Germs! Aliens!

Donald Trump is open about it.  He is a germaphobe.

Donald Trump laid down his position on immigrants on the first day of his campaign.  Immigrants are dangerous.  The opposition to immigrants by many Americans goes deeper than a transient political idea. 

It rests on a moral belief in the value of keeping America pure.

"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

Donald Trump doesn't like to shake hands.  A decade ago I saw him on television being interviewed as he flirted with a newsperson about running for president.  He admitted that one impediment for him was that he hated to shake hands with people.  Donald Trump cited it when he said that the dossier of his supposed kinky sex in Moscow was ludicrous.  Let prostitutes pee on him?  No way.  I am a germaphobe, he said.

This blog has described the insights of psychologist Jonathan Haidt who notes that liberals and conservatives fail to understand each other because conservatives operate with five bedrock moral principles and liberals operate with only two of the five. Liberals and conservatives all share the moral value of Fairness and Not Harming.  We all recognize and dislike cheating and cruelty when we see it.  

Conservatives have the additional values of Group Integrity, Respect for Authority, and Sacredness-Purity--values that are less relevant to liberals.  The two political parties line up to reflect this:  More secular Democrats, churchgoing Republicans; police sceptic Democrats, Republicans supporting the police and military; multicultural inclusion Democrats, anti-immigrant Republicans.  

Donald Trump and Fox News make a point about the value of saying "Merry Christmas" as opposed to a more inclusive greeting, like "Happy Holidays."  I hear liberals say this is silly talk over nothing.  It may be nothing to them, but Trump and Fox make a point of it because it is meaningful to their audiences. It is symbolic of group unity and singularity of Christianity.  "WE are the normal people. OUR religion is primary. We don't share the season.  It is OUR season. We don't want to include Jews, Muslims, non-believers."   Fox called it a "War on Christmas", their characterization of inclusion of more people into their group identity than desired.  

That notion of immigrants as dangerous invader germs, underhandedly bringing infection, is a longstanding part of America's opposition to immigrants.  Earlier in this century it was fear of Catholics, as shown in this cartoon by Thomas Nash.  Stalwart white people ashore confronting reptilian invaders wearing papal hats.

Foreign invaders, papal menace.

This blog received a letter from a self-identified evangelical Christian, which reflected the same psychology.  He cited an article from a professor at liberal Reed College in Portland who complained that the open tolerance of the college enabled intolerant and closed-minded protests.  The book-burners were the politically correct liberals.   He wrote:

"Those supporting free speech are timidly surrendering their free speech to those silencing contrary views, thereby tolerantly losing their own free speech.  This parallels welcoming alien cultures who have no intention of assimilation, but rather exploitation until domination, then eradication of the tolerant host culture.  Other than Trump, which leasers forcefully decry intolerance vanquishing tolerance--Antifa or devout Islam or other anti-intellectual thuggery?"

There is a lesson here for progressive and culturally liberal readers.

The notion of inclusion and welcome confronts a deep seated resistance. that is both psychological and moral.  Outsiders challenge the integrity of the group.  Assimilation matters.  ("And some, I assume, are good people," Trump said about Mexicans.)  But the initial premise is that they are dangerous at best. They are outsiders and bring infections.  The reptiles in the cartoon were vile and corrupting.  The letter from the Christian called them dangerous, perhaps fatally so.  The "alien cultures" in the letter intend "exploitation", "domination", and "eradication."  At stake is the integrity and health of American body politic.

We do not intentionally eat germs.  We exclude them.  We wash them off.  We douse our hands with Purell.   

It is more than "just politics."  It is deep psychology and morality.