Why the Republican Belief in So Many False Narratives?

Why the Republican Belief in So Many False Narratives?
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Why do Republicans believe so many false narratives? No lock box in the world is as strong as their faith in the counterfactual, known to the rest of us as nonsense.

For example, we know the world is not 6,000 years old, but billions of years old. In fact, geologists tell us so.

We know man can impact the globe through pollution and the release of greenhouse gases, just as Republicans tell us we have dominion over the earth and should do as we please with it. Teddy Roosevelt would roll over in his grave.

Clean air and water is not anti-business. If certain regulations are interfering with the creation of businesses let's get rid of them after debating the cost and benefits, but let's stop far short of de-funding the EPA.

Republicans somehow believe racism in America disappeared in the 1960s. No, it did not though there are more opportunities than ever open for people of color. If racism is a thing of the past, then why were so many more blacks with similar credit scores to whites given high interest, predatory loans, as we learned in the collapse of the recent housing bubble?

Would removing all regulations really be good for business? Do they effectively police themselves? The recent financial sector breakdown would suggest, in fact, would reveal emphatically, the answer is "no!"

Do tax cuts really cause government revenues to increase? The answer is no. "The evidence suggests that tax cuts do not increase revenues to the government in any meaningful way, but instead increase government deficits."

Republicans still believe the supply side argument that if we reduce the taxes of the wealthy, then the additional wealth will "trickle down" to us all. It is nonsense. Said simply, supply-side economics does not work because investment does not drive markets, rather demand drives markets!

If we give everyone a gun we will not all be safer. In fact, random shootings will increase as people without training try to be crime stoppers.

Gays can not be made straight through therapy. Enough said!

People will not be better off with reduced social security checks and privatized Medicare. The social safety net protects vulnerable people and does not strangle ambition.

Those without medical insurance do not have greater liberty than those who have it. I mean, to listen to Ron Paul speak, one would think that extending health care to people who lack it is a profound intrusion on liberty. It is hard to pay for a doctor's visit with liberty alone!

Climate change science is not a hoax. In fact, 97 percent of climate change scientists confirm the consensus that man is causing temperatures to rise through the release of greenhouse gases.

Conversely, Intelligent Design is not a science. It is a public relations campaign designed to teach creationism in schools.

The president is not a Muslim.

Finally, white billionaires are not being discriminated against.

Given the extent of these false narratives how do we drag Republicans kicking and screaming into the real world? First, they must turn off Fox News and somehow be conditioned to accept reality-driven narratives rather than Fox news caricatures. Secondly, these Big Lies must be made to be under assault by the media. Instead of just accepting a "fair and balanced" presentation where both sides have a say no matter how ridiculous one side is, the media must challenge false facts and narratives with real information. Facts should be respected, after all! Finally, we must treat the GOP base gently through this liberating process. Remember waking up a conservative after years of digesting false narratives is like waking up a sleep walker on the balcony. All in all, very difficult, indeed! It is hard to imagine what would be said during Republican debates without false narratives. Remember, reality, after all, has a well known liberal bias!

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