Us vs. Them on steroids What drove our disloyal opposition to reject democracy for autocracy and authoritarian strongmen? Amanda Marcotte interviews Jared Yates Sexton whose new book, “The Midnight Kingdom: A History of Power, Paranoia, and the Coming Crisis,” plumbs the depths of the Grand Old Personality disorder crowd. Growing up as he did in “a really problematic, radicalized environment” makes QAnon and other eschatological beliefs quite familar. “When you take a look at these ideas and these conspiracy theories, one of the things you start to realize is if you believe these things, if these actually build the world around you or the way that you interact with politics or even your neighbors or your day-to-day life, you’re living in literal terror,” Sexton tells Salon. “And when you feel that way, when you believe that you’re in the middle of a supernatural battle, you literally will do anything in order to protect yourself and the people around you.” It’s Us vs. Them on steroids. Apocalyptic thinking made up some of the fuel that caught fire on January 6, says Sexton, and cast the 2020 election as a life-or-death struggle: The right says there is a conspiracy against them — an incredibly powerful, well-resourced sadistic conspiracy. Unless they do everything in their power, it is going to mean the difference between living and dying. Or, if you want to take it down the supernatural route, they worry about actually losing their spiritual power or spiritual vitality. It creates a story…