Panic pathogen

Torches and pitchforks at the ready

Remember ritual Satanic abuse in day-care centers? Through the centuries, in difficult times, we see sudden, widespread moral panics, with false or exaggerated fears of some person, group, or behavior believed to threaten society. Reacting to disasters such as crop failures or plagues, people often persecuted marginalized members of society—foreigners, beggars, “witches,” Jews—as if they were the cause. Unfortunately, we have not outgrown this irrational mindset.

Notably, the culture wars lurch from one moral panic to the next.

Last year, the covid pandemic, racial justice protests, and Donald Trump’s election circus made a perfect trifecta leading to something new under the sun: an absolute swarm of converging moral panics—fear and outrage at its peak. (I certainly hope it’s the peak.)

Wikipedia notes that moral panics are “perpetuated by moral entrepreneurs and the mass media, and exacerbated by politicians and lawmakers.” Moral entrepreneurs are the individuals or groups who start a panic going.

The new Super Panic is honed by political operatives and think tanks. Social media, rant radio, and 24-hour cable news provide parallel platforms for moral entrepreneurs, their followers and enforcers. Never before have legislators at every level of government been so willing to aid and abet moral panics.

I wonder, what are the physical and psychological effects of manufacturing constant fear and stress?

Single issues and moral panics roil around together: 1. Resistance to vaccination and mask mandates; 2. Critical race theory (CRT), which some falsely suppose is taught in public schools; 3. Immigration; 4. Minority rights; 5. LGBT rights; 6. States’ rights versus federal power; 7. Beliefs that non-citizens vote and election officials cheat; 8. Suspicion of public education, teachers, universities, intellectuals, scientists, and experts in general.

Also, 9. Abortion; 10. Gun control with fears of confiscation; 11. Dislike of central government and distrust of all politicians; 12. Antipathy toward non-Christian religions; 13. Demonization of all political ideologies not Republican; 14. Antagonism to mainstream media; 15. Rural versus urban; 16. Hatred of specific folk devils, notably Antifa, George Soros, Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates, and Nancy Pelosi (Apparently, a small number of loosely organized anti-fascists, two philanthropic billionaires [out of 614 American billionaires], and two women influential in Democratic politics are responsible for most of the world’s evil.); 17. Censorship and “Cancel Culture.”

This is far too much to put into one coherent ideology. That doesn’t stop people from trying.

One current moral entrepreneur, journalist Christopher Rufo, of the right-wing think tank Manhattan Institute, bears much of the responsibility for making CRT into an all-purpose demonology. In a March 21 tweet, Rufo boasted that he had successfully frozen the CRT brand into the public conversation and is “steadily driving up negative perceptions.”

Entrepreneurs of the Super Panic have a specific audience in mind: the Trump base. At its core are the descendants of a largescale immigration to the colonies during the 18th century, the Borderers or Scots-Irish.

Colin Woodard describes them as “settlers from the war-ravaged borderlands of Northern Ireland, northern England, and the Scottish Lowlands.” Borderers became the backbone of the American Revolutionary Army and have provided many of our leaders, including several presidents. Today, descendants are clustered especially in the upper South and northern Rockies. (Full disclosure: my own ancestry is onefourth Scots-Irish.)

Those of Borderer heritage tend to greatly value individual liberty. Other persistent cultural traits are described by former Sen. James Webb (himself Scots-Irish) in “Born Fighting,” and by historian David Hackett Fischer in “Albion’s Seed.”

Fears and concerns carried over from the British Isles dovetail neatly with those in the Super Panic, such as loyalty to one’s own kind and distrust of others; dislike of central government; no great attachment to book-learning; fear of invasion (they had plenty of historical experience); moral absolutism; and belligerence.

Borderers had a “gun culture”: Cattle-raiding and feuding were prevalent in the borderlands; in early America, they lived next to Indian territory and slavery. Throughout American history, Borderers have been pro-military. They are staunch defenders of the Bible and the Constitution, although not always respectful of the principles behind the symbols. Since their days of warrior clans, Borderers have tended to follow strongmen or some facsimile thereof.

Generalizations never cover everybody, of course; but does the shoe fit?

Karl Rove, virtual propaganda minister for the second President Bush, was known for his ability to “push the buttons” of modern-day descendants of the Borderers, playing on their emotions. Who is manipulating those of this heritage today, and for what purpose?

Don’t let anybody push your buttons.