THE INFANTILIZATION OF REPUBLICANS

by Ruth A. Sheets

The impeachment trial of Donald Trump began this week and it is clear Republicans have decided to take on the shield of young childhood.  In our culture, children under a certain age (depending on the child’s race), are not responsible for their actions.  In some cases parents are responsible and in others, we put offending children out of our way so they may suffer for their acts, but do not learn to take responsibility for them.

The Republican Party and conservatives in general do not have any kind of plan to support the American people beyond grabbing power and helping themselves to the support of the American people.  Pretty childish wouldn’t you say?

- Republicans have no serious plan to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 (or any other health problem in our country).  In fact, many of them declare it their right to spread the virus as much as they want to because they don’t have to wear a mask and no one can make them do it. 

Doesn’t that sound like the petulant bullies you saw on the elementary school playground when you were a kid?  You can’t make me do that.  I have my rights!

- Republicans elected and have nearly universally supported a president they allowed to break the laws of our nation with impunity because, well . . . .  They don’t have an honest reason because it means they would have to be held accountable for his actions and their hearty support of them.  If you want to see which crimes lately, just watch or listen to the impeachment trial.

Doesn’t this remind you of the bratty kids at school who said, “You can’t touch me or my dad will come and beat you up.”  A lot of teachers knew this was often no idle boast.  We saw Trump’s “daddys” show up at our nation’s Capitol and storm it, threatening our elected lawmakers, some of whom were OK with the invasion, perhaps hoping the child-men and women would get the other guys, not them.

- Republicans have no plan to bring the economy back from disaster except to push the stock market even higher which makes the richest among them and their corporate supporters even richer.  Who cares that  28 million families are desperate often without food and that many will be evicted from their homes as soon as landlords can arrange it?  They are quibbling with Biden and Democrats whether to give a $1400 assistance check to those earning $75,000 a year or $50,000 a year.  

Doesn’t that seem a lot like the kid who is willing to lend you a quarter for a treat while stealing stuff from your lunch box?  Kids learn how to distract and focus attention on the things that are not what is important.  The truth is that a $1400 check is not too helpful for anyone.  Take the air out of the room with a nonsense argument so people will forget what real suffering in this country has been this past year.  That is so Republican and conservative these days, quibble and whine while getting richer than anyone deserves.

-  Republicans have decided to “deny” science, or rather, to dismiss the parts of science they don’t like.  These are mostly educated men and women, so they know what science is and that if scientists have come to a consensus on something like climate change, it is true.  But they set that knowledge aside to get desperate followers to believe science can’t help them and that only this politician can. Following science means they might actually have to act.

Doesn’t that remind you of the kids at school who got an answer wrong on the test but kept complaining that their answer was really right and they can prove it if they had the right information?

- Many Republicans and conservatives are loving the Q-anon conspiracy theory.  It is one of the most ridiculous of the many conspiracy theories out there right now.  Who can honestly think Donald Trump would be secretly fighting a bunch of Democrats and Hollywood folk who are cannibalistic pedophiles or that such a group even exists?  If any critical thinking were involved, no one, but thinking critically requires people to question their judgment about a lot of things and many children never learn to do that and carry that lack of critical thinking into adulthood.  If anything, Mr. Trumps past history with possible sex traffickers would indicate he might be supporting those people not fighting them if they actually existed.

Doesn’t this remind you of the kids who just LOVE having a secret no one else knows?  They would sing “nah nah nah nah nah, I know something that you don’t.”  The problem now is that everyone knows their ridiculous secret, so they cling to it more tightly and add to the crimes these cannibalistic pedophiles are doing and have done.  None of it is true, of course, but it is after all, a BIG SECRET!! 

- From the time Donald Trump took office in 2017 to the day he left office in 2021, he has lied in public and public media more than 30,000 times and was not really held accountable for any of it.

Doesn’t that sound a lot like the kid who despite groundings and phone removals just keeps on lying and making up stuff?  At least those kids were told that what they said was wrong and had consequences.  Donald Trump has had none.  Republicans/conservatives often assisted Mr. Trump with his lies and amplified them for him, knowing perfectly well they were lies, the posse supporting the schoolyard bully.

What is behind this infantilization is power.  Spoiled children have a lot of power, particularly at home and often at school and in their other spheres of influence.  It seems a lot of the Republicans/conservatives in power now had their childish skills honed as children and decided they liked the feeling they had when ruling the roost, so would not have to abandon them for adulthood.   That would mean taking responsibility for their actions and for the actions of those with whom they associate.  Can’t do that!