“There are invisible rulers who control the destinies of millions. It is not generally realized to what extent the words and actions of our most influential public men are dictated by shrewd persons operating behind the scenes.”― Edward Bernays, Propaganda 

Donald Trump is part of the Hegelian dialectic which the oligarchs have unleashed upon the American People. Trump and the republicans represent the iron fist of fascism, while the democrats are the velvet glove. Whether we get a Republican or a Democrat in the oval office, the empire will continue with business as usual: protecting corporate interests at the expense of the common good.

Trump is a true oligarch and he knows that he’s pandering to a specific group of incredibly dumb people. These are the same fascists/racists which Palin, Carson, Fiorina, Cruz and company have been appealing to for years. They are the direct descendants of the “nativists” and “know nothings.”

These people exist all over the country, not just in the rural south.

The dirty little secret – not so secret, really – is that the right wing has depended on low information racist whites as their main support base for decades. These in-breds are never spoken of in polite upper class society but they are pandered to with talk of the loss of ‘American values.’

“Take our country back!” they cry: always a thinly veiled racist appeal designed to get out the angry white vote.

The authoritarian mindset is not bothered by cognitive dissonance. Thus, we have those who would venerate the confederate flag and denounce the legitimacy of the U.S. government while at the same time they consider themselves to be paragons of patriotism.

Today we have Christians who claim to follow Jesus’ teachings as they revel in the pain and suffering of others. They want to force their values on their fellow citizens – even if it’s at the end of a gun.

They are hypocrites who denounce social welfare programs while they receive huge government subsidies for their private profit-taking.

This is a mentality clouded with wacky conspiracy theories, phony white victimhood, a firm belief in Christian mythology and a rather fanciful vision of the American Empire.

And because fascists are such weak minded individuals, they are quite easily manipulated. They’re ruled by base emotions and critical thinking is foreign to them. They will discard facts which don’t fit their worldview and easily embrace lies that do. Thus you have a fascist buffoon like Trump who has these people enthralled with his outright inanity and macho, ubermensch schtick.

Sad.