“Years ago, whenever I entered the USA, I had to sign a declaration that I was not intending to overthrow the American government by force. I never realised that this applied only to foreigners.”
British actor John Cleese tweeted that interesting tidbit about Donald Trump and his recent indictments for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Speaking next to Trump at a campaign event on August 12, 2023, Representative Matt Gaetz advocated using force to overthrow the United States government:“We know that only through force do we make any change in a corrupt town like Washington, DC.”So, a member of the United States Congress advocated insurrection and disloyalty to the United States Constitution. Trump hesitated but then nodded sagely as Gaetz offered his chilling words. The mainstream press briefly noted Gaetz’ seditious comment and then calmly moved on. How do people betray their country and yet call themselves patriots?
All the same, Gaetz offered his justifications. That is, he implied that mysterious powers threatened ordinary Americans, evil powers that can be resisted only by force. This twist led Gaetz to reject legitimate, peaceful political action:
“Mr. President, I cannot stand these people that are destroying our country. They are opening our borders. They are weaponizing our federal law enforcement against patriotic Americans who love this nation as we should.”Gaetz was channeling common but obviously hyperbolic Republican talking points. Republicans hear diatribes about supposedly open borders and the allegedly unfair treatment of the January 6 Capitol rioters so often that they take them for granted. Indeed, Gaetz polarized the American people. “These people that are destroying our country” contrasted against the “patriotic Americans” who were convicted of rioting in the Capitol building.
Broadening his conspiracy theory, Gaetz accused unnamed forces of threatening every Republican:
“Know that they are coming for our movement and they are coming for all of us.” [italics added]The unnamed “they” might be the Deep State, the Illuminati, the FBI, woke people, the New World Order, or, for all I know, any combination of the malevolent forces that populate right-wing conspiracizing. Gaetz’ vagueness—“they”—let the cheering audience fill in the blanks from their own imaginations.
Earlier Post: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Both Suffered from Talking Points Disease in 2016
Was Gaetz’ rhetoric particularly unusual? No, it was not. Gaetz talked the way people talk when they commit wrongful deeds. Dr. Albert Bandura’s theory of moral disengagement shows how people justify their unethical behavior by reframing moral issues. From SS soldiers who justified mass murder as “following orders” to more complex reasoning patterns, people find ways to rationalize doing harm. They think of themselves as good people even as they perform horrifying acts. The bizarre talking points that Gaetz parroted gave otherwise patriotic Republicans a shallow (but evidently convincing) way to reframe their destructive intentions.
Was Gaetz’ rhetoric particularly unusual? No, it was not. Gaetz talked the way people talk when they commit wrongful deeds. Dr. Albert Bandura’s theory of moral disengagement shows how people justify their unethical behavior by reframing moral issues. From SS soldiers who justified mass murder as “following orders” to more complex reasoning patterns, people find ways to rationalize doing harm. They think of themselves as good people even as they perform horrifying acts. The bizarre talking points that Gaetz parroted gave otherwise patriotic Republicans a shallow (but evidently convincing) way to reframe their destructive intentions.
So, in real life, the violent overthrow of the United States government is, as John Cleese implied, massively unpatriotic. Sadly, too few people seem to care. The Republican Party received Gaetz’ brief speech with rousing cheers and no peep of protest. Lincoln, who fought to save the Union, weeps.
by William D. Harpine
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Steve Bannon's Value Voters Summit Speech: Rhetoric of Polarization
Stephen Breyer's Retirement Speech Reminded Us That the United States Is an Experiment
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