The ‘I didn’t know‘ phenomenon is a curious thing. As I matured and became increasingly  curious about my world, especially the larger political issues of the 1960s, two questions that persistently bothered me were: First, how could a sophisticated nation like Germany fall for an obvious clown like Adolf Hitler? Second, how could so many Germans claim ignorance about Nazi atrocities after the regime finally had been smashed?

The answer to the first query is now very apparent to me. Simply look at the cult of Trump movement in the U.S. Here we have a totally despicable and degenerate human being, a pathological narcissist with observable traits that mark him as a sick sociopath. At a minimum, he has a borderline personality disorder that, without his wealth and notoriety, would find him sequestered in a mental institution and not the Oval Office. And yet, he has been twice elected to the highest office in the land and reigns, without observable opposition, over one of our major political parties.

Therein lies one of life’s confounding conundrums. If you are poor and nuts, you might get put away in an institution if deemed crazy and a danger to the public. If you are rich and nuts, you can rise to the highest office in the land. That fact reminds me of George Bernard Shaw’s elegant quip … steal a loaf of bread and go to prison; steal a railroad and go to Parliament. Even if you are a degenerate pedophile, you can become a savior-like figure of adoration to those both gullible and looking for permission from on high to hate the others of their choosing while avoiding much guilt. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.

For example, during Germany’s economic struggles in the midst of a global depression, Hitler gained just enough electoral support to enter mainstream politics. Germany’s economic plutocrats, top military brass, and center-right politicians suddenly saw him as a useful tool, a clown without substance who could be manipulated for their own purposes. Three months after being appointed Chancellor, he had crushed democracy and created the 3rd Reich. They thought they had the tiger by the tail, and the tiger devoured them. Given the right circumstances, the inmates can be put in charge of the asylum. For Herr Hitler, the key was vague promises of glory (Make Germany Great Again) and specific vows against an easy scapegoat (mostly the Jews and Communists).

The second question is more puzzling for me. Remember post-WWII Germans claiming they were unaware of the regimes crimes against humanity based on sheer ignorance. REALLY? What do they think happened to all those Jews, leftists, Gypsies, Slavs, and handicapped people? Some 10 million cannot be exterminated (including 6 million Jews) absent clear evidence of such atrocities. You would have to be willfully blind when so many people began disappearing. People didn’t know because they did not want to know. They did not see because they chose not to see.

In today’s context, we see a growing number of Americans expressing buyers’ remorse for their support of Trump in the last election. As suggested by the meme above, Trump’s support has plummeted (at least temporarily) as Elon Musk ran wild and the Donald’s absurd tariff plans have resulted in the expected equity market chaos. Realty has sunk in for even the most gullible that the wizard behind the curtain promising a new utopia was just another conman. Initially, Musk promised $2 trillion in savings. That goal evaporated over time to $150 billion. But some cuts by DOGE are now seen to cost money (e.g., IRS staff cuts might result in the loss of $500 billion over time). In any case, the Republican controlled Congress is struggling to codify a measly $9 billion in DOGE cuts. The MAGA utopia has become a delusion, if not a nightmare.

The common response by disenchanted supporters runs along these lines: ‘I thought he’d lower the price of eggs.’🙄 Or, I thought he would understand my concerns better than the Democrats.’ Of course, these may be classic obfuscations to hide underlying beliefs that are socially frowned upon. ‘While I’m talking about inflation, I’m really freaked out by the growing diversity in our society.’ Put another way, I’m just your garden variety racist. Therein lies the core truth of political discourse. There is the veneer put on our public positions. Then, there are the primitive passions governing our darkest choices. For MAGA extremists, hate for the other dominates all else, especially rational thought.

Now, my guess is that some 30 to 33 percent of the population are hard core Trumpers. Basically, they don’t care what he does or how he does it as long as he attacks ‘those‘ people that his cult followers hate with a passion … those that look and believe differently. They would have been the good Nazis in 1930’s Germany, and they are the devoted MAGA types in America, 2025. Hate, when primed by unreasoning fear, is a primal motivator. For today’s GOP, they would easily sacrifice our government of laws, an experiment some 250 years in the making, to preserve the illusion of a white, nativist, Christian America … our version of an Aryan Supremacy.

I recall an incident that took place just before the election last fall. (Note: I’m apologizing in advance if I’m repeating myself here.) My good female friend was preparing the sailboat used at her summer lake cabin for winter storage. As we approached the place of business in rural Wisconsin where the work would be done, she told me not to drive on to his property. Why? I asked. She responded as follows: If the owner saw my Harris-Waltz sticker, he would go ballistic. This rural Wisconsin resident, like many of his neighbors, really believed that a Democratic victory would bring Communism to America. As with so many others, he had lost touch with reality. His fears and prejudices drove out any ability to see his own self interests, never mind objective reality.

When my female friend and I would drive through rural Wisconsin to her lake house, virtually all the farms had Republican signs out. Forget the fact that it was Democratic administrations starting with the New Deal of FDR that virtually lifted agricultural from deaths door to make it what it is today. The Dems are now seen as WOKE … catering to urban minorities and educated elites while looking down on hard working Americans.

It matters not what reality is. It matters not that Democratic administrations have a superb economic record in recent decades … more job and wage growth, fewer economic downturns, lower poverty rates, and so forth. Reality across the American landscape is shaped by the propoganda spewed forth by right-wing and increasingly by mainstream outlets. As a result, we have a new Orwellian dystopia… black is white, up is down, and the GOP are the defenders of workers and farmers. Wow! As Joseph Goebbels popularized in the 1930s, lies told often enough become accepted truth.

We have all heard the rationalization about why rural and working class citizens vote against their self-interests. They feel threatened by the pace of change. They see an uncertain future for themselves and their offspring. They are struck by primitive fears about changing demographics where their tribe (e.g., white, Christian, nativists) lose their dominant place in society. When fear displaces reason, rational thought tends to evaporate. We see working class and rural families rushing to conservative, MAGA candidates as saviors for their way of life. The absurdity of this reaction is beyond calculation. You might decide that Democrats don’t talk your language, but why in the world would you rush to a party which consistently has favored the interests of the top 1 percent, really the top one-tenth of 1 percent over your legitimate concerns. Why not just shoot yourself in the head if you want to commit suicide. It would be quicker. One answer … the right is far better at telling people what and who they should fear and, of course, at offering themselves as saviors.

Again, we now see responses from those same demographics claiming they are surprised at how Trump and his minions are governing. They are shocked that they may pay a price merely to enable a further redistribution of more income and wealth from the bottom 90 percent of the population to the top of the pyramid. Again, this is no secret. It is calculated that some $50 trillion dollars has been redistributed from real people (the bottom 90 percent) to the elite (top 1 percent) since the Reagan revolution in 1981. The proposed GOP tax bill would further this redistributive imbalance while adding some $5.8 trillion to the federal deficit over the next several years. The GOP has been the masters of duplicity and misdirection. They use emotional questions (transgender issues that impact a tiny few people) to mask massive thefts from huge portions of the American Public.

In truth, the public never should have been surprised by what is going on today. Virtually all of my acquaintances and colleagues could see what was coming with total clarity. It was no secret at all to us. It was laid out in the Project 2025 plan in great detail. Beyond that, all the tell-all books from Trump’s first administration focused on how much time and effort it took by the common-sense people in the WH to keep Donald from destroying the country. His proclivities and instincts were totally at odds with good government and the well-being of the public good. But, that first time around, he was sufficiently unsure of himself to keep some mainstream officials in his orbit. That saved us.

It was also clear that Donald would be much worse this time around. This time around he would NOT surround himself, as he did in 2016, with enough real experts to keep his worst instincts at bay. Trump never forgave those who kept him from joining the mob attacking the Capitol on January 20 when the election results were being certified. This time, he has surrounded himself with sycophants and toadies. His cabinet meetings resemble obsequious displays of adoration of the supreme leader. He will spend perhaps $100 million on a military birthday parade for himself while trying to kill needed spending in health care to keep people alive.

No one should be shocked by this. NO ONE! It was clear to me and to everyone I know. It was clear to U.S. Grant almost a century ago. If anyone did not see this disaster coming, they chose not to look, not to see. Like the good Germans in 1945, they will pretend to be shocked. Like those Germans pretending ignorance, they will pretend innocence.