Epilogue: Scourge: The Demise of Critical Thinking in the Age of Donald Trump

 The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. 

Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.

~~~

 [Martin Luther King]

Photo: Nick Anderson

I’ve waited until now to write a final comment on what has been an extraordinary and sobering election season. This pause was not to dissect or analyze the events but rather to gain a clearer sense of what Trump’s second term would bring. And indeed, he has revealed himself. One can only imagine the extent of an unencumbered Trump presidency, though the glimpses we now have speak volumes.

The only lingering question I feel compelled to ask is: What possessed the American people?

"Possessed" is, in fact, the key word. If Trump has proven anything, it is his mastery of possession—not in the supernatural sense, but in his unparalleled ability to seize the minds and emotions of his followers. To underscore this point, I turn again to an excerpt from Hypnotic Marketing, shared in the first chapter of this book, as it offers a chilling framework for understanding Trump’s strategy:

Your prospects are all in trances. If you merge with their trance, you can then lead them out of it into the "buying trance" you want them to be in.

Agree with them. Merge with them. Accept that trance as your door. Then lead into what you want to sell by tying it back to their trance.

Here’s how the process breaks down:

1. Understand your prospect’s current beliefs (their "trance").
2. Establish rapport by agreeing with their beliefs.
3. Transition their beliefs into your desired outcome (a new trance).

Here are examples of trances Trump knew people were already in:

• “I’m worried about the border” trance
• “I’m worried about others not of my race” trance
• “Women are taking over” trance
• “I want to be filthy rich like Elon Musk” trance
• “I’m losing my job to immigrants” trance
• “My way of life is being threatened by progressivism” trance
• “I can’t trust the media anymore” trance
• “The government is out to control me” trance
• “Socialism is taking over” trance
• “Big tech is censoring my voice” trance

And the list continues.

Each of these "trances" feeds into deeply personal, often self-serving fears and desires. As Joe Vitale the creator of Hypnotic Marketing and co-author of The Secret notes, the nature of people is inherently inward-focused. They prioritize their own well-being, their own pains, and their own aspirations. These inward states are fertile ground for manipulation, or as Vitale terms it, "trances."

Given the above, it was naive of the Democrats to have ever thought they could put “defend your democracy against fascism” or "The Constitution" at the centre of the political agenda. In a society increasingly characterized by narcissism and consumerism—and therefore can be easily manipulated—the weaponization of unashamed propaganda proved devastatingly effective.

The hard truth, as Hegel reminds us, is that “the only thing we learn from history is that we do not learn from history.” With the generation that witnessed World War II and the Holocaust fading from memory—and even the legitimacy of that history being questioned—it will likely take another generation, one shaped by similarly hard truths, to reintroduce substance and deeper notions of justice, fairness, and equity to the political and social mainstream.

Such a shift could, someday, provide a viable and winnable political strategy—though this is far from assured in an age where tech oligarchs wield unparalleled influence over almost every piece of information that enters our minds—with Elon Musk (a product of apartheid era upbringing) being the reincarnation of Goebbels (Hitler’s chief propogandist) of our time.

The only antidote lies in fostering a collective ability to think critically, to discern truth from falsehood, and to resist the seductive simplicity of propaganda. This responsibility, however, falls increasingly on the individual. When the leader of the most powerful nation demands the erosion of truth under the guise of free speech, the burden of distinguishing fact from fiction lies squarely on our own shoulders.

This is the challenge of our time. Whether we rise to meet it remains to be seen.

© Newton Fortuin, January 25, 2025

[Epilogue of Scourge: The Demise of Critical Thinking in the Age of Donald Trump]