One of my readers asked me: “what’s your perspective on the gentleness required to understand the millions of Republicans who support and believe in the moral horrors of mass deportations, concentration camps, revenge prosecutions, masked police and more?”
Today’s post is my answer. It can be summed up by saying that MAGA is a cult and that MAGA exists within a system whose sole interest is profit---without regard to the harm that does to people, communities and the earth.
The MAGA cult and our profit maximizing system is a deadly combination. It’s driving the current attacks on our democracy.
A “cult” is defined as any group with unyielding devotion to a specific person, idea or practice. Commonly led by an authoritarian, cult members believe they hold the truth and everyone else is evil or corrupt. The more people oppose the cult, the more tenaciously they defend their beliefs.
People who join MAGA aren’t bad people. They are people who feel powerless and are looking to be heard, looking to be recognized. Because our economy has concentrated money and power in the hands of a few, tens of millions feel disempowered.
The middle and working classes have steadily declined since the 1980s. Many full-time workers now cannot afford the basics—food, water, housing, transportation, medicine, childcare. Many need food and medical assistance just to survive.
In cities and towns across the country, employers have closed or moved away leaving people holding mortgages they can’t pay and houses worth less than what they owe.
In Maine, just drive down the main street of Millinocket, Newport or Lubec and you will see what this looks like. Once thriving towns are literally falling down. If this happened to my town, I’d be angry too!
Donald Trump took advantage of unheard, angry and economically stressed people across the country by promising change. At Trump rallies people felt heard. They believed he would make America great for them. Fox news and radio talk shows amplify their anger and reinforce Trump’s message and policies daily.
A couple of nights ago I was watching videos in the dark hours before going to bed (not something I recommend!). YouTube served up an investigative report on a group I’d never heard of called leavingMAGA.org. I was tired. But I had to watch it.
I’ve long known that MAGA had all the classic features of a cult—ferocious and unquestioning loyalty, a belief that they hold the truth and everyone else is evil, and an authoritarian leader. But I didn’t know a group had formed to facilitate people leaving it.
As a progressive, I was happy to see this. Perhaps the MAGA movement is cracking. The “leaving MAGA” movement is young—founded in 2024 by Rich Logis, who served seven years as a top Trump advisor. After leaving, Logis publicly apologized for all the harm he had done in his role.
Logis wrote a memoir “One Betrayal Too Many” detailing his story of leaving MAGA and included the stories of six others who have left.
Polls indicate that 24-30% of the electorate identify as MAGA. There are no numbers on how many are doubting or have left the movement.
Logis knows intimately how difficult it is to admit you are wrong and leave a cult, having done so himself. To leave is to risk losing one’s family, friends and community. It can result in depression, cognitive dissonance and loneliness. He founded leavingmaga.org to provide community and support for MAGA doubters and “expats”.
His credibility and non-judgmental manner make it safe for people with doubts to talk about it. LeavingMAGA employs a therapist who holds regular zoom calls for people who are questioning, and for family and friends who have been hurt by cult members.
David McRaney wrote a book called How Minds Change, the Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion and Persuasion. It’s an in-depth investigation of cults and how and why people leave them. It’s a good read—I highly recommend it.
In his investigation, McRaney discovers why people leave cults: they leave when they cannot resolve a personal conflict with cult doctrine. In one of his stories, a woman in a religious cult falls in love with someone outside the faith. She must choose between the cult and her true love. In another story, a man dreamed of a career in medicine, but his religious cult wouldn’t allow it. He left.
Logis’ book features a MAGA member trained as a respiratory therapist. She knew that masks reduce disease, and so she couldn’t accept the anti-mask rhetoric of MAGA. Each person leaving a cult faces a personal choice which ultimately leads to their leaving.
As I said, leaving a cult is risky. It’s emotionally and cognitively difficult. Some people face a year or two of doubt and anxiety. Some experience hatred and disrespect from loved ones.
And this is where the answer to my reader’s question about “gentleness” comes in. Violence and hatred are never acceptable and none of us need to stay in the room when that is present. My husband has a kind but firm way of saying “I’ll talk to anyone who isn’t shouting”. You too can say this and walk away.
We can and should protest deportations, detention centers, ICE violence and other MAGA policies that harm people and communities, too.
At the same time, we can understand the appeal of cults and the human vulnerability they are based on. And we can support those who have the courage to leave. If you know someone who is doubting or questioning MAGA, your nonjudgemental support can make a real difference.
By seeking to understand and providing support, you will embrace your own humanness and the humanity of others. As the saying goes, “We are all in this together.”
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I now have an online rare bookstore on the ABE books platform! My family saved over 100 classic and rare books—histories, biographies, fiction and children’s stories from 1820-1950s. It’s time for these to find a new home. Interested? Check out my online bookstore HERE.
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