A reader writes:
“Seen a few “converts”.. one a fellow parishoner, US Citizen originally from Mexico, had a family member (US Citizen) abruptly pulled from his job site and sent to a “detention center” for two weeks… no apology, no recompense… he lost two weeks of pay, and his family had no idea where he was, ICE refused to give them info.
Pattern: They were all for trump and his cruelty until it affected *them*”
The defining psychological trait of conservatism in the Age of MAGA is a capacity for empathy that extends solely to the Self and to that tiny minority of human beings who are extensions of the Self. All other suffering is non-existent, contemptible, funny, and/or guilt manipulation. This means that the sufferings of other MAGA also don’t matter to the members of the Cult. So when MAGA turn against Trump, the rest of the Cult sees them, not as warnings that Trump does not give a shit about the Cult, but as weaklings who became traitors. The Cult still believe a) that they can be him: able to hurt others without consequences, and b) that they are his fellow alphas whom he respects.
Their desire to hurt people is still stronger than their love for their own children and they can, because of this, only learn from their own excruciating self-inflicted pain. God can speak to them through that (though he would prefer not to have to). But until they agree to receive wisdom from the Holy Spirit, they have boxed themselves into that corner. Not for nothing does the Spirit exhort us:
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
else it will not keep with you.Many are the pangs of the wicked;
but steadfast love surrounds him who trusts in the LORD.
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! (Ps 32:8–11)
There is a reason the Tradition distinguishes between perfect and imperfect contrition. God is so gracious that he accept even imperfect, self-centered contrition (like the Prodigal Son’s, who only returned to his Father because he was hungry) and perfect contrition, which springs from a clear-eyed recognition that you have sinned.
However, the imperfectly contrite, like this guy, should not be terribly surprised when their victims do not take very seriously their self-pity. If they really want to turn over a new leaf, the imperfectly contrite need to take full responsibility for what they have done and do what they can to make reparation to their victims, or they will take more lumps for their sins from their scornful victims. That’s just the way the world works.
Advertisement
One Response
The thing is 99.9% of cult members don’t learn a thing even after suffering from their choices.
They’d vote the same way tomorrow.
Being in a cult damages the mind so severely that a person can’t even see simple cause and effect relationships.