I’ve spent much of my life thinking about faith, belief, and the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of the world. Growing up in a religious tradition that prized certainty above all else, I learned early on that questioning the doctrine was not just discouraged—it was dangerous. To ask too many questions was to risk unraveling the whole thing, and for many, that was simply unacceptable. I see something eerily similar in the fervor of the MAGA movement. It’s not just a political stance; it’s a belief system. And like any fundamentalism, it thrives not on reasoned argument but on unwavering devotion.
In Toward a Civil Discourse, Sharon Crowley puts it plainly: “Defenders of fundamentalisms do not evaluate the ideals that drive them; were they to do so, they would risk discovering incoherence and other flaws.” Instead, they spend their energy guarding those ideals, treating any critique as an existential threat. Sound familiar?
The Appeal of Certainty
One of the hardest things in life is not knowing. Ambiguity is uncomfortable, and complexity can be exhausting. Fundamentalism is so seductive in all its forms because it offers certainty. MAGA taps into this human desire with a simple promise: America was once great, and it can be great again if only we follow the right leader, fight the right enemies, and hold fast to the right beliefs. No need to wrestle with nuance or history. No need to ask uncomfortable questions about race, inequality, or global realities. Just trust the doctrine, repeat the slogans, and stay the course.
This thinking is deeply attractive, especially to those who feel unheard, left behind, or disrespected. In Strangers in Their Own Land, Arlie Hochschild describes how many Americans—especially in conservative strongholds—feel like strangers in the country they once called home. They believe something has been stolen from them, and Trump, with his bravado and bluntness, gave them a narrative that made sense of their frustration. He became both their voice and their shield.
But here’s the danger: when certainty becomes more important than truth, when belief outweighs evidence, and when loyalty to a leader trumps personal integrity, we stop thinking critically. We stop asking, “Is this right?” and only ask, “Whose side are you on?”
The Us vs. Them Trap
Every fundamentalism has its heretics—those who question the faith, challenge the leader, or refuse to fall in line. In MAGA-world, the list of heretics is long: the “fake news” media, the “radical left,” election officials, and even former allies who dare to step out of line. It’s a worldview built on conflict—an ongoing war between patriots and traitors, believers and unbelievers.
This isn’t unique to MAGA. It’s a feature of any movement that refuses to self-examine. By dividing the world into “us” and “them,” disagreement is not seen as just a difference of opinion but a moral failure. And when your opponents are seen as evil, lying, or out to destroy your way of life, it becomes easy to justify anything—violence, suppression of votes, even undermining democracy itself.
Trump didn’t invent this strategy, but he perfected it. His entire political identity is built on personal loyalty rather than principles. Disagree with him, even slightly, and you’re out. That’s not democracy. That’s not leadership. That’s the foundation of a cult.
Why It’s Hard to Break Free
It’s easy to ask, “Why don’t they see it?” Why do intelligent, decent people continue to support a man who lies openly, who encourages division, who has turned public service into a personal grift? The answer is complicated, but it goes back to what Crowley identified: fundamentalists don’t evaluate their ideals because doing so is too costly.
Imagine investing years—maybe decades—believing that Trump (or any leader, for that matter) is the only one who can save the country. Imagine that your family, friends, and entire community share this belief. Now imagine being confronted with undeniable proof that you were wrong. How do you admit that? How do you walk away from something that has become so central to your identity?
For many, it’s easier to double down than to face the possibility that they’ve been deceived. This is why every scandal, every indictment, and every exposed lie only strengthens MAGA devotion for some. The movement has trained its followers to see attacks on Trump as attacks on them. And no one wants to believe they’ve been fooled.
What We Can Learn—And Why We Must Resist
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my journey of questioning and leaving behind old beliefs, it’s this: certainty is often an illusion. When we stop examining our convictions, we become vulnerable to manipulation. We become easy to control.
MAGA is a warning—a cautionary tale about what happens when we trade curiosity for blind faith, build our identities around a single figure, and stop listening to those who see the world differently. The good news is that belief isn’t static. People can change. But it starts with asking the hard questions and having the courage to admit when we’ve been wrong.
I know how hard that is. I’ve done it myself. But the alternative—uncritical allegiance and unquestioned loyalty—is far more dangerous. Because once we hand over our ability to think for ourselves, we lose something even more valuable than an election.
We lose our freedom, agency, and individual identity, which is too high of a price to pay for any of us.
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