Why???

They won’t wear masks. They won’t get vaccinated. They march in lock-step behind the Big Liar and his Big Lie. Why do these people do this? How irrational can they be?

Of course, we are not totally rational beings. We don’t decide things like Dr. Spock does (Star-Trek Spock, not child-rearing Spock). We go to war. We watch “Hee Haw.” Considerations other than pure logic are always part of our equations. But, shouldn’t logic be in there somewhere?

The irrationality of Trump support confronts and endangers us daily. But, there are also other, subtler examples.

One of those was shown on ESPN recently.  It was not intended to be a demonstration of irrationality, not at all.  It was a heart-rendering, well-produced and informative story about a first-round draft selection of the Indianapolis Colts. His name is Kwity Paye and he came to this country from Nigeria as a small child with his brother and mother.  They did not leave Nigeria because they were tired of the weather or because they couldn’t find enough good Jewish delis. They left because a civil war was raging. An estimated one million people were killed in that war. Thousands starved to death every day. Many were tortured. Some of the Paye family was killed. That’s why Mrs. Paye and the two boys hit the road. 

It being a time before the Trump Monarchy, the Payes were able to come here. They had nothing. Mrs. Paye could not read or write. The Nigerian education system had apparently left that out. At first, they survived on welfare and food stamps. But, Mrs. Paye was not satisfied with that. She wanted better for her children. She went to school. She got a job, and then two jobs. She made sure that her boys studied hard. It turned out that Kwity had a particular talent for football. There happened to be a private school in their area that was a football powerhouse and it often enabled its players to get scholarships to college. Kwity was asked to go there, but it cost money. Mrs. Paye didn’t have it. So, she got another job and scraped together the tuition. Kwity ultimately got a scholarship to Michigan and became a star.

So, draft night comes around. The television cameras are on the Paye family and friends as they gather around to see if their Kwity would have his life, and their lives, changed. An early enough selection would guarantee tens of millions of dollars. He was chosen twenty-first, not the top of the list, but plenty early enough for the riches.

Bedlam ensued. The Payes yelled and danced and sang. And, of course, they cried (and I must admit that when I saw this, I cried, too).

By this time, you must be wondering, “O.K., nice story, but what’s the point? Where’s the irrationality you started talking about?” Hang in there, here it comes.

After the Paye family received their life-changing news, they grabbed for a flag and wrapped it around themselves. Was it the American flag? Was it the flag of the country that saved them from a life of horror if not from death itself? Was it the flag of the country that provided them with the opportunity to achieve the life that brought them to this point? Nah. It was the flag of, you guessed it, Nigeria. Nigeria, the country that treated them so despicably that they had to leave it to save their lives. Nigeria, the country so unable to provide a civilized place to live that millions of its people died horrible deaths, including members of the Paye’s own family. 

The Payes, like the Trumpsters, linked their loyalty to an idea that could not possibly have been less worthy of it. There is no understandable logic behind a decision like that. It is utterly irrational. Dr. Spock would be appalled and bewildered. So am I.