The Desensitization of the American Electorate
The American people are systematically being desensitized to the ugly, hateful and often patently false rhetoric spewed daily by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. He is literally making horrifying statements every day, across a broad spectrum of topics and targets, which threaten to modify our acceptance of what is and what is not acceptable to say, of social norms.
In psychological terms, systematic desensitization is defined as the diminished emotional responsiveness to a negative or aversive stimulus after repeated exposure. It has a basis in classical conditioning. Stimulus 1 + Stimulus 2 = Conditioned Response.
Repeated, as in constant, exposure to deleterious, violent and odious rhetoric from the Trump campaign is diminishing the impact of how appalling and divisive it really is. Between print and online media, the 24-hour television news cycle and the proliferation of social media, we are deluged so constantly and repetitively, it has become casual. That is, it does not have the impact on the average voter that it normally would have, or should have, in a normal election cycle.
To complete the analogy, the repetitive exposure of Trump (stimulus 1) and his particular brand of harmful language and personal insults (stimulus 2) will cause voters to both expect and tolerate the behavior (conditioned response). Every time his face is seen and he opens his mouth, voters anticipate negativity and place less and less indignation to it.
His supporters rush to defend his heinous language and almost constant barrage of insults with phrases like “off the cuff” and “over the shoulder” and “sarcasm” and “exaggeration.” Let us be clear. This is not, as he likes to say, truthful hyperbole.
At what point will the Grand Old Party call his bluff and say enough is enough? Perhaps never, but that does not mean reasonable and responsible citizens of this already great United States should allow ourselves to find this behavior acceptable. We deserve better than the likes of this miserable excuse of a human being and his repeated stimulus of contemptible demeanor. How we psychologically and emotionally process this information, our response, does not have to follow the traditional model of desensitization. It is ok to be appalled, but it is not acceptable to do nothing about it. Fortunately, there IS something the people can do about it.
November 8th, 2016 is going to be a very important day in both the history and the future of our country. It will be important going forward to be on the right side of the race and the right candidate for the most important job in the world. That person is Hillary Rodman Clinton, by far, the most qualified candidate for President of the United States of America in the modern era.
