Authoritarians

"Extremes to the right and to the left of any political dispute are always wrong."
― Dwight D. Eisenhower, former Republican President of USA from 1953-61.

Is extremism becoming more common? Do you sometimes wonder what motivates people to blindly follow the most extreme views of their political party, the Bible, the Koran, or some talk-radio hosts? Do you wonder why the same people believe sinners should never catch a break, and that the poor deserve their plight because they are lazy, malcontents or non-believers? The same folks also tend to believe that punishments should be harsher, foreigners shouldn't be allowed in our country, and expressions of religious freedom should be banned unless, of course, it's their religion?
    If you wonder about these things, then The Authoritarians by Altemeyer (2006) is a book you should read. He recently retired from a long and distinguished career in the Psychology Department at the University of Manitoba. Because of the book's relevance to today's politics he was encouraged to make it available free online at http://members.shaw.ca/jeanaltemeyer/drbob/TheAuthoritarians.pdf.
    With over 40 years of research on the topic, Robert Altemeyer is an award winning researcher and is arguably the world's leading authority on Right Wing Authoritarianism (RWA). If you are interested in the shift of healthy conservatism towards greater extremism, his book is one you will enjoy.
    Authoritarians are comprised of a high percentage of religious fundamentalists who also score high on tests measuring dogmatism (the arrogant, self-righteous assertion of a belief with no evidence to support it). The vast majority of religious fundamentalists and their evangelical cousins are Creationists who believe that 6000 years ago God created man and all the animals as they exist today. It is not clear how they reconcile that belief with carbon-dating research from around the world that provides evidence of human existence many thousands of years ago to say nothing of radio metric data from the US Geological Survey that pegs the age of the earth at 4.5 billion years.
    Based on Altemeyer's research you could expect that some of the most devout authoritarians send the most hateful, sexist, intolerant and ignorant emails you've seen. Some of them are laughable. However, on a scale of 1 to10, there are many things worse than a few emails over which to get your knickers in a knot.
    Things like the outright denial of scientific consensus in support of climate change, advocating ruthless violence, and the willingness of some extremists to detonate themselves in the midst of innocents are clearly more concerning. You may find it annoying when such emails—these gems of political and social insight—end with some stupid, guilt invoking statement like: "If you love freedom (or God or Allah) you'll send this on."
Give us a break. Do they really believe they'll go to internet hell if they don't forward that piece of crap? Of course we value and will fight for free speech. People can write, read, and forward whatever they want. But just because we have freedom to do something, just because it is legal, does not make it moral.
    Why would a right wing authoritarian or a fundamentalist Muslim, Hindu, Christian or Jew want to promote hate and intolerance? How do they excuse themselves? How hypocritical do they have to get before it dawns on them that maybe this isn't what their scriptures intended? Do they ask themselves, "is this really what God (or whatever Deity they believe in) would advocate?
    A defining characteristic of authoritarians is that logic or scientific proof doesn't weaken their beliefs. They bow to the authority of their leaders in spite of any contradictory evidence. Arguing with them is a waste of time. The only thing proven to weaken their authoritarian beliefs is when they band together to defeat a common threat. For example, highly authoritarian Christians could join forces with similarly fundamentalist Muslims to rid the world of pornography. In the process they would find they had things in common and it may weaken their hostility toward each other.
    A long term strategy to reduce authoritarianism is for non-authoritarians to push for science, humanities and math education in our schools. It will lead to greater open-mindedness and a willingness to allow science to be the arbiter of contentious issues. Regardless of where you score on his RWA scale, Altemeyer's book provides a thought provoking read. Every paragraph is backed by rigorous research that will help you live well between your ears.  For more by this author search for Live Well Between Your Ears at www.Amazon.com,  www.Friesenpress.com, or www.nookbooks.com