Why is Everyone so Fucking Stupid?

If you can believe in God, you can believe anything. 90% of Americans actually believe some version of this preposterous story -- the mother of all conspiracy theories. This makes Trump's "big lie" look like an innocent fib. It's about casting off from the world of evidence into the rough waters of human imagination. You are sailing into "Earth 2" - the world constructed entirely by human imagination. Anything can be true.

People have always been unaware of any difference between the world they inhabited and the magic-filled world of myth. In spite of our conceit about being "modern" this is still the prevailing mindset in for most humans. Even professional scientists can hold in their heads both some version of the "God Story" along with deep understanding of the actual world.

But for many, the "real world" doesn't satisfy their need for excitement. Nor does the hypocritical, boring, confusing, self-contradictory world of organized religion. They need UFOs. They need conspiracy theories. They need to be under constant threat of cosmic significance. For many, this "itch" can be satisfied by fantasy. For others, brought up in a world already shot through with secret influences, the need is for stronger stuff. Such as Q-Anon. Such as microchips in vaccinations. Such as cannibal Democrats. There is a spiral of "one-upmanship". You can't get attention unless your story is even more outrageous that what ll your friends already believe. In the case of the virus, this is a death spiral.

The road from Santa in the Sky to Donald Trump is sketched in CBC's excellent podcast, "The Flamethrowers". Way back in the birth of radio, stations needed cheap content and Bible Thumping preachers needed a way to reach more people (and pockets). 

But why America? What is it about America that makes it such a fertile ground for outright denial of reality?

America was founded by half a dozen sects who simultaneously claimed their beliefs were the only correct ones and that others were mistaken. Bound for Hell even. This combination of rabid focus on made-up doctrine along with the tendency to endlessly split into more and more factions is the founding feature of Protestantism (it's in the very name). It is in the American tradition to cling proudly to one's own version of the big lie and shun others - sometimes to the point of violence.

The road from Santa in the Sky to Donald Trump is sketched in CBC's excellent podcast, "The Flamethrowers". Way back in the birth of radio, stations needed cheap content and Bible Thumping preachers needed a way to reach more people (and pockets). This is not entirely an American story. We had a little taste of it in rural Canada. But then we created the CBC, dedicated to actually informing the Canadian people. In America, "fact based" radio such as PBS is now mainly something only "lefties" listen to. This sets up a false equivalence between Fox News and actual news.

This sets the stage for charlatans of all stripes to round up "true believers" and convince them of something even nuttier than what they already believe. There is something WE know and YOU don't. What's more - you need to demonstrate your belief. You need to act. Shoot an abortion provider. Invade the Capital. It's a habit of mind. Act out. Be a star.

This is the road to mass stupidity. It is the road to catastrophe.

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"American Psychosis" expands on this theme to describe the long history if craziness in US politics. While religion is a repeating them, there is also the constant drumbeat of anti-immigration and paranoia being weaponized for political purposes. "othering"w