It was a dark and stormy night. Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, was sitting in his golden throne at Mar-a-Lago, surrounded by his loyal followers. They were chanting his name, wearing his hats, and waving his flags. They were his primal horde, and hellbent on being just like him.
Trump smiled and raised his hand, silencing the crowd. He cleared his throat and began to speak.
"My fellow Americans, we are here today to celebrate our great victory over the evil forces of socialism, communism, and radical leftism. We have defeated the fake news, the deep state, and the rigged election. We have restored law and order, freedom and democracy, and greatness and glory to our nation. We have made America great again!"
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause. They loved their leader. They identified with him. They wanted to be like him. They shared his beliefs, values, and goals. They were his faithful and devoted followers.
Trump continued his speech, listing his achievements, praising his allies, and attacking his enemies. He spoke with confidence, charisma, and defiance. He spoke with lies, exaggerations, and insults. He spoke with anger, fear, and hatred. He spoke for hours, and the crowd listened attentively, nodding and clapping along.
They believed everything he said. They agreed with everything he did. They obeyed everything he commanded. They conformed to his will. They were his obedient and submissive followers.
Trump finished his speech, and the crowd gave him a standing ovation. They chanted his name, wearing his hats, and waving his flags. They were his primal horde, and he was their leader.
He smiled and waved, and then he turned and walked away. He left them behind, and went to his private quarters. He did not care about them. He did not respect them. He did not love them. He used them. He manipulated them. He exploited them. In return the Horde no longer identified with him and eventually murdered, ate him, but felt so guilty they could no longer enjoy the incest they truly desired and wallowed in churches believing they were saved.
Everything Wrong With Conformity
Conformity sucks. I’m sorry to put such a fine point on it, maybe this will help, all too often achievement via conformity is no achievement at all and merely proves that you’re stupid or gullible or both. Wanting to fit in with a chosen group and ideology, say the MAGA crowd in your little red fuckin’ hats and shit is not okay unless you have a heavy desire to spend time in prison. Hardly a German could be found who had ever heard of Adolph Hitler after about 1946.
Nobody who ever accomplished anything of greatness or high merit did so by following the crowd and adhering to the rules of the group. Achievement via independence, doing what you can to find the best in yourself and use that to its fullest value is where growth happens, for yourself and for the world.
We all have heard of the people who have achieved great things in life, but there are many examples of seemingly normal individuals who achieved greatness via independence. Here are just a few:
Rosa Parks: She refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus in 1955, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott and becoming a symbol of the civil rights movement.
Todd Beamer and the passengers of Flight 93: They fought back against terrorists who had hijacked their plane on September 11, 2001, and prevented it from being used as a weapon.
Candy Lightner: After her daughter was killed by a drunk driver, she founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and transformed American attitudes about drunk driving.
Tank Man: He stood in front of a column of tanks during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, becoming an international symbol of resistance to government oppression.
These individuals all achieved greatness through their own determination, courage, and independence. They refused to be held back by the limitations of others and blazed their own paths to success. They are an inspiration to us all.
Which brings us to the question, how come so many people still like Donald Trump? What is it about membership in MAGA that allows stupid people to feel such a sense of belonging? How come the false big daddy strong man, fascist persona of the leader can continue to seduce people when overwhelming evidence of his negative shit: lying, criminality, violence, misogyny, racism, bigotry, greed, and virtually every other major and minor sin (gluttony, lust, hate, pride, envy) are present daily in the great leader’s speech and deeds?
The answers lie in people’s desire for conformity. One of the deepest dives into explaining conformity came from that great science fiction writer Sigmund (aka”Siggy”) Freud. As wrong and fulla shit as Freud was about almost everything, like anybody else who types long enough and hard enough, he was bound to hit upon some right thinking and right points in some matters from time to time and since fully half of all modern psychology emanates from his warped, endless theories (for good and for ill), a decent examination of his ideas on conformity seems a good place to start.
Conformity in Politics Today
So, the MAGA idiots who still, after everything and all of Trump’s crazy-ass shit, continue to follow him like the fascist fools they are. Conformity is, for them a dangerous allergy that proves fatal to societies and individuals alike.
My research in Developmental Psychology focused on moral decision making and personality correlates of higher-level moral thinking versus lower or more standard levels of Moral reasoning. Controlling for intelligence, gender, age and other known variables impacting moral reasoning, our research found that achievement via independence was one of a very few major characteristics of people with above average moral reasoning and thinking skills as compared to people who achieved via conformity. Of course, correlation is not causation, then again, neither is correlation usually unrelated.
If we look at the Milgram experiment and the Prison studies suggest that conformity is certainly an important aspect of political idiocy and bad acting when a group mentality (looking at you MAGA rallies, is involved). But we are to some degree molded and to some degree born with our dispositions and personalities.
Conformists are made afraid of individuals who achieve via independence, they can always find lots to criticize and worry about: But of course, being fearful of achieving via independence is a totally rational fear! The way conformists see it, who wouldn’t want to be alone, unsupported, and miserable? Who wouldn’t want to work themselves to the bone without any help or support? Who wouldn’t want to make all the decisions without any input from anyone else? Who wouldn’t want to take all the blame for their failures and none of the credit for their successes? Who wouldn’t want to be the slave of their own destiny, with no one to turn to for help or guidance? For conformists, achieving via independence is a terrible idea. You should always rely on others to do everything for you. You should never take risks or try new things. You should always follow the crowd and do what everyone else is doing. You should never think for yourself or make your own decisions. You should always be afraid of failure and never take responsibility for your own life.
So, if you’re afraid of achieving via independence, don’t worry. You’re not alone. You’re just like everyone else who’s afraid of success, afraid of change, and afraid of taking control of their own lives. You’re just like everyone else who’s content to live a mediocre life, never striving for anything better. You’re just like everyone else who’s afraid to be different, afraid to be unique, and afraid to be themselves. Welcome to MAGA! You’ll love it here.
Conformity and being part of a mob? That’s the way to go! Who needs individuality and independent thought when you can just follow the crowd? You can be just like everyone else, never standing out or making waves. You can do what everyone else is doing, never questioning authority or challenging the status quo. You can be a cog in the machine, never daring to be different or unique.
Conformity is the ultimate goal, and it’s so easy to achieve. Just ignore the fact that humans are unique individuals with their own thoughts and feelings. Ignore the fact that diversity is what makes life interesting and exciting. Ignore the fact that questioning authority is what leads to progress and change. Ignore the fact that being different is what makes you stand out from the crowd. Ignore the fact that being unique is what makes you special.
Conformity is the way to go if you don’t care about facts, individuality, or independent thought. You’ll be just like everyone else in MAGA, never standing out, questioning, or challenging anything. You’ll ignore those who tell you to be yourself, because they’re just jealous of your mediocrity and unremarkableness. Congratulations! You’ve achieved your ultimate goal: being just like everyone else! And that’s something to be proud of.
