That appeal to the Know-Nothing, trust-your-gut mentality destroys other things too. In studying how different countries fared during the height of the COVID pandemic, a distinction was made by researchers between public trust in government and public trust in civil institutions. The latter tended to be more essential to good outcomes (i.e. fewer deaths ) than the former.
This should all be obvious, of course. But since the fascists and their late-stage capitalist partners have (as part of their process) de-devalued critical thinking when it comes to history and political analysis it’s important that Maddow can articulate it in such a clear and pithy manner.
