It seems to me that there have been three primary mythologies (that which lead to an emphasis on a loose fancy as compared to a more involved imagination (that have haunted America since the beginning and played a major role in what we’ve experienced for the last four years:
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The truthful outburst
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The triumph of the revolutionary
And 3. The Christ-like historical figure
The truthful outburst is about something that breaks away from protocol in order to express something that has been denied due to the inherent blockages built into the protocol. We see this in such movies as Bulworth and Man of the Year. And we can especially see it in the effect that Trump has had on his followers in his rallies. That which offended most reasonable people, because of this, seemed profound to his MAGA-Minions.
The triumph of the revolutionary can easily be seen in Trump’s followers storming the Capital and the fancy this must have ignited in their minds as they were doing it, especially given that it was this very behavior that established our country in the first place. Misguided as it was (due to a lack of imagination), they clearly fancied their selves analogous to the original revolutionaries.
But the most interesting to me (that is for my purposes here (is the Christ-like historical figure which, while being historically factual, took on a more mythical aura about them. Think, for instance: Jesus, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, and William Morris, anyone that was so inspirational that they took on the air of the profound. And that is clearly the mythology that Trump’s MAGA-Minions are embracing given that many of those who stormed the Capital actually claimed they were willing to die for Trump.
So you have to ask if the reason we end up with demagogues like Trump is that they fill in the gap left by the absence of such authentically inspired individuals as Jesus, Kennedy, King, etc., etc… And put in mind that such figures cannot be forced. They have to emerge spontaneously, as if by an act of God –whatever that might be. Also put in mind that some theologians have presented the theory that the term “Antichrist” suggests someone who is Christ-like, but not quite Christ and, thereby, capable of all kinds of evil, even if it goes against their original intentions.