The older I get, the more convinced I am that a great deal of apparent evil is the product of social movements which lionize unified hatred and call it "love." The cult-like rationale, which is categorically fascist in nature, is that if unity is an effective change agent, members of the fascist cult are empowered and therefore morally in the clear, no matter what values, ethical codes, methods, or emotional forces bring them together. The fascists share a hive mind which is indeed a powerful force, whereas their opponents are rendered ineffective by individualistic values and ethical qualms.
Of course, the changes are generally for the worse, but "Whatever gets the job done" is a highly effective mantra in a society where the wheels of government have ground to a halt. Rampant political corruption and calculated right-wing obstructionism are meant to entice the general populace into revolting against the best ideals of government in a unified show of hateful mob mentality. Once everything breaks down into dysfunction and chaos, the proto-fascist demagogues waiting in the wings emerge victorious. Finally, when human rights are no more, they proclaim "Well, at least something changed. Look, we all did something... together! That's real love, and to hell with anyone not on our team, because we have power and they don't. See? The good guys are the ones who get things done. Losers don't deserve this amazing love we share." It's Social Darwinism codified as a national religion, which is exactly the dystopian nightmare that America is becoming.
When basic ethics take a backseat to power-worship, spiritual sickness festers. Case in point: late-1930s Germans were united behind a passionate love of country, and and they got a LOT of things done. Bioterrorism, empire-building, torture, mass incarceration, genocide... but they were definitely things, and they definitely got them done, together. Call it "love," Nazis; that doesn't make it good. Thus does state power subsume notions of true personal agency and democracy which once empowered citizens to effect change for the good of ALL. The only anodyne to this cultural cancer are democratic models of government which encourage free will and adhere to human rights principles. Bottom fuckin' line, no excuses.
#nevertrump
