Hypocrisy on Ice

Myths, Cults, and Cold Realities

During another frozen week in Baltimore of breaking more ice, my daughter arrived after work Monday and cleared all the ice on my walkway to the frozen solid alley. She also dug a spot for her Sheep Dog to relieve herself while she spent the week with me recovering from hematoma surgery. She has been great company during another week of staying put, reflecting on the news and going down rabbit holes.

One rabbit hole led me to an article that said. “The more you Google and research, the more you realize how much you don’t know….While others might assume they know enough about a topic, you’re diving deeper, questioning assumptions, and staying curious.” Instead of commenting on last week’s news, I invite you to follow me in and out of what I found during my explorations.

Jasmine Crockett called Trump “the King of distraction and division.” His title resonates with the question I have been asking since 2016, why would anyone vote for him? In 2016 the answer was party over politics when I heard, “get over it, you lost.” Trump holds another title - only president to be impeached twice. That woke some people up, but many people swallowed the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

• This article is only one perspective on Trump supporters: Explaining the Trump loyalty cult phenomenon

“A more likely explanation is that self-professed ‘forgotten men and women‘ are willing to subordinate themselves to an authoritarian leader who defies social rules and legal orders. Trump promises to ‘make America great again’ (mission), attacks internal and external enemies (Manichean demonisation), exhibits a strong personal presence, and uses derogatory language against opponents (makes supporters feel part of the in-group).…

Many pundits pointed out that Trump’s 2024 re-election bid became a carnival of misogyny and racism, even though it was his selling point right from the beginning….

Trump’s carnival has broken the rules to such an extent that even POLITY has downgraded US democratic credentials, suggesting the country is on the cusp of autocracy. This is a full-blown constitutional crisis. The Republican party is choosing fealty to their fool over foundational law of the land.”

• Several books have been written on how Reagan laid the foundation for Trump’s rise to power. The overview of From Ronald to Donald: How the Myth of Reagan Became the Cult of Trump by Edwin G. Oswald, Alan Axelrod, gives a good summary:

“Reagan’s myth persists, and by understanding his time in office in the context of American history and of the American presidency, we can understand how a transformative president created more than policy by also shaping culture with the instrumental force of mythology. This book attempts to neither praise nor bury Reagan but to explain him in non-partisan terms of contemporary popular mythology. The authors examine his legacy in his war on “big government,” which still drives politics, economic policy, and culture, even in Trump’s era. They make the case that understanding the mythology at work is a necessary step toward healing American politics and saving American democracy.”

• What we have been witnessing in the news is: Manufactured Confusion: Gaslighting as a Tool of Power in the Trump Administration | by Center for Racial and Disability Justice

“The Trump administration’s use of gaslighting — old in its lineage, new in its reach — should alarm anyone concerned with truth, justice, or democracy. The actions of officials like Elon Musk, Linda McMahon, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and others are not isolated eccentricities; they are part of a coordinated campaign to unmake public institutions while convincing the public they are being saved.”

“As history teaches us, unchecked manipulation of reality can pave the way for authoritarianism. The antidote lies in truth-telling, transparency, solidarity, and collective defense of our shared reality. In this moment, refusing to be gaslit is not just a personal act of clarity — it is a political act of resistance.”

Going down these rabbit holes tells me I am not alone. There are many learned and invested individuals alongside me to help me find the words to organize my often random thoughts.

Sharing echoes from fellow Substakers lets me know we are part of a force that will not stand by when we see democracy threatened. America is better than lies and gaslighting. We can forgive those who avoid the truth, but we can not forget the damage that has been done to this country on the national and global stage.

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🎙️ Community Echoes

Voices from the front lines of the rabbit hole.

“What might help us see through illusions in ‘mine,’ ‘me’? Try see-truth lenses?” — Marisol Muñoz-Kiehne

“We struggle together, realizing that we are no longer living in a free country... The only people that must adhere to law are those without billion-dollar portfolios.” — Stephanie Raffelock

“This convergence of presidential power... creates a poisonous brew—not Christianity but a cheap cult that sanctifies whatever serves power and material success. (Prayer Breakfast)….

There was a time when Americans of every political persuasion could look to the presidency as a North Star of civic decency. Whatever policy disagreements divided us, the office imposed a gravitational pull toward the better angels of our nature. That era is dead. And today its corpse was desecrated.” — Msgr. Arthur Holquin, S.T.L.

“Most of us oppose the POTUS fascist regime, yet some support it. It is troubling that some dismiss what is going on.” — Manuel A Garcia

“If we actually cared about our kids as deeply as we think we do, one would presume we’d be acting differently; one would presume we’d be voting differently.” — Kert Lenseigne

As I look at the walkway my daughter cleared, I’m reminded that the ice doesn’t melt all at once; it requires the deliberate, back-breaking work of someone willing to see the path beneath it. Our political reality is currently frozen over by a layer of manufactured confusion and “poisonous brews,” but the act of digging for truth—of going down those rabbit holes and refusing to accept the Big Lie—is the shovel we use to find our way back to solid ground. Refusing to be gaslit is more than just personal clarity; it is the quiet, persistent labor of clearing a path for others. We may be living through a season of deep hypocrisy, but as long as we keep digging, keep questioning, and keep sharing our “echoes,” we ensure that the foundation of our democracy remains visible, even under the thickest ice.