More Mortal Salience Stimuli, Courtesy of Donald Trump

Donald Trump opened a mainline vein and injected our Presidential race with Mortal Salience Stimuli.

Laura Wilkerson, a mother whose 18-year-old son Joshua was murdered by an illegal alien in 2010, passionately appealed to Congress Tuesday to put an end to so-called “sanctuary city” policies and begin enforcing immigration laws, adding that “we are at war right here in this country” against criminal aliens who are a threat to public safety.

“This was our family’s 9/11 terrorist attack by a foreign invader, whether you want to recognize it or whether you do not,” Laura Wilkerson told members of Congress, speaking of her son’s death nearly five years ago.

Without Trump, that hearing would never have made the news, nor would the issue.

John Jost found that merely showing respondents minor mortally salient pictures of hearses and coffins would precipitate a cognitive shift toward conservatism, over all measures of conservatism. What was likely going on was those pictures were subtly triggering the amygdala and amping it up. Once activated, that effect spilled over into all functions governed by the amygdala, from reduced sexual drive, to intolerance of disloyalty, to demand for success, to protectiveness of one’s own.

Now think about that. A picture of a coffin precipitated such an ideological shift. What will endless stories of innocent Americans being brutally murdered by a criminal foreign out-group from third world countries do? How will it alter how people view the disloyalty of Americans who support those out-groups?

The Obama administration has begun a profound shift in its enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws, aiming to hasten the integration of long-term illegal immigrants into society rather than targeting them for deportation, according to documents and federal officials.

In recent months, the Department of Homeland Security has taken steps to ensure that the majority of the United States’ 11.3 million undocumented immigrants can stay in this country, with agents narrowing enforcement efforts to three groups of illegal migrants: convicted criminals, terrorism threats or those who recently crossed the border.

Trump is not just running to represent us, he is changing our populations, our debate, and our nation. Regardless of what happens in the election, Trump has already mainlined conservative urges into the veins of our entire electorate, and that will reap benefits far beyond merely electing a single leader.

I can’t wait to see how much more he does to the nation’s psychology in the course of this election.