ELECTION APPEAL

Dictator Watch
October 13, 2024

When David Koresh and his armed to the teeth Branch Davidian cult members were surrounded by law enforcement in 1993 they set incendiary devices all over their Waco, Texas compound. The FBI implored them to let the children out, but they refused. Instead, they torched the compound, an act of mass suicide, including purposefully burning their children to death. (Jim Jones by contrast had his followers poison themselves and their families, a still horrible but much less painful death.) This to normal people seems insane: parents immolating their children. But the Branch Davidians were not mentally ill. Instead, they were brainwashed fanatics, who chose to murder their young.

When you look at the people who intend to vote for Trump, what is most striking is their willingness to self-harm. A few billionaires will do well but everyone else and the country overall will suffer. So why do they do it, act against their own self-interest? The answer is that in their own way they too are Branch Davidians. I guess we should be thankful that Trump hasn't preached he is the Son of God and that everyone should follow him to "heaven."

When you have regular psychology, when you are not completely brainwashed, it is impossible to understand the mindset of people who are. Confronting irrationality is one of the greatest challenges in life and we as a nation are now living in a situation where almost half our fellow citizens are irrational. You would like to reach out and shake them a little and shout, "Wake up!" But unfortunately, in practical terms, there is no way to do it.

The counterbalance is that there are more of us than them. But this only works if we vote. For young people, the group historically most disinclined to vote, your future is on the line. This can't be emphasized enough. The election is a fork in the road. Vote Harris and progress and the future continue. Vote Trump and you might as well kiss your ass goodbye. Your hopes and dreams will be in ruins.

Imagine living in a shiny city versus say Dresden, Germany after it was flattened in World War II. It's worth putting in the small effort to choose the former. For women, one Party doesn't care if you die, is actually happy to sacrifice you. That should be enough motivation to cast a ballot as well (likewise for all the parents of daughters). But of course this applies to everyone. None of us, not even the Republican cult members, actually want to live in Trump's dictatorship. Try asking the Chinese and North Koreans and Russians and Belorussians and Burmese how much they enjoy their lives of oppression. The answer is: They hate it! But once a dictator gets power it is almost impossible to drive them out. The difference here is that America has nearly 400,000,000 weapons in private hands. If Trump gets his dictatorship there will be armed insurrection against it. Everywhere. You've seen the dystopia movies. Trump wants America to be like that. If you aren't so brain dead that you would willingly sacrifice your children, you need to vote, to stop him now.