’s inhabitants dwell in a conspiratorial, faith-based, demonic, crime-filled alternate universe. It is easy to illustrate how reality is perceived differently on Earths One and Two—and how this perception shapes behavior.
Remember Covid-19?
Earth One
When a novel and lethal virus caused a global pandemic, Earth One’s scientists mobilized. They performed experiments to understand the virus’s nature and combat the disease. Teams of scientists around the world developed several vaccines in record time. Their efforts saved millions of lives. Simultaneously, epidemiologists engaged with the public to help citizens protect themselves from Covid-19.
Earth One residents, in general, allied with the experts to curtail the spread of disease. Modern individuals sought out reputable sources of information on vaccines. The data were widely shared. Public health experts around the country started blogs and newsletters to disseminate their knowledge. One of my “go-to” sources was (and continues to be) Katelyn Jetelina of Your Local Epidemiologist on Substack.
Pfizer produced the first widely available Covid vaccine in December 2020 (Emergency Use Authorization under the FDA). By February 2021, a mass vaccine campaign was underway. Your Local Epidemiologist summarized the available data and the latest studies for her readers:
Earth One’s residents relied upon an author’s professional expertise and their evidentiary support for the data’s validity. Denizens of Earth One used factual information for decision-making. Based on what they learned, these modern people modified their behavior; they wore masks in public, exercised and dined outdoors, quarantined sick family members, and attended church and school—temporarily—via Zoom.
As a result, Earth One residents who got vaccinated and modified their behavior had lower rates of morbidity and mortality than those living in Earth Two.
Earth Two
Traditionalists were initially skeptical and ultimately rejected the scientific approach to Covid-19 mitigation efforts. Science and data were dismissed in favor of conspiracism, prophecy, and signs from God. On Earth Two, understanding causality was less important—and less certain—than faith.
Jeff Sharlet's latest book reports on his trip across the country following “the ghost of Ashli Babbit.” Along the way, Sharlet met with Dave Bryan, pastor of the Church of Glad Tidings in Yuba, Arizona. You’d think this evangelical church would be off the beaten track—but no. The Church of the Glad Tidings is where notable MAGA Republicans like Mike Flynn court the base. When Sharlet spoke with Pastor Dave, he asked the pastor about Covid.
[Pastor Dave] told me Scripture teaches that what your enemies—here he meant China, which he thought had intentionally created the disease, and Dr. Fauci, who had tried to spread it—intend as evil against you, God will make good. Is that not the whole point of the risen Christ? The meaning of every martyr?
[I asked, ‘But] what about the dead who don’t rise? . . . all those already gone, killed by Covid?’
‘This will blow your mind,’ Dave said. Covid was real and the dead were many, but there was a ‘good part’: the godless churches . . . [that followed public health directives] had closed their doors.
The good part was that God had spoken, Pastor Dave said, ‘an announcement—that those who truly want to represent the Lord, please stand up.’ [Edited, with emphasis added—m.o.]
Pastor Dave’s views aren’t just conservative-traditional, they’re Old Testament biblical. Violence may be needed to cleanse the impure; the end justifies the means. God targets my enemies, and “makes good” for me. And if one of “us” must be sacrificed in the process, well, that is a sanctified martyrdom—with a glorious reward in Heaven. Alleluia!
Earth Two’s religiously-minded and secular conspiracists both seek the signs. The correct interpretation of divine messages—or Q-drops—forms the basis for decision-making in daily life. Facts are whatever one wants to believe as true.
A large subset of our fellow citizens prefers to ignore empirical evidence and believe fantasies presented to them as truth. This has become an impediment to self-government.
Earth One, Meet Earth Two
When representatives from the two Earths meet, it is not a pretty sight. They speak different languages, have different intentions, and profess different faiths; they engage in cross-talk, not communication.
Attorney General Merrick Garland’s appearance at a recent House Judiciary Committee hearing illustrates the reality mismatch between Earth One and Earth Two. In his opening statement, AG Garland reiterated his commitment to the institutional independence of the Department of Justice. Garland forcefully stated that DOJ does not take orders from either the president or Congress on who or how to prosecute cases. [This bedrock principle was only threatened twice: by John Mitchell (Nixon administration) and by William Barr (Trump administration).] That Garland had clearly explained the lines of decision-making authority in the DOJ did not deter Jim Jordan and Mike Johnson from their breathless cross-examinations. I paraphrase: When will you stop taking orders from Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton?? What about Hunter’s laptop?? Wanna see some dick pics??
Expect more drama than parliamentary order when Jim Jordan is running a hearing. And the production values . . . are not high.
Order on Earth One exists because the rules of modern society are legitimated by rational-legal authority. These rules (and the procedures derived from them) are most explicit when disputes are adjudicated in court. The court of law is at the heart of a democratic system.
Earth Two is self-legitimating through an individual’s acceptance of the alternate reality. The rules are what the leader/group/prophet says they are. Everything is subject to change. No order, no permanence. The strength of the illusion is what matters.
To be continued . . .
And now, your moment of . . . art, nature, and healing.
Writing—and reading—about serious subjects can be fairly depressing. Grounded will conclude each week with some positive news so that you may leave with a bit of joy in your heart.
Andrew Fusek Peters, recuperating at home following cancer treatment, taught himself stop-motion photography to capture the nature he saw in his backyard.
‘I got very, very ill—mentally—and I burned,’ he explained, ‘coming through that very dark period in my life I knew I had to do something else.’
‘Dipping into nature’ had prompted a love of photography, he said. ‘That was 10 years ago and I was hooked, and I'm still utterly addicted.’
See more of Andrew’s beautiful photos here.
Related Grounded articles:
The Big A** Elephant in the Room (January 23, 2024)
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And thank you for the lovely photographs.
Is there any place where the inhabitants of Earts One and Two can meet?