Agreed on all points. Maslow's idea of a "hierarchy of needs" is apropos and a tool for predicting human behavior since they'll react to that hierarchy as a group.
This is where, when talking about dissent in America, it becomes interesting to me. The MAGAts are genuinely in fear. They are falling for fearmongering.
Are there serious concerns facing America? Of course, but we should face them bravely, not as oath-breaking cowards who need to use violence to advance their autocratic agenda in order to absolve their fears.
IMO, it's because they have no faith. They are in fear of death, angry because they feel they undershot life goals, and, mainly, because they feel they failed in personal relationships with loved ones.
It's good to have someone with a psychology degree on this forum, because I really didn't know what Maslow's hierarchy is. Good to learn something new.
It's a great insight, and points to things that are uniquely human. I had a geochem PhD harangue me that orangutans might know calculus and squirrels have the exact same ethical and aesthetic instincts as humans. But I really don't think orangutans and aardvarks really have this Maslow hierarchy in the framework of their lives.
I think it's healthy and important to have some kind of hope for a higher meaning in life, something that transcends biological requirements, but I won't begrudge the nihilists and cynics who think existence is ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of the universe