Note: This post was written in April 2023.
Human Evolution
Suzana Herculano-Houzelis, a neuroscientist who specializes in the evolutionary development of brains, wrote The Human Advantage: How Our Brains Became Remarkable. In it, she explains why human brains are about 25% larger than they should be compared to other animals. Her theory is that using fire and cooking enabled humans to expend less energy on digestion and more energy on evolving a larger brain. Subsequently, while sitting around a fire, humans learned to communicate better and pass on knowledge to others, including future generations.
From a small group of homo sapiens over 100,000 years ago, humankind now consists of almost 8 billion individuals. We have evolved from roaming bands of hunter-gatherers to a patchwork of rural and urban living arrangements, more or less in permanent locations. Our species lived for about 90,000 years, moving around and looking for animals to eat and berries to pick. About 10,000 years ago, we learned to domesticate crops and animals. With the rise of agriculture, we built shelters and started to live near one another. Humankind had an agricultural revolution.
The agricultural revolution allowed humans to feed themselves as they had never done before. However, progress is never without its downsides. For example, for 90,000 years, humans were conditioned by a Paleolithic lifestyle. Our nomadic paleolithic ancestors equipped with stone and bone tools were closely tied to the natural world. Part of our innate psyche is a propensity to roam freely in nature. Sedentary living tends to tie us down and separate us from nature. Additionally, our ancestor’s paleolithic lifestyle impacts our genetic predisposition toward diseases from an inactive existence.
Another problem with the shift to agriculture was “getting along.” Before the advent of communities, roaming groups would bump into each other, try to steal each other’s food, have a friendly encounter, avoid each other, or commit anti-social acts. However, since everyone was mobile, one or both groups in conflict could move away. Permanent communities meant that stationary property had to be protected from invading groups. Another complication with living in fixed communities was getting along with neighbors in a relatively congested village. Who would settle internal disputes in a fixed community with 2,000 or more inhabitants?
Recorded history started about 5,000 years ago. From the beginning, we read about the activities of rulers, adventures, the sales of agricultural products, and wars. As previously discussed, most humans remained on the fringes in remote areas or lived in communities of various sizes. Some form of autocratic organization dominated most communities. A cursory review of the last 5,000 years shows that autocracy (usually male autocracy) was the dominant organizational style for communities of humans.
Philosophers and thinkers observed humans living under autocracies and pondered if there was a better way. Slowly, over the centuries the idea of rule by “the people” came into being. The struggles of people in many regions to free themselves from tyranny and the maltreatment of anarchy and autocracy finally allowed democracy to come into being. Places like the Spanish Netherlands in the 1560s, England in the 1640s, and the North American British colonies in the 1770s became the experiments that led to modern-day democracy.
The Possibility of Devolution to Anarchy and Autocracy
Humankind has evolved from walking scavengers to travelers reaching for the stars. However, the majority of humans were and still are struggling to thrive. Like the universe, the natural state of humanity leans more towards inertia and chaos than intelligent order. Almost all of us have been conditioned, to some extent, by chaos, fear, and need. Our collective history and conditioning leave us at an intersection with three roads.
- The first road is selected by those who expect the absolute worst from life and become literal or figurative scavengers, moonshiners, criminals, social outcasts, survivalists, sociopaths, anarchists, or nihilists. This road requires few interpersonal skills and is rough but downhill.
- On the opposite extreme, those choosing the second road want strict order and desire to live in a highly ordered, autocratic regime (e.g., communism, absolute monarchy, kleptocracy, military dictatorship, and religious dictatorship). Joshua Haldeman, a Canadian chiropractor in the 1930s and 1940s, promoted a little-known form of autocracy called technocracy, a government ruled by engineers and scientists. Since Joshua is Elon Musk’s maternal grandfather, perhaps we should not completely rule out technocracy as a new, innovative autocratic option. The autocracy road is flat and wide, making it easy to transit. The only toll for taking this road is submission to an authoritarian regime. Of course, most of those selecting this road want to be as high in the hierarchy of control as possible, while all others must be willing to exchange subservience and personal freedom for “order.”
- The third road is the newest and most recently paved. Because the road is still unfinished and has a steep uphill grade, travelers must keep their eyes on it lest they fall off a cliff at a section lacking guard rails. Since this road is more challenging, travelers must remain AWAKE and cooperate in tight spots. This is the road to democracy.
Until recently, America universally favored the democratic path over the other two. We were not only the first large-scale democracy but democracy’s most prominent advocate. However, as recent history has shown, it is possible to return to the intersection and choose a different road. Other countries, such as Germany in the 1930s and Russia in 2000, left the road to democracy and bolted onto the road to autocracy. With our increasing ability to fool ourselves and seek entertainment over law and order, it is possible for the United States of America to devolve first into anarchy and then into some form of autocracy.
Truth at the Crossroads
Before we are led back to anarchy and autocracy, it is essential to understand our present situation. The proponents of anarchy and autocracy can be very persuasive and entertaining. They have converted truth and verifiable facts into “truthiness” and propaganda. Truthiness is something that one’s gut feels is true. If something feels true in our gut, it must be true. There is no need to consider alternative truths or facts; one’s gut knows all. Those who place their faith in truthiness continually say or imply something like, “America is going to hell in a handbasket. We must tear everything down and bring America back to the White Christian country.”
Maybe we should ask these extremists to reconsider this sentiment a little more before bringing in their bulldozers.
The famous Apple Macintosh 1984 Super Bowl commercial cleverly juxtaposed George Orwell’s dystopian book, 1984, with Steve Jobs’ insistence that the Macintosh was revolutionary. He essentially said that companies like IBM brainwashed the current computer owners to accept old, inferior computer technology. He was probably correct. The Macintosh’s progressive graphical user interface was superior to the text-based commands of “copy a:\* c:\*.” IBM eventually agreed, too, after they replaced DOS with Windows.
Today there are similar but more serious claims of mind control. The battle is between those who advocate progressive centrism and the shotgun marriage of evangelicals, classical liberalism, libertarianism, and the MAGA crowd. Each side claims partisan politicians and biased news media brainwash their opposite audiences. Each side argues that its message and actions are closer to the truth than the other. While neither side can have an utterly truthful message, it is logically impossible for two contradictory truths to be true. As historian James R. Schlesinger said in 1983 and repeated by others, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”
The crux of the contest to control the narrative lies with American citizens. In an ideal world, we should judge for ourselves to what extent we have been brainwashed. Of course, this is a near impossibility because we believe that we are the master of our own minds. Yet, our collective ability to judge the truth and policy alternatives will determine America’s success. Which side is more truthful and just? Which side has the best set of policies? Another critical element of American political life is the ability to compromise. People in democracies learn to compromise. People desiring to live in anarchy and autocracy never learn this skill. Will most Americans agree to compromise?
The Clear and Present Danger of Extremism
How did a great nation like the United States of America devolve into chaos on January 6, 2021? How could 147 members of the House of Representatives vote against democracy and valid election results? How could thousands of extremists storm and take over the US Capitol Building, causing death and destruction? How could millions of Americans STILL believe the Capitol riot was merely a tourist visit or that someone other than Donald Trump instigated the attempted coup? How could only 7 of 50 Republican senators vote to convict Donald Trump for instigating his coup that caused the loss of human life?
Embarrassing questions like these arise periodically in American history. How did a few Southern fire-eaters spark the American Civil War that cost the United States of America about 750,000 lives? After the Civil War, why did militias and mobs lynch about 4,500 Americans? Why did America stay neutral for over two years at the onset of World War II? How did Republican “hawks” like Paul Wolfowitz convince America that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction? How did Democratic “hawks” like Robert McNamara convince America that escalating the war in Viet Nam was a good idea?
A generic answer to all these questions is “extremism.” As discussed previously, extremism is generally the result of irrational or impulsive thinking. Fanatics, even intelligent fanatics, lose their ability to think clearly. Their thinking is based on some narrow, quixotic, or flawed beliefs that lead them astray. To make matters worse, this fanatical thinking becomes a social process that metastasizes beyond a single individual or small group. The more who are infected, the worse it gets. Those infected are emboldened by their increasing physical or virtual contact with their fanatical mob.
Unfortunately, extremism has become a dominant motif of American politics over the last 25 years. For decades we heard Walter Cronkite say, “And that’s the way it is,” and most Americans uniformly believed him. In 2023 America is so fragmented that many individuals may only trust the extreme views of a single podcaster podcasting out of his garage…and there are lots of podcasters.
Like getting suckers to fall for a con game (e.g., a pig in a poke, gold brick scams, romance scams, etc.), extremist puppetmasters create half-baked stories, stimulate hatred, and/or scapegoat minorities. Their lies fragment truth and fracture society. To achieve this disintegration, American extremists have made lying a high art form. They first discredit truth itself. Next, they discredit the rationale for democratic institutions and later suggest some form of autocracy to replace them. Those who disagree with extremists become enemies of the state.
In 2016 a con man emasculated all his Republican opponents and became President. Today, even moderate Republicans are paralyzed and hope the “Trump problem” magically disappears. However, in the real world, Trump still has most elected Republicans begging for scraps like whimpering dogs.
In 2016 many former and reluctant Republicans were caught up in the euphoria of their Electoral College victory. However, when they WOKE up to the reality that they had cast their lot with a sociopath, regret and cognitive dissonance became the reward for their political gamble. Slowly, a few Republicans with backbones began to distance themselves from Trump. However, most Republicans have zealously or reluctantly remained under the thumb of their Republicana mob boss, even after he became a pathetic loser. Even the effete (a word borrowed from Spiro Agnew) closeted “I hate Trump” Republicans remain publicly faithful to the Republicana world. This could be evidence of battered spouse syndrome, Stockholm syndrome, or desperation. Most people leave failed political parties. They either form a new party or move over to the “enemy” party.
Distraction and diversion are the primary tools used by anti-democratic forces. Many Americans respond more to thrills, chills, and greed than the best trade policy with Canada. Many Americans would much rather watch a catfight between Marjorie Taylor Greene and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez than decide whether railroad tankers with volatile chemicals should have good brakes.
One of the most telling facts about rural America that rural media and “good ‘ole boy” coffee shop meetings do not mention is that it suffers from more gun violence and higher death rates than urban America (see the chart at the end of this article.) The former wrestling coach from Ohio, Jim Jordan, recently used taxpayer money to conduct a comical inquisition about crime in New York City when his Ohio district has a much higher crime rate. [I know, in Republicana, REALITY doesn’t matter. Republicana citizens have the right to “feel” and believe that crime is worse in New York City. Just look at the crime television shows. They are all set in cities. What they see on the boob tube IS reality.]
In addition to gun violence, inconsistent and religiously inspired intrusions into medical care are causing rural-serving hospitals to close their obstetrics departments entirely. The hospital in Sandpoint, Idaho, will stop delivering babies altogether in May 2023 after Idaho’s highly restrictive abortion law was enacted. The chaos created by a single Trump-appointed judge placed in Amarillo, Texas, demonstrates the mindless chaos created by a single fanatical extremist.
In addition to mindless chaos, I will also append the adjective duplicitous. I grew up around ultra-conservative Amarillo before Roe v. Wade. I still recall the sudden disappearance of a female high school senior for a month or so. It was apparent that her parents and/or her boyfriend’s parents had the means to find a clandestine solution to their inconvenient problem, just as the well-off hypocrites of Republicana would find today. These affluent members of Republicana merely slink off in disguise with their daughter to a BLUE state for a “vacation.”
Making matters worse, red states stubbornly refuse to accept Medicaid funds from the Federal government and are killing not only their citizens but also many rural hospitals. These rural populations live in a vicious downward spiral. Instead of being proactive about their future, they blame the urban areas in their states and the coastal elites for all their problems. They literally live in states of denial.
Our nation now has too many extremists with fanatical tendencies. We have always had fanatical extremists, but over the last 25 years, both their numbers and intensity have increased. Moderate Republicans sold their souls to the MAGA crowd to win the 2016 election. However, these same moderate Republicans should think seriously about working with Democrats and Independents to steer the ship of State back into the middle of the political current. If we let the irrational extremists steer our ship and define our narrative, we will run aground on the shoals of anarchy and autocracy.
Decisions, Decisions
Our collective choice is clear and stark. Over the last 450 years, history has shown that creating and sustaining a Democracy is painful and difficult. So, do we want to retain our messy, multi-cultural, complicated democracy, or do we want our institutions destroyed by criminal anarchists like Steward Rhodes and reconstituted as a criminal dictatorship under someone like Donald Trump?
Do we want to live in the authentic United States of America or the fake world of Republicana? I am not suggesting that everyone should run out to support Bernie Sanders. I am saying that we must put a damper on out-of-control extremism. The US Civil War proved that those on the side of sanity and Democracy could not force change on the crazed extremists who started the war. We need to find a middle ground before history repeats itself. The current citizens of Republicana must decide for themselves. Will the fanatics continue to support a culture that encourages shooting at teenagers and blacks who drive into the wrong driveway, or will they lay down their implicit support for AR-15s and leave Republicana? Will moderate Republicans develop a backbone and find a more civilized home?