{"id":94718,"date":"2017-07-03T12:00:10","date_gmt":"2017-07-03T11:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=94718"},"modified":"2017-06-30T11:59:57","modified_gmt":"2017-06-30T10:59:57","slug":"from-outer-space-three-guideposts-for-the-resistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/07\/from-outer-space-three-guideposts-for-the-resistance\/","title":{"rendered":"From Outer Space, Three Guideposts for the Resistance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beware Trump’s fearmongering, blind loyalists, and divide-and-conquer tactics. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Source: Public Domain (adapted)<\/p><\/div>\n

27 Jun 2017 – <\/em>Later this summer, millions of Americans \u2014 from Oregon to South Carolina \u2014 will be looking skyward to witness a rare total solar eclipse<\/a> as the moon briefly blots out the sun. Yet for so many in the United States, dark days aren\u2019t really anything new. And they\u2019re becoming all the more commonplace as Trump<\/a>, Ryan, and McConnell advance a heartless agenda that dims the lights on pretty much everyone except the privileged few.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, resistance groups have been working around the clock to blunt this ongoing assault on basic decency and the public good. They have a different reason to turn to the heavens: chronicles of aliens from outer space offer some valuable lessons about psychological challenges that lie ahead. Let\u2019s consider three examples.<\/p>\n

Our first stop is Grover\u2019s Mill, New Jersey. On an autumn night back in 1938, thousands of radio listeners thought the Orson Welles adaptation<\/a> of \u201cThe War of the Worlds\u201d was the real thing: a live account of Martian invaders landing nearby. Panic<\/a> ensued for those fooled by the broadcast\u2019s air of authenticity \u2013 complete with \u201cwe interrupt our program\u201d news bulletins. Some frantically called the local police to find out what protective steps they should take. Others fled from their homes seeking safety farther from the reported invasion site. Some fainted beside their radios. Within hours the hoax was revealed, but this \u201cbrush with death\u201d remains a memorable testament to human gullibility<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The lesson from Grover\u2019s Mill? Since we\u2019re not very good at judging peril, we can be easy prey for those who resort to scare tactics to achieve their goals<\/a>. Manipulative fearmongering is often used by politicians to garner votes or prop up sagging poll numbers. Trump and his entourage wouldn\u2019t be the first to gain broad support and dutiful obedience by raising the specter of mushroom clouds over our cities or other nightmarish scenarios. Indeed, invented crises and wars of aggression have long been popular ploys with leaders who seek to benefit from the collective rush toward blind patriotism.<\/p>\n

Our second stop is Lake City, USA. On a December night in 1954, Mrs. Marian Keech (an alias) and her band of disciples awaited the landing of a flying saucer from the planet Clarion. As recounted in the social psychology classic When Prophecy Fails<\/em><\/a>, they confidently sought salvation from the massive flood that they believed would soon submerge much of the country. Convinced by Mrs. Keech\u2019s purported contact with superior beings, some followers left their jobs and others gave away their money and possessions in preparation for their fateful journey. When neither the aliens nor the deluge ever arrived, this small doomsday cult \u2014 bound together by shared convictions \u2014 concluded that their faith<\/a> and devotion had led higher powers to save the world from its scheduled destruction.<\/p>\n

The lesson here is that we shouldn\u2019t expect Trump\u2019s ardent supporters to abandon him simply because he pursues policies that actually hurt rather than help them. Especially if they\u2019re surrounded by like-minded devotees, many will instead embrace his \u201calternative facts\u201d and his false claims about \u201cfake news.\u201d This is because, psychologically, the desire for consistency in our beliefs and actions often leads us to interpret the world in whatever ways most readily reduce any dissonance we feel. That\u2019s why, for instance, the cigarette smoker who\u2019s told his habit could be deadly may convince himself that the scientific research is flawed \u2014 it\u2019s easier than quitting. Likewise, misplaced political loyalties can persist indefinitely, without the adherents ever\u00a0recognizing how far they\u2019ve gone astray.<\/p>\n

Our final stop is Maple Street, USA, the fictional setting for a 1960 episode<\/a> of Rod Serling\u2019s The Twilight Zone<\/em>. When a mysterious roar and flash of light disturb a quiet summer evening, a young boy warns that creatures from outer space have arrived in human form. His notion seems farfetched until lights, phones, and automobiles stop working up and down the block. At first neighbors unite in a search for answers. But soon they\u2019re accusing each other of plotting an extraterrestrial invasion. As mob violence erupts, one alien watching from above explains to another, \u201cAll we need do is sit back and watch\u2026Their world is full of Maple Streets. And we\u2019ll go from one to the other and let them destroy themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lesson from Maple Street is clear: \u201cdivide and conquer\u201d is a tried-and-true psychological ploy when it comes to ruthlessly \u2014 and selfishly \u2014 controlling the lives and prospects of other people. It\u2019s no different for Trump. Whenever he can, he\u2019ll encourage distrust and hostility within and among opposition groups, preying on our differences to stymie the forging of new alliances and broad-based movements against him. Likewise, he\u2019ll ramp up his brutal selective targeting \u2014 of Muslims, immigrants, people of color, and others \u2014 as a way to scapegoat the most vulnerable among us and thereby misdirect the blame for his own failings.<\/p>\n

Although the total solar eclipse on August 21st will only last two minutes, the Trumpian days of darkness show little sign of abating. The three guideposts described here, drawn from not-so-close encounters with extraterrestrials, can help light the way forward. First, don\u2019t fall for Trump\u2019s scare tactics. Second, don\u2019t count on his zealous followers to waver. And third, let\u2019s stick together no matter how he tries to divide us.<\/p>\n

_______________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Roy Eidelson is a member of the TRANSCEND Network<\/a> and was a member of the American Psychological Association for over 25 years, prior to his resignation. He is a clinical psychologist and the president of Eidelson Consulting<\/a>, where he studies, writes about, and consults on the role of psychological issues in political, organizational, and group conflict settings. He is a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility<\/a>, associate director of the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict at Bryn Mawr College, and a member of the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology<\/a>. Roy can be reached at reidelson@eidelsonconsulting.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 psychologytoday.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beware Trump’s fearmongering, blind loyalists, and divide-and-conquer tactics. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-transcend-members"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94718\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}