Why are so many people doing such awful things? Why is the Democrat Party successfully gaslighting their own base with horror stories about climate change ending the world, racism being so unending and ‘systemic,’ that our neighbors are bloodthirsty bigots, and half of Americans are ‘semi-fascist’ maniacs?
There is an answer to this question and it is supplied, surprisingly, by Senator John Fetterman’s (D-PA) very public political renaissance.
Having defeated GOP candidate Mehmet Oz for the Pennsylvania Senate seat in 2022, Fetterman entered the national arena known mostly for having hidden the seriousness of a stroke he suffered during the Senate primary race. But now he explains that it was that near-death experience that gave him a new-found strength to be honest about the issues and to say and do what was right, sometimes rejecting the leftist party line. The reaction of his fellow Democrats and progressives to his intellectual rejection of progressive politics now simply did not matter to him.
“Weird: Man Becomes More Conservative As He Regains Brain Function,” was the satirical Babylon Bee website’s headline. But the more accurate (and less amusing) one-liner would be, “Not Surprising: Man Rejects Leftist Politics After Intensive Psychotherapy Improves His Mental Health.”
After his stroke and a hospitalization for depression while in the Senate, Fetterman emerged as a man who seemed more of a center-left classical liberal then the progressive image he had crafted during his years in local politics. During an appearance last week on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the host asked him about the genesis of his rejection of progressivism.
Maher “asked Fetterman whether his shift in various policies had anything to do with his recovery from his 2022 stroke, asking if his near-death experience had given him a ‘freedom.’ ‘Absolutely,’ Fetterman responded. ‘There’s a line from the first ‘Batman,’ Joker’s like ‘I’ve been dead once already. It’s very liberating… It’s freeing in a way. And I just think after beating all of that, I just really [want to] be able to say the things that I have to really believe in and not be afraid of if there’s any kind of blowback,’” reported Fox News of the conversation. He then noted specifically that he was no longer a progressive.
And while it is heartening to see someone like Fetterman reject and condemn the progressive Democratic Party’s disgusting abandonment of Israel and the Jews, what is truly significant is the fact that his success at improving his mental health played a role allowing him to reject progressive policies and attitudes.
As a leader in the feminist movement, I was able to escape the cult of the American left over a quarter of a century ago, a victory made possible in large part because of the therapy I pursued during that time. I did not like being miserable and hopeless and was determined to overcome it. Little did I know that when I dispatched depression and misery my allegiance to leftist politics would also vanish. Working with a psychotherapist and becoming secure enough to trust my own judgement and decision-making helped me develop the self-confidence and optimism required to reject victimhood, leaving rage, envy, and the left behind.
The lesson I learned, and likely a part of Fetterman’s experience, is that when you conquer being miserable by improving your mental health is the moment you can choose to be free. With that freedom comes the realization that your frame of mind is the predicable result of narratives meant to warp your view of yourself, the world, politics, and culture.
This is why the left focuses their cultural and political narratives on victimhood and hopeless misery, dragging the vulnerable into mind-killing despair. The left is a cult that creates and collects victims, allowing the few at the top to gain power (and money), not through ideas and genuine progress but by exploiting fear, anxiety, and the inevitable depression they inflict.
For leftists, their entire world view is based on a never-ending cycle of terrible events that will cause death and destruction; events they blame on humanity itself, of which they are a part. Horribly, progressives, and more frequently the Democratic Party itself through President Joe Biden, have decided to ramp up the fear, envy, and loathing by attempting to pit Americans against each other.
Fetterman’s treatment for depression and getting out of the progressive pit of misery is great news for him. It is also a revelation for all of us as it confirms that the destructive, paranoid, and malign agenda of today’s leftist Democratic Party is not natural, not wanted, and can be overcome.
A New York Times opinion piece in 2021 reported on a research paper addressing the finding that conservatives are happier than liberals, explaining: “Conservatives score higher than liberals on personality and attitude measures that are traditionally associated with positive adjustment and mental health, including personal agency, positive outlook, transcendent moral beliefs, and generalized belief in fairness. These constructs, in turn, can account for why conservatives are happier than liberals and have declined less in happiness in recent decades.”
Moreover, as one researcher noted, “One of the biggest correlates with happiness in our surveys was the belief of a meritocracy, which is the belief that anybody who works hard can make it,” she told PBS. “That was the biggest predictor of happiness. That was also one of the biggest predictors of political ideology. So, the conservatives were much higher on these meritocratic beliefs than liberals were.”
The perfect leftist vicious circle is convincing people nothing is fair and always aligned against you, crushing any belief in meritocracy, which then destroys your ability to be happy. It’s about inculcating hopelessness, and ultimately, depression. What is to be done? The Marxists who design this vortex then move in for the mind-kill, assuring everyone that the government is here to help.
With improved mental health, this is what Fetterman is in the process of escaping. Coming into one’s own and especially escaping from an environment that feeds on your despair and fear is a powerful experience.
For Fetterman, his ability and willingness to reject the malign politics of progressives likely took him by surprise after the shocking drama of suffering a stroke. But instead of accepting the ordeal of depression he, with encouragement of those around him, decided to work to overcome it. His journey, I predict, will continue and while he is still a Democrat and still wrong on many issues, I hope Fetterman finds himself with time being much more comfortable with the naturally conservative trajectory he is on.
Tammy Bruce, an Independent Conservative, has traversed a unique political journey that reflects her commitment to principles rather than party affiliations. She joined Fox News in 2005 as a Political Contributor, hosting her show “Get Tammy Bruce” on Fox Nation and providing insightful commentary on various issues for the Association for Mature Americans (AMAC).