I’ve spent much of the last 4 or so years puzzled by why so many “ordinary” people (that is, those who will never be part of any political administration) seem to believe so many lies.

Today it hit me that many of those people may not believe the lies at all but enjoy them and even wish they could lie with similar impunity. Of those, I’d guess that a large majority of them like various of Trump’s policies and don’t care what he says as long as he continues to wreak havoc with social attitudes they dislike. This, of course, would be true of white nationalists, but I suspect also anyone who feels condescended to by people who are educated, privileged, or who really or seemingly look down on them.

The outrageous lies (and behavior) could well seem like apt revenge on those of us who care about things like accuracy and critical thinking and feel helpless and frustrated when such tools are treated as irrelevant.

I have no idea how to overcome such feelings quickly (like between now and the election) as opposed to long-term strategies capable of changing attitudes in all of us.