Why cultists are so loud and proud
Lies and conspiracy theories are related, finds Marcel Danesi, a professor of semiotics and linguistic anthropology at the University of Toronto. In a pattern that “goes back to antiquity,” populist leaders such as former President Donald Trump, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Russia’s Vladimir Putin “use language to develop a cult-like following.” Danesi offers a scientific explanation at Politico.
Such leaders deploy “dehumanizing metaphors to instill and propagate hatred of others.”
Here is an example of the result, live and in color, from the Trump rally Saturday in Erie Pennsylvania:
Whoops.
Danesi explains:
The first step to manipulating the minds of the public, or really the precondition, is that listeners need to be in the right emotional state.
In order to hack into the minds of the public, people need to feel fear or uncertainty.That could be caused by economic instability or pre-existing cultural prejudices, but the emotional basis is fear. The brain is designed to respond to fear in various ways, with its own in-built defense mechanisms which produce chemicals in the response pattern, such as cortisol and adrenaline. These chemical responses, which zip straight past our logical brains to our fight-or-flight reactions, are also activated by forms of language that instill fear, either directly (as in a vocal threat) or, more insidiously, by twisted facts which allay fears through lies and deceptive statements.
Lay observers of this phenomenon simply call it “the lizard brain,” the area triggered by our most primitive instincts.
This pattern becomes more effective the more it is used. According to studies, the more these circuits are activated the more hardwired they become, until it becomes almost impossible to turn them off. What this means is these repetitive uses of dehumanizing metaphors are incredibly powerful to those brains already willing to hear them, because they direct their thoughts, making it easy to focus on certain things and ignore others.
The same is true of conspiracy theories. The neuroscientific research shows that people who believe them develop more rigid neural pathways, meaning they find it difficult to rethink situations once this pattern of thinking is established.
This reminds me of how chronic depression can cause a stubborn “set” in people’s brains.
Big lies, Danesi writes, more readily tap into a “well-trodden neural pathway.” He offers recent dehumanizing metaphors used by Orbán, Putin and white supremacists. And Donald Trump, of course.
One might explain the reason behind the extremist right’s need to control or dismantle public education as an attempt to prevent the development of critical-thinking skills in the young. “Simply put — if we are constantly critical of lies, our brains are more trained to notice them,” Danesi writes. Good for you. Bad for demagogues. It makes you harder to brainwash.
Once the brain has carved out a well-worn path of believing deceit, it is even harder to step out of that path — which is how fanatics are born. Instead, these people will seek out information that confirms their beliefs, avoid anything that is in conflict with them, or even turn the contrasting information on its head, so as to make it fit their beliefs.
Behold:
Still, people do leave cults. Skinheads and Neo-Nazis do find their way out, sometimes with help. There are support groups for recovering evangelicals.
Danesi concludes:
History has shown that disruptive events — such as the toppling of a regime or the loss of a war — can force a new perspective and the brain is able to recalibrate. So it is at least possible to change this pattern. Once the critical mind is engaged, away from the frenzy of fear and manipulation, the lie can become clear. This is the uplifting moral tale that can be gleaned from history — all the great liars, from dictators to autocrats, were eventually defeated by truth, which eventually will win out.
But the bad news is that you need that kind of disruption. Without these jarring events to bring a dose of reality, it is unlikely that people with strong convictions will ever change their minds — something that benefits the autocrat and endangers their society.
I don’t know. I’ve seen more than my share of disruptive, “jarring” events in the Trump era. And still, these “damn proud” cultists keep showing up in numbers to have their lizard brains tickled. Some are primed to kill (above). Eighteen million Americans (7% of the adult population) are primed for another violent insurrection to reinstall Trump as president. That is up from 4.5%, or 12 million people, in April.
Truth will eventually win out, Danesi promises. I’m still waiting. Hitler, Tojo, and the Confederacy, if I recall, were defeated on the battlefield.