I doubt anyone in the western world, even the whole world, will not have heard of the deposing of President Trump in the USA by Joe Biden. There was a great sigh of relief from many people that the narcissistic, lying, ex-TV star had been beaten in the election. The immediate problem is to persuade the man who hates losing to accept that he has lost. But there is an even greater problem – to persuade the 70 million who voted for him to forget his promises and accept that he is not going to lead them to the promised land.
Populist leaders engender passionate commitment in their followers and it takes some time until they realise the anointed one is not going to solve their problems. The Trump presidency has not been long enough for disillusion to set in, so there will be many who will feel cheated in losing their leader. How does a true believer accept the new situation if they believe ‘He was sent by God’ as some claimed?
In some ways the aftermath of this election is similar to the period following the death of Hitler. He engendered passionate devotion in many Germans, who were prepared to overlook his evil actions and beliefs as he claimed he was leading them to a ‘better future’. How did the millions of convinced Nazis cope with the failure of the Third Reich and the ignominious death of their beloved leader? I have yet to understand how a mindset of uncritical belief can be rapidly converted into acceptance of a new normality.
Such situations, where large numbers of followers replace critical thinking with unwavering belief and devotion, have been common in human history, and are often the birth of religious movements and cults. The error is in thinking, and then believing, that another particular human, who has all the usual human flaws, knows the answers to all of one’s individual problems. False prophets will always be with us; so how do we overcome the human need to adulate them?
An old codger's comments 