The Birth of a Nation

Most people have a narrative. When you go into therapy you tell your story. When you terminate, you might have revised it—or not. History obviously is narrative, but The Birth of the Nation might be told by D.W. Griffith, whose classic of silent film history from l915  is also blatantly racist (it was originally titled The Clansman) or by Nate Parker’s 2016 The Birth of a Nation which tells the story of Nat Turner. Many Trump supporters will not be shaken in their belief that the election was rigged and stolen. The current drama in which a huge segment of the American population has essentially been brainwashed by their former president and his stalwarts could very well end up being the third Birth of a Nation (2020-?). Memory is labile. There's a fine line between repression and suggestion as was demonstrated in the McMartin Preschool trial (l987-90) in which dubious allegations of Satanic ritual abuse were brought against staff members of a childcare center. Almost 40 years later you have Pizzagate, another allegation of child molestation, where QAnon earned its wings. Pizzagate would evolve into the the Coronovirus conspiracy where millions of Americans were convinced, in the face literally of death, that the pandemic was a lie propagated by the opponents of President Trump. When you go to see a shrink, it’s usual to reconsider your views because you’re suffering from the debilitating or maladaptive results of your behavior. However, what’s going to be the motivator that brings followers of the Retrumplican Cult into historical therapy?

Read "MAGA and Coronavirus" by Francis Levy, The East Hampton Star