"MAGA plays to a social desert"

Plus, the new faces of survivalism and some political ephemera from my vaults.

Human beings are social creatures who seek belonging, purpose and meaning. For many people, these goods are provided through their most intimate relationships — family, romantic partnerships, and friends. But societies are woven through larger scale webs of belonging as well. And in the US, these have often been provided through two sources: religion and civic life.

Both are declining in the US today, at least in their traditional forms. What has emerged to fill the void? The MAGA movement.

This movement weaves together a far-right political theology (Christian nationalism), a right-wing media ecosystem (that doubles as a moral community), and a charismatic leader (Donald Trump). In their different ways, all offer belonging, purpose and meaning (or at least some semblance of them).

In Episode 5 of When the Wolves Came, Rev.

Caleb E. Campbell

told me something that stuck with me. He was explaining how he tries to help people who have been drawn into Christian nationalism to let go of the fear, anger and blind loyalty that is encouraged within the MAGA movement. He uses a rough scale of 1 to 10 to describe the intensity of people’s attachments to this movement. As he explains:

CALEB CAMPBELL: This is why, like, being hospitable and forming communities that are safe is such a critical component [of my work]. Because, no one ever articulates it this way, of course, but, you know, being at a 7, I get 10,000 rewards in my community for being a 7.

When I put the bumper sticker or the t-shirt, when I make that statement on social media, when I own the libs on Twitter, I get rewarded and reaffirmed and reassured in my community. All of us love that. And if you're asking me to go from a 7 to a 3, it's not just changing my mind, it's I lose all of those features of community: safety, belonging, and purpose. And unless you're offering something better, I'm not really willing to listen.

People are not reasoning themselves into these ideologies. They're enculturated into it. So if their business partners, if their spouse, if their kids or parents, if their bridge club is entrenched inside this community too, it's going to take a lot longer and it's going to take a lot of hospitality where they experience true safety, belonging, and purpose, not the facsimile that's given to them by purveyors of American Christian nationalism.

I thought about this conversation this week when I read an incredible guest essay in the New York Times by sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild. She set out to understand Trump voters’ enduring support for the man even as he promotes policies that are harming them. To answer this question, she returns to rural Kentucky, the subject of her most recent book. She summarizes her findings as follows:

When I checked back in with many of the Trump supporters whose lives I describe in my most recent book, “Stolen Pride,” to see if this had changed any of their minds, the overall answer seemed to be no. Some seemed more committed to Mr. Trump than they had been before.

I encourage you to read the whole thing, as she covers a lot of ground in her efforts to understand why this is the case. But one part jumped out at me. A local religious studies professor she spoke to, Rob Musick, offered the following diagnosis of his community:

Around here, Democrats come off as against this and against that — and not for anything. They need a big positive alternative vision. And they need to understand that in rural areas like this, the deeper problem is that we’re socially hollowed out. That happy buzz of community life? That’s not here. There are fewer meetings of the Masons, the Rotary Club, the Red Hatters. Our church benches are empty. In the mountains, there’s no safe place against drugs. One elderly woman told me, ‘I don’t open my door anymore.’ I’ve heard teens say, ‘There’s nothing to do.’ A lot of kids are alone in their rooms online with Dungeons and Dragons. I think MAGA plays to a social desert.

This comment resonates closely with Caleb’s. It’s not enough to say that Trump is offering something bad. Because that overlooks the things that people are getting from supporting his movement: a feeling of belonging, purpose, pride. In a community where those goods are in scant supply, even cheap versions of them are likely viewed as better than nothing.

Those who oppose him cannot simply scold people for wanting that. Because we all want that! They need to replace it with something better.

Musick offers one form this could take:

“I think Democrats need to … initiate a campaign of grand civic re-engagement,” Mr. Musick said. Federal funds could support the best local initiatives, he added, and help start ecology, drama and music clubs — “good local things that lack funding.”

This won’t solve the whole problem, of course. But I think it’s a great idea. What do you think? And what are the big positive alternative visions for society that inspire you?

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One Thing™️ of the week

We can’t all do everything — but we can do one thing each week

This week, look locally.

Spend some time researching groups in your community that are solving problems you care about or promoting issues you support—that are weaving neighbors together in shared purpose. Is there some way you can plug into them, as a volunteer or a supporter?

If none exists, don’t be afraid to start one.

When communities are “socially hollowed out,” as the Kentucky community Hochschild studied was described, this creates an opening for purveyors of cheap belonging.

The belonging is cheap because it does nothing to improve your actual life, your material reality of safety or community. It is, as Caleb says, a “facsimile” of true belonging. True belonging often starts locally, and is led by real people. Like us.

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What I’m consuming

Here are the smart people I’m reading/watching/listening to

The new faces of survivalism have arrived, and they look little like the camouflage-clad white men with bunkers full of weapons and canned goods that are typically associated with the label.

At The 19th, Jennifer Gerson reports on “Black women who are gaining social media prominence by influencing on preparedness, especially for an audience of other Black women. And given the current political climate, this audience has never been bigger or more invested.”

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Something Light

A little palette cleanser before you go

Because other people’s junk is my data, I have a habit of collecting old political memorabilia. So I was thrilled when a trip to a local vintage shop yielded BOTH of these old buttons.

The first was produced by the ACLU in 1984, during President Ronald Reagan’s (“Rev Ronald’s”) administration. I have seen versions of the second that date to the late-1960s.

But versions of both could also be found gracing lapels today. Because, as

Kristin Du Mez

reflected on this week, “We’ve seen these things before…. There are patterns, and historians can help you see them.” And perhaps also vintage shops.

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