Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached a sermon entitled, “Love in Action.” The message centered on Jesus’s final prayer on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” In his notes, Dr. King wrote that Jesus was “nailed to the cross…not simply by badness but also by blindness.” While those who plotted behind the scenes were plenty bad, “the men who [cried] ‘crucify him’ were,” according to Dr. King, “blind men.” Blind both intellectually and spiritually. We see those same forms of blindness around us today. They help explain why Donald Trump, on this MLK Day, is returning to the White House.
It’s impossible to pinpoint exactly when our society began losing its intellectual eyesight. It must have been around the time social media took off. Today, our trusted news sources are our favorite influencers, whose reliability we assess not by their expertise but by their follower count. Over the past four years, the percentage of adults who regularly get their news from TikTok has increased nearly six-fold. According to research from Onyx Impact, Black folks ages 18-34 are nearly five times more likely to get their news from social media than from cable news.
The problem is that much of what we see and share online is not true. And while misinformation can theoretically come from anyone, a recent study found the right is 21% more likely to spread misinformation than the left. Not to mention, those with the most extreme beliefs are most likely to believe it.
Enter Donald Trump. He saw our intellectual blindness developing and decided to exploit it. Even though the birther lie was baseless, he reckoned if he repeated it enough times, enough people would believe it. Indeed, 72% of Republicans did. It helped put MAGA on the map and Trump in the White House. Once there, he worked to worsen our collective condition and build political power. Facts he didn’t like became “fake news.” His lies became “alternative facts.” The press became “the enemy of the people.” All to ensure his word – and his word alone – became gospel among his people. If he said something was true, it was true. No further thought needed. Intellectual blindness.
Trained to believe whatever Trump said, MAGA accepted his Big Lie and the many lies he told on the 2024 campaign trail. His supporters demanded no details about his plans – or lack thereof – to bring down food prices or end the Russia-Ukraine war. They believed his lies that non-citizens were voting, Democrats want to execute newborns, and Haitians were eating pets. These claims defied logic, but because Trump was the one who made them, they were true. The mainstream media’s insistence that they were false made them all the more true. Intellectual blindness.
And then there is the other blindness about which Dr. King wrote: spiritual blindness. Trump has torn our society’s moral fabric. Representing the “party of family values,” he is a twice-impeached convicted felon, who was also found liable for sexual abuse. His platform was rooted in division. Ultimately, a plurality of voters cast their ballot for the candidate who promised mass deportations, a resumption of the federal death penalty, and a redefinition of civil rights to protect those who are least likely to experience harm. Now, faith leaders are lining up behind morning show hosts to kiss the ring and give their blessing. Spiritual blindness.
As a society, it feels like we didn’t just lose our sense of right and wrong; rather, it’s almost as if Trump came in, smashed our nation’s moral compass, and pulled out the magnetic needle. Or perhaps Trump just drew our attention to the fact that the compass was broken all along. Either way, it feels like our country is lost in the middle of the spiritual wilderness with no idea where to go. It’s not that we can’t comprehend the truth; we literally can’t see it anymore. Trump placed blindfolds on our heads – although some folks already had them on – and squeezed them tighter and tighter until now, no light can pass through.
And yet, even though it looks so dark, for some, it has never seemed more bright. For whom might that be the case? Recall MLK wrote not only about blindness but also about badness. Besides the white supremacists who have again succeeded at uniting the right, I’d argue things have never looked brighter for the oligarchs pulling the strings behind the scenes. Far from having to worry about the potentially disastrous consequences of the new administration, they are preparing to cash in. Tax breaks, government contracts, unparalleled access. To them, this is a game; for many of us, the next four years could be life or death. Because, as President Biden articulated in his farewell address, this oligarchy “threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.”
We should remember another truth from Dr. King, and cling to it over the four years ahead: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” It’s on us to help loosen each other’s blindfolds and let the light back in. We can’t stop until all of our intellectual and spiritual sight has been restored.
Gevin Reynolds is a former speechwriter to Vice President Kamala Harris.