First-time readers, the dialogue in this blog is set in the future (sometime after the year 2020).  Each entry assumes there has been a 5th revolution in the US — the Revenge Revolution.  More about Revenge Revolution and author, Entry #1.  List and general description of entries to date.  Annual assessment if Revolution plausible.

Note: most characters appear in a number of entries, with many entries building on previous conversations.  Profile of characters.  You’ll catch on quickly.  Thanks for your time and interest…and comments.

Scene: Jordan’s office in Washington.  (Series “Who Took Out the Donald?’ begins Entry #244.) 

Gelly:  “Alright, we’ve got our coffee refills.  Now, JC, why do you think many of the Trump supporters were brainwashed?”

JC:  “Simple.”

Greenie:  “OK. I’m game.  Why is the answer so simple?”

JC:  “My research indicated the foundation for most brainwashing was the constant use of declarative statements.”

Jordan:  “You mean like my mother used to say — ‘Do this.  Don’t do that.’”

Greenie:  “Now, Jordan, that was not nice.  Besides your mother’s behavior was part of the cultural.  She didn’t consider that brainwashing.”

Jordan:  “OK, I’ll forget I said that.”

JC:  “A key to brainwashing is always respond to a question without any hesitation and without any inkling the answer might not be correct.  If you want to brainwash someone, start by acting as if your answers are always correct, even if their boldface lies.”

Gelly:  “So, if I ask you a question and you want to start brainwashing me, you respond with a declarative statement, whether true or not.  As a brainwasher, your focus is to make sure there is little if any room for the ‘brainwashees,’ as it were, to be able to think for themselves.  Provide an answer and leave no room for questions.”

Greenie:  “If I understand correctly, as the brainwasher you want your declarative statement to reinforce whatever your position is and not have the ‘brainwashee’ think about possible answers.  Have I got it right?”

JC:  “Yes, it is important to reinforce your position, even if the position has no basis in fact and is completely based made-up, or as the Trump Administration liked to call them, ‘alternative facts.’”

Jordan:  “The brainwashing theory sounds OK but how about an example or two.”

Gelly:  “JC, may I try to give an example, please?”

JC:  “Fire away.”

Gelly:  “Back before Trump became a serious candidate, he claimed president Obama was born in Kenya and therefore not a legitimate president.”

Greenie:  “That’s seems like a good example.”

Gelly:  “Trump continued to repeat that claim despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.  Trump even claimed, or at least implied, that the birth announcement in the Honolulu paper was false.  So, when Obama was born…in Kenya, of course…there was a group that knew he would become president.  To make sure the newborn Kenyan kid was eligible, the group wanting him to be president put a phony birth announcement in the Honolulu paper.  That story makes perfect sense to me?  I mean really, what idiot would believe that?”

JC:  “Think about all the people who did believe it.  In addition to Trump, the gold standard for objective and credible reporting, Fox News, kept repeating the story.  And, of course, the Rush Man joined O’Reilly, Hannity, Breitbart and their ilk in reinforcing the bogus claim.  And what happened?  Many Republicans were brainwashed.  How many?”

Greenie:  “If I recall correctly, in the summer of 2016, more than 40% of all Republicans still believed Obama was born outside the US.”

Jordan:  “Can that number be right, JC?  More than 40%?  What were these people thinking?”

JC:  “The number is right…it was a little over 40% who bought in to the lie.  My study suggested that the claim was so outrageous and so bizarre that only someone who’d been brainwashed would believe it.”

Jordan:  “Let me give another example.  Trump kept saying none of the employment, income and range of other statistics provided by the Federal government could be trusted.”

JC:  “These claims are in addition to Trump’s declarative statements that global-warming was a conspiracy of what 3,000 scientists…sorry for the sidebar.”

Jordan:  “As I was saying…I have an acquaintance, a former a high-school history teacher, who supported Trump and claimed no statistics from the government were credible.  Here’s a guy that was supposed to be teaching our kids to think and understand how our country was formed and has continued to evolve.  Whether he liked it or not, the very foundation of the United States was and is the Federal government.  So what did he spout?  That any information provided by the Federal government cannot be trusted.”

Gelly:  “Fortunately, he’s no longer teaching.”

Jordan:  “Let’s pause for just a minute and look at some history.  Over the years some of the political claims in the US have been outrageous and patently false.  Yet, the country survived.  And so have a lot of other countries survived with brainwashing and false information.  What was different about this effort to brainwash?”

JC:  “Actually, nothing was different.  Now, let’s look at what happened in these countries every time a large percentage of the population got brainwashed.”

Greenie:  “You mean like what happened in Germany and Italy prior to and during WWII?  OK, so we lost a few relatives.  More like 6,000,000 Jews.  Like what happened in Russia under Stalin.  And maybe like what happened in the US south leading up to and during the Civil War?  C’mon, these were only people that got enslaved or murdered.  What’s the issue?”

Jordan:  “I know you’re being serious and your point is spot on.  What type event followed each time there was widespread brainwashing?”

Greenie:  “Some type of anarchy and sometimes is was really, really ugly.  The anarchy wasn’t some upset guys just hanging around a coffee shop.  There were real hangings.”

Jordan:  “JC, you’re the expert.  Why does anarchy often follow the brainwashing?  Why not a peaceful transition?”

JC:  “When brainwashed, the populous acts more like robots, not really thinking about what they’re doing.  Then at some point, things start to get so far out of whack that more and more people get jolted back to reality.”

Gelly:  “Like having an ‘ah ha’ moment?”

JC:  “Exactly.  After the ‘ah ha’ moment, people feel duped and betrayed.  They are so frustrated and so angry at the country’s leaders…and even themselves…that a peaceful transition is nearly impossible.”

Jordan:  “I can buy that logic for most egregious situations.  But do you think the same type anger occurred after the FBI took out Trump?  After all, the main culprit was gone.”

Greenie:  “So you’re asking why we still had a Revenge Revolution.  Once Trump was out, why didn’t people just let go and move on?”

JC:  “My view is the Trump supporters also felt duped, really screwed, by a lot of Republican members of the House and Senate, state representatives and even some local politicians.  Many of these politicians supported….and even enhanced the Trump lies. A good example is how many of these Republican politicians kept claiming for a long time that Donnie Junior’s meeting with the Russians was no big deal and it was just part of a witch hunt.”

Greenie:  “Then a lot of Republicans began to realize the significance of the meeting.  It was the intent, not the outcome.”

Jordan:  “Trump’s argument was so incredibly phony – nothing of value came out of the meeting.  Trust me, he claimed.  Well, Junior, try your logic on the police after you tried to rob a bank but the walked away empty handed.  ‘Gee, officer, I’m not guilty of attempted robbery because I didn’t the money.’  The officer replies, ‘Excuse me, Donnie Junior but attempted robbery is a felony.  Do you understand?’”

Gelly:  “His agreement to meet the Russians also violated some statutes affecting national security.  So why did it seem to take people a long time to understand what was really going on?”

JC:  “Brainwashing is very effective…up to a point.  Finally, at least for a lot of people, the situation becomes so out of kilter that the regular brain kicks back in.  When many of the Republicans finally woke up to the Trump shenanigans, they had become so angry they couldn’t just let it go.  Even though Trump was gone by then, people still felt the need to revolt and throw out many of the Republican politicians.”

Greenie:  “So as part of throwing da bums out, we got the Revenge Revolution.  And, now, JC, we need to have our own revolt and get out of here.  It’s been a pleasure.”

Gelly:  “Thanks very much for staying after I got back.  Come back soon, please.” 

Jordan: “Come back any time.”