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Bonhoeffer Was Onto Something

The Atlantic recently published a troubling article about the decline of literacy, in which it reported that “Nearly 30 percent of American adults cannot paraphrase or make inferences from a multipage text… they are losing the higher-order abilities of comprehension and synthesis.”

That loss of the ability to comprehend doesn’t simply suggest a problem with literacy. It goes a long way toward explaining our contemporary politics.

Polls tell us that nearly thirty percent of Americans still approve of Donald Trump. Forgive me for painting with a broad brush, but I suspect there is considerable overlap between the  “illiterate” subjects profiled in the Atlantic article and the poll respondents who haven’t yet noticed that Trump is a mentally-ill ignoramus who has made America a global laughingstock. (I’m pretty sure that these are people who have no idea what he is doing every day to America’s government, and who will only desert him when the pain at the gas pump becomes acute.)

You may be wondering why this presumed overlap matters. Dietrich Bonhoeffer has answered that question much more eloquently than I could. In his 1943 essay “After Ten Years” (written while he was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp) he outlined his theories about why ordinary people submit to ideological manipulation. That essay included the following paragraph:

“Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed – in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.” 

As the saying goes, you can’t reason someone out of an opinion that he didn’t reason himself into…

When I re-read that quote–it had been many years since I first encountered Bonhoeffer–I was struck by how accurately it defined the MAGA movement.

As I have frequently noted, research tells us that the MAGA movement is grounded in racial resentment– White “Christian” nationalism and its associated bigotries. Maintaining bigotry generally requires an absence of  the ability to reason. (Lumping all members of a race or religion into a single, negative stereotype is hardly the product of rational cogitation…)

Of course, an inability to reason, to consider evidence that is inconsistent with one’s initial thesis, isn’t always the product of stupidity. We’ve all encountered highly intelligent people who are emotionally compromised in ways that compel them to blame some “other” for their life’s disappointments. Asserting that all Trump’s MAGA supporters are simply stupid would be a vast oversimplification and equally prejudiced. Nevertheless, there is a lesson in Bonhoeffer’s observation. Arguing with people who angrily reject facts and evidence, trying to reason with people who cling to their preferred worldviews in defiance of contrary information, is a fool’s errand.

The job of the 70% of us who are not MAGA is to turn out the vote in November. That 70% encompasses people with a wide variety of political preferences and positions–it includes everyone from disaffected (horrified) Republicans to Mamdani/Bernie Democrats, all of whom appear to understand and disapprove of the daily damage being done by Trump’s neo-fascist regime and its enablers. We should not–we cannot–waste time and breath trying to get through to people who, for whatever reason, are beyond reason.  Spending our precious time trying to convince these True Believers is, as Bonhoeffer says, senseless and dangerous.

The midterm elections are less than four months away. We need to spend every available minute between now and then registering the previously apathetic unregistered, and making plans to get out a vote so massive that Trump and company cannot challenge the repudiation of their profoundly unAmerican movement.  

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Really, Indiana?

In Indiana, it sometimes seems as if the most basic rules of governing have been abandoned. Announcements that would once have been met with incredulity and/or outrage merit at most a shrug of the shoulders. A population that has watched the unbelievable grift and corruption of the Trump family has evidently lost the ability to react to obvious conflicts of interest, and those shrugs also accompany the even more obvious efforts to restore White male privilege.

Just two examples:

The Indiana Chronicle, among others, has reported that the recently appointed Indiana Commerce Secretary, Chuck Goodrich, will assume that position while continuing his current job as CEO of Gaylor Electric, identified as “one of the nation’s largest non-union electrical construction firms.”  Goodrich dismissed any concerns about conflicts of interest by explaining that there are “people in charge of making sure that there’s no issue between the business of the state and business of Gaylor.” (And speaking of conflicts of interest, among other things, Gaylor evidently builds data centers, which are currently a source of considerable controversy. Asked about that potential conflict, Goodrich replied that it would be important “to work with local communities.” Not exactly reassuring…)

In his new state position, Goodrich will oversee the Indiana Economic Development Corp., Indiana Destination Development Corp., the Department of Workforce Development and various other entities. Even giving him the benefit of the doubt on the potential for conflicts of interest–despite the fact that he is quoted as saying that the firm may continue to compete for state incentives– overseeing those state agencies would rather clearly seem to be a full-time job. Being CEO of a large company would also seem to be a full-time job. 

Presumably, Goodrich is a superman who can simultaneously hold down and perform two full-time jobs. I did wonder, however, if he will pull down two full-time salaries, and if so, how the citizens of Indiana can be assured of getting our money’s worth from our new Commerce Secretary.

And then there was this.

I’m sure MAGA folks will be happy to learn that, while Indiana’s uber-MAGA officials are winking at financial shenanigans, they aren’t relaxing their vigilant efforts to ensure White male privilege. As the Indiana Business Journal reported,

Following an advisory opinion from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, Gov. Mike Braun announced Wednesday the state will end a procurement program aimed at helping underrepresented groups access state contracts.

The decision comes nearly a year after the Governor’s Office requested an opinion from Rokita regarding the legality of the Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises, or M/WBE, program and the Governor’s Commission on Supplier Diversity.

On Wednesday morning, Rokita announced that his office had concluded that the Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises program, a feature of the state’s Diversity Business Enterprises Program, is unlawful under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

In the 43-page opinion submitted to the governor’s office on Tuesday, Rokita recommended the governor take steps with the Indiana Department of Administration to end the program.

Indiana’s administration has enthusiastically participated in Trump’s war against diversity, equity and inclusion. Braun has issued an executive order prohibiting executive branch agencies from using state money for such purposes, and Rokita–who never met a fairness effort he didn’t want to abolish–announced that companies wanting to do business with the state must certify they do not engage in DEI practices. He also announced that he would reject state-agency contracts with any law firm that maintained “improper” diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Our MAGA state officials are now on record for the proposition that efforts to level the playing field–efforts to ccombat clearly discriminatory practices that effectively exclude minorities and women from equal economic participation with White males–are what constitute the real discrimination.

Indiana’s current crop of deplorable and ethically-challenged statewide officials is a result of the state’s longtime one-party government. As I have argued, the consequences of long-term one-party rule aren’t limited to our gerrymandered House and Senate districts, dismal as those consequences are. The absence of robust policy debates and competitive argumentation has resulted in the elevation of mediocre (and worse) party insiders, whose elevation to public office was the result of obedience to party pooh-bas and reliance on an electorate that has reliably voted for anyone, no matter how dull or embarrassing, with an R beside his name. The result is a government run by the statewide officials who currently embarrass us. 

No wonder educated young people are fleeing Indiana.

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Todd Young And The Empty Chair

Last night, I participated in another “Empty Chair” Town Hall. Once again, Indiana Senator Todd Young has declined to face his constituents, and I was among those making brief, preliminary remarks. (I should note that I blame Young far more than I blame our other Senator, Jim Banks, because Banks is a Christian nationalist lunatic. Young clearly knows better, and is thus more culpable.)

Here’s what I said.

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Hoosiers are well aware that Senator Young has failed to object to Trump’s multiple violations of the Constitution. Most recently, this former Marine voted against efforts to invoke the War Powers Act—in other words, against a measure that would have asserted Congress’s constitutional authority over Trump’s insane war against Iran.

Less attention, however, has been paid to what may have been his most abject failure–his performance of a critically important function imposed upon the Senate under that same Constitution.

Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution requires Senators to approve or reject presidential nominations for key positions. The Senate must pass judgment on ambassadors, Supreme Court judges, and cabinet officials.

Todd Young voted to confirm every single one of Trump’s cabinet nominees—individuals who range from incompetent to corrupt to mentally ill. Despite the fact that these nominees were clearly unfit and unqualified—and frequently scandal-plagued—Indiana’s Senators obediently approved them. And Hoosiers are suffering the consequences.

Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, and Lori Chavez-DeReme have already left the administration—all three were being investigated for serious misconduct and self-dealing, but their departures were a result of not doing Trump’s bidding effectively enough. Their replacements will undoubtedly be worse.

Meanwhile, We the People are still stuck with Pete Hegseth, a pompous drunkard who is busy firing women and minorities, committing war crimes, and Christianizing the Pentagon. We are still stuck with Kash Patel,  another drunk, who has been plagued by a slew of scandals , has gutted the FBI’s counterintelligence staff, and demonstrated utter incompetence.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.– a known crank–has systematically undermined our public health system; spread disinformation about vaccines, vitamin A, and autism; fired qualified scientists who refused to adopt his anti-science policies; slashed grants and upended critical research.

The list goes on. None of the people in this circus of incompetent buffoons—not one–would have been nominated or confirmed for their positions in any other administration. A stable, competent president would never have nominated them, and Senators who took their responsibilities seriously would never have confirmed them.

The Constitution requires Senators to consider the qualifications and ethics of Presidential nominees. The people Trump nominated were obviously—in several cases, ludicrously—unqualified for the positions involved. Most were ethically compromised as well.

Todd Young obediently voted to confirm every single one of them.

Hoosiers and all Americans are experiencing the results, including a ridiculous and unnecessary war, accompanied by war crimes; the return of inflation; mounting deaths from the return of measles (which had been eradicated); disruption of important medical research;  efforts to revise accurate history, retreat from environmental protections, and persistent assaults on democratic norms  and constitutional principles.

Americans and Hoosiers are in a world of hurt because Todd Young and other spineless Republican Senators obediently confirmed Trump’s choice of blatantly and obviously unfit individuals.

In a recent interview, Hakeem Jeffries said it best: “It’s extraordinary to me that Senate Republicans confirmed people like Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, Pete Hegseth, RFK Jr., and Kash Patel. All of them. Deeply unserious and deeply unqualified. And now the country is paying the price because of the individuals that Donald Trump chose to nominate as part of the Trump cartel that’s now doing great damage to the nation, and the fact that Senate Republicans, like helpless sheep, went along with it all.”

The good news is that the continuing cowardice of Republicans like Todd Young has created an enormous popular backlash. As Simon Rosenberg recently wrote, “Just look at the news coverage – the disgraced FBI Director yelling at reporters, Tucker Carlson apologizing for supporting Trump, the Labor Secretary resigning due to a really nasty scandal, utter legislative chaos and infighting in both chambers, Trump’s unending whining about his gilded ballroom, and then there is the failed war – gargantuan, historic, shocking levels of buffoonery, idiocy, incompetence and now desperation too.”

Todd Young’s chair is as empty as his allegiance to his oath of office.

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