Why the BULLY is the TEST of Your CONVICTION: George McFly is Not Afraid of Biff Anymore

In Back to the Future, Marty McFly is not afraid of the bully. He easily confronts and stands up to Biff.

But his father, George, is afraid of the bully in the present and the past, and Marty can't fight the bully for his father, as much as he'd like to and is capable of doing it. George has to face his own giants and muster up the courage himself (which he eventually does).

This "en-couraging" is part of my mission right now. The mission is not just to be an example of this, but to help empower others to muster up that courage for themselves.

We have a lot of power to make things better when we're willing to step into the tension. Moving beyond the socialized mind (where group belonging matters most) towards a self-authoring identity is how we do this. It's a shift in our identity from group belonging to an identity grounded in principles. It's a shift of external validation to internal conviction.

The test of our conviction is the force that pushes back. Marty McFly is on a mission, and Biff is attempting to thwart him every step of the way. Biff is the test of the conviction.

In life, we'll face those same antagonizing forces. My aim is to help others (and myself) prepare for and succeed when they face those challenges that come their way.

This mission, in the political arena, is about being the conscience of my political party (Republicans, particularly Christian Republicans).  Many people don't like my mission and want me to stop and be quiet.

When we're part of a group, and that group is going down a bad road, we can speak up and say something. But when most people in that group have gone far down that road, they usually don't want to hear it.  And they often want us to stop talking about.

In the story of Pinocchio, he wanted to do what he wanted to do, and Jiminy Cricket, his conscience, was there to tell him when he was going off track. Pinocchio found a way to rid himself of his conscience, and all hell broke loose.

Often, the mission of a prophet isn't for the leader or people not to go down the bad road, but rather to bear witness to the descent so when they hit the end of that road, they can find their way back home.

There are people at this end-of-the-road place now, in my political party.

Many folks who voted for Trump are now having doubts and shedding their support. It's hard to tell how widespread it truly is, but it's happening. When we look at the elections from 2024 to today, we're seeing a dramatic swing away from Republicans. The midterm corrections are upon us.

In the first 6-9 months, any president gets a grace period honeymoon before reality sets in, and he's judged for his actions. As that reality has set in for Trump's second presidency, people who voted for him, some three times, are regretting their vote. They're saying in the elections ahead that they won't vote or, in many cases, they'll switch sides and vote Democrat.

I did a deep dive about this disillusionment, and I mapped out the emerging patterns that capture this accelerating shift with trump voters, which has been unfolding since the fall of 2025 (and somewhat before). You can explore the patterns and breakdown here, an article that's part of my Middle School Mindset series.

I've been documenting and sharing these individual patterns about leaving MAGA on Facebook to encourage Republicans and independents to shed their support of Trump. When people in a group see a large number of people in their group leaving the group, it gives them safety and permission to do the same. 

I suspected that by sharing these patterns, it would also be triggering for many Trump loyalists, who'd want to stop that from happening. That may be an understatement.

Let me give you an example. I posted one of the observed patterns on Facebook.

Leaving MAGA Pattern #13: The Scalp Prohibition

‍Refusal to Fire: Leader retains massive liabilities (e.g., Hegseth) to avoid "feeding the sharks," prioritizing his ego over organizational competence.

‍"He’s not going to throw Hegseth over the side... that just feeds the sharks." / "Trump made a business out of firing people on TV, yet he can't fire the incompetent [pick your person] who is now ruining his credibility."

After seeing that pattern, a commenter said this:

"Bro, you just keep slinging senseless babble. You suffer from TDS.

I mean, if you have something tangible, fine. Sing it from the mountain tops. But you just keep pounding out opinionated, senseless babble.

We get it, you don’t like Donald Trump.

But you give zero hard facts to back up anything you say. You attack ego? C’mon.

Do better, be better."

These antagonistic comments are common from those who don't like what I'm posting. I'm open to feedback to help give me a more complete picture, but when I invite them to engage in substance, that's not usually something in which they're willing to participate. If you've spoken up, you've likely experienced people like this.

Regarding the Facebook post, I shared the patterns about why people who have voted for Trump are no longer supporting him. This is not me asserting something; it's the documentation of what is happening. If we want to understand reality, so that we can effectively navigate it, one would want to know when things have gone south, even when it's in their own group.

Jim Collins describes this unfolding dynamic in his book, How the Mighty Fall. A few patterns of teams in decline include:

• "People shield those in power from grim facts, fearful of penalty and criticism for shining light on the harsh realities.
• People assert strong opinions without providing data, evidence, or a solid argument."

This is in strong contrast to teams on the way up and towards success.

• "People bring forth unpleasant facts - "Come here, look, man, this is ugly" - to be discussed; leaders never criticize those who bring forth harsh realities.
• People bring data, evidence, logic, and solid arguments to the discussion."

So, we need new and better leadership, and that requires mustering up courage because leaders on the way down won't like this. And America needs to strong and healthy parties.

Brave Leaders

For many people, it's hard to brave the wilderness (as Brene Brown says) when it may result in alienation, or worse. So, I lead by example and publicly wander the wilderness ahead of them. It's stepping into the risky tension as a way to help encourage others to be brave too, and stop enabling the toxicity of the group. And it helps me shed my own toxicity.

This mission is about permitting fellow Republicans to remove their support, not vote, or vote against Republicans who enable the Republican Party's toxicity and decline. I'm sharing to diminish Trump's hold on my party and the power he's attempted to expand so we can move from destructively descending downward to rebuilding upward and forward. 

That's where the movie Back to the Future comes into play. Marty McFly is not afraid of Biff, the bully. But his dad is, and he has to help George become brave enough to fight the bully.

That's what I'm hoping to help encourage: more people becoming stronger leaders who are not afraid of the bullies and are willing to lead courageously when those bullies try to tear them down.

In Back to the Future, George goes from being an oppressed loser to a confident, successful man, someone his son, Marty, now respects and admires.

And that's where the tension here can help. Heroes are not born; normal people are allowed to step into the tension and grow into those heroes. The antagonism is a tension, which, when embraced, can help transform us into the people we must become to solve the problems we're now facing.

For me, when these commenters are causing my doubts to surface or get distracted, that's an opportunity to get more deeply grounded and focused. This tension is something to lean into, to grow more, and change for the better. And then when these antagonists are no longer surfacing that tension in me, I can move on to the next boss level.

For those trapped in silence within the toxic tribe, they have the choice and opportunity to practice telling the truth and sharing their perspective when they'll be dismissed, misrepresented, and demonized. But on the other side of this fire is the incredible leader they'll become, and of which we need to move us forward.

For those trapped by a sense of belonging in that toxic tribe, they too have an opportunity to face that fear and step into it. There's more purpose and power to be found in a healthy tribe, although it can be terrifying to leave the toxic tribe in search of that healthy one. But even those deeply entrenched in MAGA are seeing it. Kara Voght highlights this in her Washington Post article, Is MAGA in its cringe era?

"Winters, the “War Room” co-host, borrows a term from psychology: “preference falsification.” It’s when people misrepresent their true feelings or beliefs due to social pressure or fear of consequences. One of her major pet peeves is the fact that she believes many Trump supporters know MAGA is looking cringe, but won’t call it out for fear of retribution.

She sees a new frontier in “based.”

“What is cool now,” she said, “is being brave enough to critique the administration for not fulfilling their campaign promises.”' - Kara Voght

Brave enough. Muster the courage.

The principles-over-social-belonging test is upon us.

May you learn and grow from it.

"Don't pull out of public view. Don't leave your job if it is integrated into an ideological apparatus. Don't give up relationships with people whose opinions you don't share.

Doing so will be uncomfortable. You will feel unpro-ductive, unable to effect change. But your discomfort is not yours alone: It generates friction. You might not change people's minds, but you might be a spark for those who already harbor doubts and second thoughts. Your physical presence will be an obstacle to complete assimilation and unthinking like-mindedness. Sometimes that makes all the difference.

...

Creating friction matters. Carrying the burden of visibility for others matters. This is true for public offices and contested spaces. It is true for positions of influence and allies in high places. It is true for your space as well."

- Hanna Reichel, For Such a Time As This