Politics isn’t usually the topic of this blog, but what’s happening in the US today goes far beyond just politics; it’s about the erosion of people’s rights and the destruction of decades of work towards making the world a fairer and more just world. People with spiritual awareness must be concerned about this. The whole world order has changed with the USA under Trump siding with countries who are a threat to the democracies that, though not perfect, do have certain rights and freedoms enshrined in their constitutions. An attack on democracy is an attack on those rights and freedoms.
So once again, I’m saying my bit. Not just to add to the noise surrounding this topic, I hope, but to provide an angle on it that aligns with the Buddhist teachings with which we’re familiar. Does this help? It helps me to understand why people think Trump is a good thing – whereas I see him and his regime as the epitome of evil. Understanding how they have been duped, caught by their own ignorance, and induced into a cult helps me approach them with compassion, and that helps me communicate better in a way that might heal the division that feeds fascism.
Empathy is not weak. Compassion is not weak. It is true strength.
A good heart is the source of all happiness, says His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and we can all be good-hearted with some effort. But better still, he says, is to have bodhichitta—a good heart imbued with wisdom. Lions Roar
What follows is the YouTube description of the video I made, followed by the video, then the transcript of the video – for those who prefer to read rather than watch. And finally a video I found on TikTok on the real meaning of fascism, why people vote for it, how the left have failed to meet the need of those people, and how important it is to have a unifying message that will offer those people an alternative. Just some more food for thought.
Recommended Listening
About the Video & Relevant Links
Donald Trump’s return to power is reshaping the United States in ways that threaten democracy, and it’s happening fast. In this video, I explore how his tactics—rooted in division, manipulation, and emotional exploitation—mirror historical authoritarian takeovers. But through Buddhist wisdom, we can see through the illusion and find a way forward.
🔹 1. Awareness is the First Step – Understanding what is happening right now is crucial. Dictatorships don’t emerge overnight; they take shape through deliberate actions. Staying informed is the foundation of resistance.
🔹 2. How Trump’s Cult of Personality Took Hold – Trump appealed to people’s prejudice, greed, jealousy, close-mindedness, and anger, emotions that the Buddha taught lead to suffering. By feeding these destructive emotions, he created a loyal following.
🔹 3. Division as a Tool for Control – By turning Americans against one another—left vs. right, urban vs. rural, white vs. non-white—Trump made it easier to consolidate power. The more divided we are, the harder it is to resist.
🔹 4. The Flurry of Executive Orders – Flooding the country with policies at a rapid pace is a classic authoritarian tactic. It creates chaos and distraction, making it harder for people to focus on the most dangerous actions.
🔹 5. The Core Issue: Betrayal of the U.S. Constitution – At its heart, Trump’s actions are not just political—they are traitorous. They go against the very foundation of American democracy.
🔹 6. Rebuilding Community & Overcoming Division – True resistance isn’t just about opposing Trump; it’s about bringing people together. I explore ways to reach out to our communities and bridge the divisions he has sown.
🔹 7. A Vajrayana Practice for Transforming Emotions – Vajrayana Buddhism offers a direct method for working with destructive emotions, transforming anger into clarity, fear into courage, and division into wisdom. I introduce a powerful, unaligned practice that can be applied to the present moment.
👉 Watch now to gain insight, take action, and stand for a future beyond division.
Comparison between Trump’s actions since taking office in 2015 and Hitler turning Germany into a dictatorship in the 1930s. https://substack.com/@tahlianewland/p-159310466
Election Fraud data: https://electiontruthalliance.org/
You can download the simple version of the meditation practice I mentioned here. It’s called Loving Light practice. You’ll also get a Mental Health Checklist for Social Media and be signing up to my personal email list. http://eepurl.com/izrI1w
For the full meditation practice of Maha Vajra – a powerful practice for our time – contact me via the Beyond the Temple website. https://beyondthetemple.com/contact/
Transcript
The USA is sliding into dictatorship. That can no longer be denied. See my Substack post comparing Hitler’s turning Germany into a dictatorship what Trump has done in the US since he took power this year. (Link in description https://substack.com/@tahlianewland/p-159310466 ) I’m assuming that my viewers don’t want that to happen. And since what happens in the USA affects the whole world, and elements in our own politics and societies are following Trump’s lead, it’s an issue for all of us.
So the question is, what to do about it.
1.Awareness is the First Step: Understanding and accepting what is happening right now is crucial.
Dictatorships don’t emerge overnight; they take shape through deliberate actions. Staying informed is the foundation of resistance. If we are to stop the US falling further into dictatorship, we can’t stay in our meditation rooms or not inform ourselves because it’s all too upsetting.
First noble truth: There is suffering and dissatisfaction.
It’s no good trying to run away from that truth, because suffering and dissatisfaction are all around us, and we can’t act to change anything until we’ve accepted that things are as they are.
Most of us have a long history of meditation experience, so we should know when we need to take a break, to take a walk and allow our mind to calm, so we don’t become frozen with fear or overwhelmed by the sheer pace of the dismantling of the US democracy. Be aware, be informed, but look after your mental health.
We need to be prepared to take concrete action, action based on wisdom and compassion
This video is about looking at what is happening in the US now through a Buddhist framework and knowledge of cults, so we are better able to deal with the situation.
🔹 2. Trump’s Cult of Personality Took Hold because he fed people’s prejudice, greed, jealousy, close-mindedness, hatred and anger, the five destructive emotions that the Buddha taught lead to suffering. The causes of suffering, he said, are negative karma and ignorance. I’m putting karma aside for now.
But Ignorance in the Buddhist sense is attachment, aversion and ignorance, ignorance in the sense of close-mindedness, not a lack of education. Aversion includes hatred and prejudice. Attachment includes greed and jealousy. Hence we get five destructive emotions; anger/hatred; prejudice, greed/grasping, jealousy & close-mindedness.
We cause our own suffering by being caught in these emotions, and others cause suffering for us by being trapped in these emotions themselves. It’s easy to get caught up in negative emotions and it’s easy for them to be fanned and weaponised.
Advertising captures people by appealing to their emotions and social media campaigns do it by appealing particularly to destructive emotions that cause people to react without thinking, to share, like and comment on anything regardless of truth so long as it reinforces their anger & hatred; prejudice, greed, jealousy & close-mindedness.
Trump used emotive language to appeal to people’s:
- hatred and fear of non-white, non-male, non-able, diverse-gendered people.
- anger at perceived injustices
- blaming immigrants for crime and loss of jobs.
- blaming diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for what they see as giving women and minority groups an unfair advantage over white males (rather than leveling the playing field which is what they were designed to do,)
- prejudice against these groups – especially non-whites and immigrants.
- He appealed to people desire to get richer
- Prices will go down
- You’ll get better jobs
- Business will boom
- America will be great again
- Jealousy of the rich and famous. He made them believe that they could become like those they emulate.
All lies of course, but it captured their emotions, fired them up in a messianic fervour and captured their vote. Trump fostered hatred and anger instead of love and compassion and ignorance instead of wisdom. He divided a country instead of unified it, and created a cult in which his followers look up to him as a savour sent by God. As people with intimate knowledge of cult dynamics, we know how dangerous this is.
Trump’s narrative made immigrants the enemy, fostering aversion, and made people think that they could become rich, fostering greed, under a Trump administration. He also demonized those who disagreed with him, calling them WOKE and lefties and so on, thus fostering close-mindedness and creating deep divisions in the community.
🔹 3. Division is a Tool for Control – By turning Americans against one another—left vs. right, urban vs. rural, white vs. non-white—Trump made it easier to consolidate power. The more divided we are, the harder it is to resist.
🔹 4. The Flurry of Executive Orders, many of which betray he U.S. Constitution, is a classic authoritarian tactic. Flooding the country with policies at a rapid pace creates chaos and distraction, making it harder for people to focus on the most dangerous actions. The ones that go against the very foundation of American democracy.
If we’re to save the US from dictatorship, we need to be very clear on the main point here. And that’s the betrayal of the U.S. Constitution, the dismantling of democracy and replacing it with a dictatorship run by oligarchs.
So what do we do?
- Overcome division and rebuild local communities
True resistance isn’t just about opposing Trump; it’s about bringing people together, because only when millions of people get out onto the streets together asking for the administration to step down, will there be enough resistance from the people to bring the country to a standstill and force capitulation. This is how they removed dictator Marcos from the Philippines, a peaceful people power revolution.
We need to find common ground in values above policies.
Nice words, but how exactly do we do it?
Talk to people in your community wherever you come across them. Don’t try to convince them of anything. Just ask questions to get them thinking. And simply listen to them. Don’t ever talk about who you voted for, say ‘who we voted for doesn’t matter; this goes way beyond that.’
Ask questions and if there is anything in their responses that you can use as a shared value, then affirm that. ‘Yes, I think so to.’
You could ask things like:
- How do you feel about what’s happening in the country at the moment?
- Is anything concerning you at all?
- Do you go to national parks at all? Do you think it’s important to have them maintained by federal workers?
- How do you feel about veterans? Should our government look after them after they’ve finished active duty?
- Are you concerned about disinformation? About social media manipulation? Do you now how algorithms work?
- What values do you think America stands for?
- How important is the constitution for you?
- How important is free speech in America to you? Should we be able to protest without fear of being imprisoned or deported? What does it mean for us if we become too scared to speak our mind on what the government is doing?
- What do you think about the USA siding with Russia against our traditional allies?
- Do you think we should invade Canada?
- What do you think core American values are, the ones we fought for in our wars.
Obviously, you’re not going to ask all these questions at once. These are just ideas of the kinds of things you could ask to get them thinking.
If you find yourself talking to a person who is concerned about sliding into a dictatorship, then ask the, what do you think we should do? Then you could suggest that ‘we all need to be prepared to stop work and get onto the streets to call for the removal of the regime’. It’s a matter of being ready for the call. Also ask things like: who do think we could rally around in our community?
If you find yourself talking to a MAGA person, remember that they are in a cult, so all you can do is be polite, listen, acknowledge their fears and hope that your questions might start a cult recovering movement in their mind. Forget the hard-liners. You’ll never move them. Their identity is too closely aligned to their belief in their cult leader. Just try to be approachable.
Remember, particularly when talking to MAGAs:
- Treat them with respect and kindness. They are not stupid – not necessarily. They just got caught in a cult. I got caught in a cult, and I’m not stupid.
- Don’t think you are better than them – we all have negative emotions and we can all get caught by them and the click bait that preys on them.
- It’s not their fault if they voted for Trump (Data suggests the elections were rigged anyway). They were lied to.
- We were all lied to.
- Avoid assigning blame.
- Use ‘we’ and ‘use’ instead of ‘you’ where you can.
- Ignore cult speak, let it wash over you.
- As much as possible don’t talk policies, political parties or who you voted for. Keep it general. This conversation must be had outside of specific policies and general politics. You’ll achieve nothing inside that framework.
- Try not to mention Trump. If they’re in a cult, they will reject any criticism of him.
- The aim is to create a connection on what you share – love of where you live, your concern for your children, your fears for the future.
- Don’t do this on social media. It has to be face to face. You could be wasting your time with a Russian bot and all you’ll do is get frustrated and draw more conflict to you there.
2. Find leaders, unite behind them and be ready to heed their calls to action.
People will step forward. Bernie Sanders is on the ball. He has correctly identified the issue as the money behind the throne – the oligarchs – Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos and so on. You could seek out the veterans in your community; see what they’re thinking and planning. Start with the people around you. And maybe you could become a leader, yourself.
Keep your spirits up. It will be a long fight, so take breaks and keep that spacious brain.
Bardo – we’re in a bardo, the place between how things were and how they will be. This is an enormous opportunity to come out of this with a better USA.
3 Pray or do some spiritual practice directed to healing the causes of this slide into dictatorship. I have an unaligned Vajrayana Practice that came to me out of my meditation practice. It works by directly transforming the 5 destructive emotions into wisdom. Not only our own emotions, but those that run rampant around us. It’s a powerful, unaligned practice – meaning it’s not related to any group – and it’s perfect for this moment in time. I expect that’s why it came to me. You can download the very simple version by clicking the link in the description, and if you want the full meditation practice of Maha Vajra, contact me through the Beyond the Temple website.
Links
Comparison between Trump’s actions since taking office in 2015 and Hitler turning Germany into a dictatorship in the 1930s. https://substack.com/@tahlianewland/p-159310466
Election Fraud data: https://electiontruthalliance.org/
You can download the simple version of the meditation practice I mentioned here. It’s called Loving Light practice. You’ll also get a Mental Health Checklist for Social Media and be signing up to my personal email list. http://eepurl.com/izrI1w
For the full meditation practice of Maha Vajra – a powerful practice for our time – contact me via the Beyond the Temple website. https://beyondthetemple.com/contact/
What does fascism offer people?
What’s your take on any or all of this?
Leave your comments below.
Ninety % of the time this approach to life is great. The question is, how do people respond to the next steps in forming this white nationalist dictatorship, which is emotional and physical control of their enemies and asset forfeiture.
Just imagine WW2 II with a Buddhist approach. There would not have been a Jewish person , disabled or person of color left. That is a lot of misery and death to Hope the mindset spreads to others, to maintain one’s personal peace. To large degree, I believe this mind set is what allowed this cancer to grow. Too much “high road”. There needs to be a balance.
There is a time for much more than talk, if literal freedom is important to you and your family.
I totally agree. What I said is only a way to understand through a certain framework of thought. It does not mean that one should take no action, rather that one can take action from a point of understanding. Our action is more effective if it comes from a place of understanding and acceptance of what is. Acting from anger and frustration can lead to violence which only furthers Trump’s agenda by helping him label WOKE lefties as terrorists and provides fuel for him to bring in the troops.