Divisive propaganda

Trumpist Republicans, bless their betrayed souls, are dangerous because they lack insight into the dark and selfish motives of their leader.

By his skillful marketing of disinformation, he creates a fog of fear and rage that blinds their moral compass and ironically makes them eager soldiers in his shadow war on democracy. As a consequence, Trumpian men have difficulty differentiating between genuine moral courage and patriotism versus fighting like hell against the fellow American scapegoats they have been encouraged to hate.

Mature masculinity portrays strength and the quiet confidence to offer a helping hand to empower rather than bully others. Clear examples of immature masculinity are Steve Bannon, Donald Trump and Ron Johnson. Like the garden-variety schoolyard bully, they perpetually try to hide their insecurities by engaging in bombastic tough talk of war rooms and fighting like hell. Their insecurity creates an underlying paranoia that fuels their fear of tenderness and creates a protective need for meanness and intimidation.

However, they are talented magicians able to pull deeply divisive propaganda from their black hats. They care not for truth and seek political advantage by stoking a cultural war that turns friends and family members against one another and thus drains the strength of America. They will readily use their followers as fodder in a war to serve their personal lust for power. This is clearly demonstrated by who will go to prison for the actions of Jan. 6 and who will suck in loads of cash for another attempt to become America’s kleptocrat-in-chief. JERRY HENDERSON Little Rock