I have long been puzzled, no mystified, by the unwillingness of MAGA adherents to consider facts and logic. I even read “Hillbilly Elegy” which purported to explain their views, but found it insufficient. Sure, there are downtrodden people in our society, and yes, the increasing disparity between rich and poor has psychological as well as economic effects. But there has been no precipitous drop in economic well-being and actions by the current White House occupant have arguably worsened the lot of those most affected.

I found the best answer yet in Richard Slotkin’s “A Great Disorder.” He emphasizes the role of several national myths in the phenomenon. Another author, Joseph Campbell (“The Power of Myth”) posits that we need myths: narratives to help a person understand their role in society and work their way through common problems by providing suggested actions.

Slotkin’s myths include: the myth of the frontier where brave individuals battle nature, governmental elites and “savages” in search of economic bonanza and elbow room; the myth of the founding in which selected elements of charter documents and behavior of the Founding Fathers achieve sacred status; and the lost cause myth which insists that the antebellum south was the model civilization despoiled by a domineering federal government.

These myths recur frequently in conservative propaganda and are arguably central to MAGA conservatism. The model civilizations allegedly envisioned by the founders and arguably realized in the 1820s (maybe that was when MAGA thinks America was great) were hierarchical and dominated by a small number of powerful white men. Women and non-Caucasians knew their place or were taught it. There were no governmental restraints on the powerful; their “property rights” and their control of (at least) local and state government granted them immunity if not favor. Lower status white males were seduced by the promise of permanent superior status to other races and to females. Then, in their view, things went to heck: Emancipation, labor unions, immigrants from non-Nordic countries, and warfare with Native Americans as their lands were seized.

Politicians are adept at calling forth selections from these romantic “ideals” to answer any issue to their advantage. Evil government elites hampered frontiersmen, subjugated the colonies and demolished Southern society. Second Amendment freedoms are necessary now as they were 200 years ago to protect white people from uprisings; the part about “well regulated militias” having been buried by the Supreme Court (D.C v. Heller, 2008). Environmentalism and worries over climate change do not figure in these myths and can infringe on property rights and the frontier spirit. So does the regulation of business conduct. Racial and gender equality are specifically denied in the “ideal civilization” and a majority minority nation (driven by immigration) threatens that structure. Politicians are quick to select and interpret founding documents and the founders’ identities in support. Culture wars are really the expression of these myths for political advantage.

The explanation for MAGA fact-immunity is an overriding belief in and need for myths like these which answer questions about their world, their place in it and the actions expected of them, much like Tevye’s “Tradition.” These beliefs are often self-serving and are intertwined with religion (particularly Old Testament Christianity). White Christian Nationalism specifically proclaims favored places of power for whites and Christians. The myths are summoned again and again by politicians, keeping them active and controlling. Special interest groups empowered by Citizens United v. FEC (2010) are amplifying these appeals and distorting and contradicting science with legally unlimited and often untraceable cash.

Against this confederation of forces, facts, logic and truth seemingly must bite on granite. MAGA failures will be blamed on dire conspiracies involving deep state, George Soros and any other handy pinata. Fortunately, there are countervailing myths. The frontier mindset and promised bonanza could be applied to science and research. MAGA can claim only snippets of the documents and acts of the founders, while much can be claimed by their opponents. Myths of liberation (achievement of freedom and dignity after struggle) and the success achieved by a coordinated effort of diverse peoples in World War II (Good War Myth) can support a better society. Count on reality and rationality? Nope, it takes a myth to beat a myth.

Tom Thomas lives in Louisville.