Micro-deal With That Rage, GOP
For their next big CPAC conclave, hornet-mad Republicans could really benefit from a trip ‘in’ Colorado or Oregon.
Now that Coloradans have followed the Oregonians’ lead in legalizing the use of psychedelics, here’s a modest proposal: Perhaps Republican leaders could benefit from a trip in (not just to) Colorado, where they could work out their disappointment (rising to rage for some) in the results of the midterms and, more generally, those nagging feelings of fear and hatred of most of their fellow citizens — you know, liberals, progressives, moderate Republicans, women (especially the unmarried variety), people of color, LGBTQ folks, union members, educated “elites,” and most of their colleagues in Congress.
Instead of setting up the next Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest or, say, Moscow, perhaps a visit to Denver or Boulder is more in order. Once in the Centennial State, Republicans could take a deep, cleansing breath and spend a week micro-dosing away those unfounded anxieties of “Stop the Steal” and “losing their country.” Author Michael Pollen could step in for Viktor Orbán or whichever “strongman” they’re considering as keynote speaker.
Am I kidding? I guess?
Every citizen who worried about a red wave at the midterms and the fragility of our democracy and the potential loss of fundamental rights and our meager social safety net really needed to have their own very real existential dread alleviated.
Filmmaker/activist Michael Moore did his utmost to talk us off the ledge, micro-dosing us with his daily upbeat (and quite sensible) arguments about why there would not be a red wave, with his 40-some “Tsunamis of Truth” missives.
Always good at expecting the expected and being led by the polls, the corporate media was all in on saying it was a done deal for a Republican takeover, in effect doing their best to depress Democrat turnout. (I had prepared a piece about Moore’s effort, but my editor at Salon already had plans to cover it. Moore acknowledged Salon and The Guardian in his “Tsunami Truth #42” as being, along with Bill Maher and a few hosts on MSNBC, the only media outlets to amplify his message that “the red wave was in fact a red herring.”)
As Pollen wrote in “How to Change Your Mind,” his 2018 meditation on the history and therapeutic use of psychedelics, these drugs have the capacity to relieve mental suffering. The account in the book that struck me most is of a group of terminally ill cancer patients suffering in the remaining days of their lives with the anxiety and depression of existential dread who found immediate and lasting relief by taking psilocybin.
Can you think of anyone out there who needs to chill more than folks like the former president and cynical Trump acolytes like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Kari Lake? Stop the Steal? No, what’s your deal? Instead of seeking recounts or new elections “immediately,” do us all a favor and seek some professional help.
At this point, it’s really the patriotic thing to do.
Seriously, the hope is that therapy with psychedelics can alleviate the anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that lead many people, especially young men, to end their lives.
The use of psychedelic mushrooms in Colorado will actually likely not begin until the end of 2024, so the CPAC organizers should first head to Portland, where the Oregon Health Authority might be amenable to setting up a large supervised group event. Psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, has also shown great promise in helping people with addictions. If it can help alcoholics, perhaps it can help those who cannot stop thinking about conspiracy theories or being devoted to wholly unworthy political candidates.
Addicted to Tucker Carlson? Always seeking your next strongman? Talking people out of cults takes a lot of one-on-one work; micro-dosing could be the answer to macro-fascistic hysteria.
And haven’t the Trumplicans been micro-dosing us all with authoritarian tactics for years? From Donald’s Obama birtherism to the moment he became president and gaslighted the nation about that “record turnout” at his inauguration, we have been ingesting lies, conspiracy theories, a loss of political norms, the politicizing of public health measures, and encouragement of violence. We’ve been told that the free press is the enemy and that patriotic, non-ideological government professionals who protect us each and every day are somehow an evil “Deep State.” We have our own PTSD to deal with.
Speaking of the former twice-impeached and popular vote-losing president, given that he has announced (in front of Mr. Pillow, Roger Stone, and a captive audience) that he will run yet again, I seem to remember that porn actress Stormy Daniels wrote something about Donald offering her a mushroom. Or was it a toadstool? In any case, I know she said it was anything but magical. And, as Ms. Daniels put it, I guess most of us, including many non-cult-member Republicans, are thinking, Ugh, here we go.
By all accounts, psychedelic mushrooms are non-addictive, and the effects are long-lasting. I can attest to this myself, my own “good trips” (I was both careful and lucky) being from decades ago. I believe those few experiences of feeling connected to everything allowed me to be a less aggressive, more socially conscious human being. At the very least, psychedelics (as Pollen notes) seem to put the ego back on its heels.
In a 2021 appearance on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” Pollen and Noah had an excellent, thoughtful discussion of the therapeutic effects of psychedelics.
Micro-dosing to alleviate the right-wing’s fear-driven impulse for creating conspiracy theories and supporting creeping authoritarianism; to provide Republicans a glimpse of how everything on earth and in the universe is connected, so they can stop denying climate change and truly enjoy those astonishing Webb images; and to allow militia “patriots” a philosophical pause before they threaten a voter or, say, plot to kidnap another governor?
Yes, please.
