By now you know the refrain; you’ve heard it nonstop since Donald Trump’s upset victory in 2016: “Not my president.” The Left furiously insists that Trump’s administration is illegitimate. The media, in lockstep with the Left and the Democrats, have been militant in their ceaseless attacks on Trump, ignoring each and every success and acting as if nothing matters but the need to eliminate him and his supporters from society.

You might consider this to be wholly irrational or a manifestation of “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” But that isn’t how the Left looks at it. To many in the media and on the Left, this is a deeply held, well-considered view of the world.

When Trump won, it became obvious that the mainstream media refused to accept that they had lost the “narrative.” No longer did they have control and other voices, not conforming to their view of things, were given a platform. Some of them still refuse to believe it. Others of them choose to do something about it.

The reaction of most on the Left when Trump is discussed is pretty consistent. Rather than discuss the issues and engage in a real debate invariably they resort to labeling and name calling. This ineffective and mysterious response is not logical. Why would merely responding with assertions that Trump is “racist,” a “white supremacist,” or a “fascist” be accepted by anyone as proof positive of their position being correct? Yet they act that once someone is so labeled, that’s the end of the story. The debate is over.

It all makes sense if you realize that they are speaking from a religious belief. The Left shares a set of changing beliefs that equate to an orthodoxy promulgated and enforced by the priesthoods of the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, and others.

Consider replacing the term “racist” with “heretic.” Now with that in mind you can see that whenever someone in the MSM or on the Left uses one of those terms they really are saying heretic. It’s just their term for someone who is beyond the limits of society as they understand it.

Thus you begin to understand why they seem to believe that calling someone a racist ends all argument. That person so labeled is then outcast, not to be considered, not worthy of debate or even in possession of basic human rights.

Some on the Left instinctively have progressed further to the part of their belief where all heretics must be expunged from society. Think of Kathy Griffin’s photo of Trump’s severed head or Jim Carey’s ravings expressed in his “art.” I am quite sure there would be those on the Left who would embrace an inquisition to purge society of all “racists,” and other undesirables. Social media has already begun the job.

Religious zealots have a history of justifying the murder and torture of millions of heretics. Christians and Muslims both share that awful legacy. But the Left today has just as zealously accepted the religion of “progressivism,” most often without critical thought. That is to a large degree because any critical examination of belief demands tolerance and vigorous, free debate. As we have seen time and time again, those on the left are inclined to refuse to allow such discourse in violation of the once prized right to free speech.

When you realize that they really believe that such discussions are “heretical,” then you can begin to understand just how far astray the Left and progressives have gone. Where in the past such discussions were encouraged and valued they are now shunned and discredited.

Everyone who is not part of the progressive orthodoxy should stand up and demand that we all engage in the free debate and discussion so vital to a democratic republic. Recognize that when someone is called a “racist” or a “white supremacist,” many times that person is simply being branded a heretic and we are being told, in effect, that no further discussion is possible. In the eyes of the progressive leftist, the person they have called “racist” or “white supremacist” (whatever the nature of the facts surrounding that person’s case) is unworthy of being, beyond the pale, and deserving of oblivion and condemnation. If damnation were a part of progressive belief, the person so labeled would be deserving of that, too. Remember the second part of Hillary Clinton’s notorious remarks during the campaign about the “deplorables”—they are “irredeemable.”

As sad as this state of affairs is, it is possible to have some pity on the deluded adherents to this cult when you recognize that what you are dealing with is religious extremists. In the press and on the Left, we encounter so many people in need of help for coping with their delusional beliefs. Be aware that challenging the beliefs of religious extremists will be a dangerous thing to do. Consider Antifa. Does it help you to understand how they can act and say as they do if you recognize them to be what they indeed are: religious extremists out to purge the land of heretics?

If we can bring the truth out so that some in the progressive movement might recognize that this is, in the end, a fatal flaw in their method for achieving their goals, then perhaps we can begin to restore civility and public discourse and debate to our society and close the great political divide.

Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images