Trust Me

No liberal society can function without a certain fundamental level of trust in the good will of fellow citizens.

Have you ever noticed how many of the more intellectual MAGA (Make America Great Again) supporters often refer to the American government as a “regime”?  In the study of comparative politics, “regime” often refers neutrally to what we otherwise might call a political system—the basic set of political rules, practices, and institutions that enable a society to exist and function. 

“Regime” in the MAGA context, however, implies that there is something basically authoritarian and illegitimate about our federal government (the “deep state”).  This is not a Republican vs. Democratic issue, nor a conservative vs. liberal issue.  The MAGA phenomenon, in a sense, comes in perpendicular to those normal, legitimate political divisions. 

What we have in MAGA is the politics of mistrust fed by grievance, anger, fear, and suspicion.  For both financial and ideological reasons, cable TV, talk radio, and social media pour gasoline on the normal flames of political and moral disagreement.

It's easy to refer to ourselves as those who live in the fact-based world here on earth, as opposed to opponents who live somewhere else.  Yet no liberal society can function unless everyone does live in the same cultural world.  The deliberate sowing of mistrust undermines that possibility.  Fear undermines trust, and then fear is all that is left. 

What does “liberal” mean in this context?  It refers not to the idea of “big government,” but rather to a commitment to the idea of individual rights.  We live in a liberal-democratic society:  majorities rule (that’s the democratic part), but not over everything (that’s the liberal part). 

Government, for example, can mandate a certain speed limit or a requirement that we pay taxes, but it cannot mandate that we all subscribe to a particular religion.  That’s what it means to live in a liberal society, but our ability to do so requires a certain basic level of trust in the good intentions of our fellow citizens. 

It has been said that the British and the Americans are two peoples separated by a common language (I could give examples).  Our current danger is that, inflamed by cable tv, talk radio, and social media, MAGA and non-MAGA Americans are likewise becoming two peoples separated by a fracturing common language.  Both venerate the Constitution and the idea of individual rights, but they are coming to understand very different things by them.

It’s one thing to say you disagree  with your opponent or that his policies will hurt the country.  It’s quite another thing to go apocalyptic, to say that you’re saving the country, that the country will be destroyed if the other side wins.  The casualty is trust; the result is suspicion and fear.

This is not to suggest that we needn’t be careful about where we might walk alone on a dark night, but rather to say that we must believe in the basic commitment of all citizens to the best possible society and political system that we might envision, even if we might disagree about what that might be.  Norms of civility, good will, and decorum are necessary for any society to function, yet these are what MAGA has been undermining.

None of this is to say that liberals and Democrats are blameless for the concerning if not dangerous situation we face. 

The central questions for liberals and Democrats are (1) what is the nature of the anger and grievance that motivates the Trump core; (2) what is the source or cause of that anger and grievance; and (3) how and why did liberals and Democrats miss or ignore that building anger and grievance? 

Trump himself uses the core’s anger and grievance for his own apparently non-ideological reasons, even as some supporters try to construct an intellectual foundation and rationale for MAGA.  But the important concern is not Trump but rather that MAGA core.  To what extent have liberals and Democrats helped to create and foster it?

The difficulty for the other side is that while that Trump core itself is not enough to guarantee an election win for Republicans, they know that they cannot win without that core.

By my estimation, there are basically four different types of Republicans at present, three of which do not actually like Trump. 

The first type, around 35%, is that MAGA core, those who will support Trump until the end of time because they think he has come to save the country.  They are the source of the power and influence he has, and he won’t stray too far from them (see:  abortion). 

The second type, perhaps 9-10%, is the Never-Trumpers, such as Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, who think he’s a danger to American values and institutions. 

Types three and four are both what we can call Establishment Republicans, perhaps 55%:  they don’t like Trump but differ in their reasons for supporting him.  Type three dislikes him but supports him for the federal judges and tax cuts he obtains for them.  Type four also dislikes him but supports him because they are afraid to oppose him.

We are, then, in the midst of an extremely discouraging if not potentially volatile political situation.  There are a lot of bad actors out there—trust me. 

Feel better now?