One of the things that has gotten me over the past four years, and moreso this past month in which four years of Trumpcrap has been compressed into 30 days, is that I cannot figure these people out. I have for a number of years worked as a creator of dramatic fiction, during which time I gained a reputation for being able to create "hone…
One of the things that has gotten me over the past four years, and moreso this past month in which four years of Trumpcrap has been compressed into 30 days, is that I cannot figure these people out. I have for a number of years worked as a creator of dramatic fiction, during which time I gained a reputation for being able to create "honest, believable characters." Not that all were honest, moral people, but rather that they were honest portrayals of people who might do the good, bad or indifferent. But with these Trump people, I really can't figure them out, how they got to the level of awful they inhabit. I mean, how did an otherwise unremarkable kid from a middle class Jewish home full of what appear to be decent people, become this kid who went out of his way to be an asshole, who got his jollies from the outraged responses of others to his assholery, become Stephen Miller, who I can only compare to Reinhard Heydrich, even though he likely doesn't have the stones to become the author of a Holocaust? Lewandowski, Bossie, O'Grady, mentioned here tonight. You look at who they were and their previous unremarkableness is the constant. What turned them into monsters, or were they always monsters but just able to maintain a facade? And why were/are they? Most of them don't appear to be getting rich from their involvement with Trump, but they're drawn to him like moths to a candle.
'Tis a puzzlement.
And then there's the response they raise in me, which is best left to the Dylan line - "If my thoughts 'n dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in a guillotine."
As an emergency physician this is not so confusing. Nor is it an unknown. We have good evidence from Functional MRI that the patterns in the brain of an individual that has experienced near absolute power, or even one who thinks he has, conform exactly to the patterns seen in addictive disease. Power is the most addicting experience a human can have. Addiction is a condition that will lead the afflicted to do irrational, self centered, self justifying actions often right up to the brink of death or to death itself. Trump has been addicted to power for many years but the experience of being president has pushed his condition to its logical conclusion. The problem with addiction to power is that it does not carry the same destructive power to the body itself as other addictions. Also in power addiction a cohort of like addicted personalities are often drawn in to support the central figure. They can then all act in an irrational manor together thus supporting their delusion while continuing their self denial and self aggrandizement. This behavior will function at shorter and shorter time scales and exhibit greater amounts of energy until the end, whatever form that takes.
So I submit that what is happening is not a puzzle. What to do about it seems to be.
Thank you, Dr. Munson, This makes sense to me for both the individuals with power and those who are followers. I have always been very interested in the function of the brain. My personal experience with absolute power as an orchestra conductor could be described as a high without drugs. Just holding a little stick you control a hundred or more people in that moment. And, you don't make a sound. The sound comes from the musicians who grant you your power by following you. Getting high on music feels good and has the advantage over addictive drugs in that you can choose when you come off the high. Again with functional MRI they show that playing a musical instrument lights up the entire brain and is a total body workout. Here's a favorite TED talk on this https://www.ted.com/talks/anita_collins_how_playing_an_instrument_benefits_your_brain/transcript?language=en
But, what to do about it... Don't think a 12 step program would have any takers. One approach might be having a government that focuses on the well-being of everyone using a Well-Being Index. This would include building resilience so people are less susceptible to this kind of addiction. And, change our culture's sleep habits so we get enough N3 deep sleep which cleans out toxins like amyloid betas linked to Alzheimers accumulated by the brain during the day and REM sleep which give you more resilience in dealing with situations you encounter. Shorter term it would be helpful to stop negative campaigning which works because our brain pays attention to negative things in order to survive if something bad is coming at you. Interesting enough, it is the candidate using hope and a vision of a positive future who will win in a healthy society. Wish I had some more immediate answers to this.
I will add just one thought. Addictive disease has been with humanity, likely, from the start. It has generally been accepted as a norm. It is only recently that it has even been thought of as a disease and that realization hasn't fully penetrated society yet. The companion to addictive disease is co-dependence. This is a non addicted personality that is attracted to the addicted personality where a predictable dance of behavior ensues. The co-dependent attaches to the addict with the energy stream, of ideas, money, allegiance, etc. between the two crippling both. The hallmark of this dance is denial.
If people in general can come to recognize addiction and to be able to see the denial that supports it then progress may be forthcoming.
Yes, his base restricts the President in many ways. What is the co-dependence of the silent Republican elected officials or is it just fear of not getting re-elected. Term limits would go a long way to solving that.
News commentary and discussion groups like this one need to start practicing positive journalism which not only tells you what is going but also what can be done about it. I do hope we'll discuss remedies here and stay out of the weeds. Sometimes we also need to step back and try to see the whole picture.
So true, Cathy- thanks. When we let ourselves get drawn down the rabbit hole of analyzing negative things, we get disconnected from our ability to even see solutions. I've worked with dozens of groups whose existence was to identify the nature of problems and find the means to resolve them. Part of that process was to keep them looking for possible solutions even while trying to understand the problem. Not fix as you go, but having that positive outlook alongside the problem analysis to keep the process afloat.
Your suggestion of establishing a governmental Well-being Index is brilliant, Cathy. That would be a significant way to embed different--healthy--values in our societal structure. Thanks for posting the TedEd Talk. Emphasizing creativity's empowerment is key to our cultural healing and evolution.
I'm certainly promoting the idea but it is already happening in countries like Great Britain. And, the US Army has a Comprehensive Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program. This is based on the work of Dr. Martin Seligman and his theory of Well Being. So, there are already examples on how to set this up. https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/learn/soldiers
Yes, I knew you weren't originating the idea, but sharing it, Cathy. People need to know about this extremely important solutionary concept! Thanks for sharing this link. As visuals are important and reveal a lot of hidden meaning, it'd be so much better if the peripheral circles in the Venn diagram overlap in the center, instead of being somewhat separate. That would powerfully illustrate how interconnected thinking--instead of problematic dualistic thinking--leads to optimal fitness. I like the text describing the goal to develop optimal fitness skills, especially where it says: "when facing uncertainty and adversity, these same skills help these individuals to put the problems into an appropriate perspective, find meaning in their lives, reduce rumination and catastrophic thinking, and focus on finding solutions." We definitely need that these days!!
As a double boarded NP working in addiction and psych I appreciate your input on this and agree that this is not a puzzle but that the challenge is to find a solution. Sadly, I am not sure there is a workable one. As I’ve posted several times before, these people are not going away. Our biggest challenge moving forward will be to keep them out of power and to remove those already there. I fear it will not end well.
Not only are they not going away, but this is not a new phenomenon. They have always been among us. Hopefully, with a sane administration and nobody manning the dog whistle, they will fade from the forefront. Of course, that will require removal of the worst who remain in positions of authority. I doubt it will happen in my lifetime, but we could witness the beginning.
I just started reading "The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence", by Dacher Keltner, of Berkley. He mentioned the fMRI studies on a radio interview so I got his book. He said it is true that 'absolute power corrupts absolutely", in that it literally changes the brain. I'd never heard that before and am very intrigued to read the book and learn more.
One of the basic gains of a child from his parents is the understanding of the limits that society imposes on acceptable behaviour. Absolute power blows away the limits....and with it all the accumulated benefits of childhood "socialization".
Thank you, Dr Munson, for your clarifying explanation! It is very helpful in understanding this phenomenon. Interestingly, your comments align with what Stuart Attewell said earlier albeit in a different way, that being a Trumper gives them their one shot at feeling like a master of the universe. Both explanations illuminate how insecure people feel empowered through identification with this cult/ ideology. I think the attraction of trumpism lies in one's sense of insecurity. (Perhaps Miller feels insecure in relation to his other upright family members? As people take different roles in family systems, it's not unusual for a family of upstanding people to include a deviant or outcast.) As most people feel insecure, the potential number of such cultists in the future is vast. When we identify the problem as you have done, then we can mitigate it. Clearly, we need to find other ways for people to feel empowered.
Miller apparently was a social outcast early on in life....vengence is sweet in his mind. Whereas people didn't listen before now they are afraid of what he'll do next! What a rush for this "loser".
Yes, definitely! Unfortunately, our highly competitive, highly acquisitive culture often undermines the bonds of a loving family. Sadly, it is called a rape culture for a reason. I agree that love in its widest, most active form--love of self, each other, and the Earth--is the answer. With it, children grow up with a belief in their inherent goodness and creativity, a sense of acceptance of their own and others' limitations, a positive sense of shared community, and a deep connection with the Earth. The mutual aid that is proliferating during these tumultuous times is an expression of such love, and is extremely hopeful.
I loved that Paul (of Peter, Paul & Mary) responded on this site to HCR's recent question about our ideas for a new narrative for America. Paul (Noel Paul Stookey) offered a song instead: America The Beautiful, with 2 additional verses he wrote: (https://www.amazon.com/America-the-Beautiful/dp/B008XTXZ7K
Your comment, Imogene Drummond, feels like that same gooodness.
It appears we are already slipping into that rabbit hole. This is not the only kind of problem analysis we can use- but it is the one that our culture is conditioned to turn to, particularly the tendency to "individualize" both problems and solutions. Other societies and cultures are already using other ways of looking at things, and some have been doing so for centuries. I wonder why we repeatedly return to the particular perspective we have- even while we think we are learning from the way others have of thinking?
Without your medical knowledge, I was about to say that these cohorts have similar psychological makeup, and his being in control gives him the opportunity to grant permission to display their base instincts. Thank you, Dr. Munson!
So, G.K. Chesterton was right, way back in the day, when he observed that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Good to know,. Thank you!
FWIW, Chesterton may have riffed on the theme, but the quote is from Lord Acton in a letter (1887) insisting on the necessity of evaluating and condemning the actions of past leaders, with particular objection to justifying the cruelties of Popes:
"Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority."
A shortened version of the letter is available at:
Great post – befuddlement in understanding the Trumpists is something we share.
You probably recall the rampant greed, entitlement and general rapacity with which aspiring finance and real estate scum waded through the cocaine cloud that was the 80s. “American Psycho” was the hyperbolic testament to those times. I was living in Manhattan then and never could get my head around those folks – they were such unrepentant Arschlochs.
I don’t do Twitter, but I came across a story this morning about the NYYRC (New York Young Republicans Club) who held a maskless get together yesterday hosted by young Gavin Wax with special guest Matt Gaetz (R) Florida – one of the world’s signature Arschlochs.
The Tweet, complete with a photo of the group jammed in nice and tight, rich with exuberant décolletage, goofy looking men – and a strange hand gesture that must be some kind of secret club thing, was a stomach turner.
I can’t reproduce the picture (it’s searchable), but the text read:
Ashley StClair
@stclairashley
Catch us if you can, Commie aCuomo.
The show will always go on for patriots...
Thanks for organizing an amazing America First event!
@GavinWax
@NYYRC
They NYYRC slipped into New Jersey to hold their super fun, super spreader event.
Explain these folks to me if you can – and this is the next generation! Lord help us.
"cuiusvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare". (Anyone can err, but only the fool persists in his fault) Cicero, Philippica XII, 5.
Covid......and life.....will take care of arrogant ignoramuses.... if they survive!
True, my dear husband is a benign Republican - though socially liberal (one of a very small group). I'm hopeful for his enlightenment, and frequently provide printouts of Heather's letters. He would never attend a superspreader. . . .
Unfortunately, the virus is opportunistic and does not give a hey ho who its' victims are. Darwinism only applies to a certain percentage of the losses in this viral war.
Statistics suggest that they will likely survive it if they get it, since they are young. The fatal consequence could fall on their more elderly family and/or acquaintances. Would they accept responsibility or feel guilt for any harm that their foolishness might produce?
I see this as a great example of survival of the fittest. The stupid and arrogant will not survive hopefully making the populace that is left is a little smarter. I don't think we get of the arrogance though...
NJ has worked long and hard to remove toxic substances from its environment – they do not need Matt Gaetz spreading his Codswallop across the Garden State.
Now here's a nasty thought. While wise people wear masks when out of their homes, avoid crowds, frequently wash their hands and observe social distancing, perhaps they should add to that the avoidance of any people, including neighbors, whom they know to be Republicans. Not a joke. It is possible that such people have had contact with others who may have attended super-spreader events, if not having been at one themselves. You never know with folks who were gullible enough, or sufficiently ignorant, to vote for Trump, or live in areas like the one that elected Matt Gaetz to Congress, or perhaps in the entire State of Florida where the GOP governor and legislature refuse to support masking mandates, even locally.
Matt Gaetz is a flaming a$$hole! Of course he’s one of our Florida congressmen. I donated to his opponent, Phil Ehr, but the Flori-duh idiots thought Gaetz was a better candidate than the fighter pilot.
Politico reported that NJ Governor Phil Murphy laid into Gartz for headlining at that gathering, calling him "a fool," and "Matt Putz." He also said he didn't ever want Gaetz to come to New Jersey again. Well done by Governor Murphy!
Had to look that one up: " a foolish or contemptible man] ice hole [vulg.] [ deliberate mispronunciation of arsehole / asshole] Arschloch {n} [vulg." Thank You.
How ironic, I was just thinking about American Psycho yesterday! (And Bonfire of the Vanities...). These people will be looking for another Ronnie Reagan to carry their standard in 2024 because they aren't going away any time soon...
I think the STATE of NJ should "consider suing THEM! Considering the fact that there will be an increase of virus in the area. I assume these idiots didnt wait on themselves at this event - certainly werent their own caterers. Those are the people I would be concerned about.
In the case of Gaetz, he's second generation of this bullshit. Grew up in it and knew no other. Likely the case with many of the others. I find that often among the "upper ranks" of the Far Right Wing.
It really is a cast of unbelievable characters. Even their dialogue is melodramatic and preposterous. They are like charicatures of charicatures. Boris Badenov even had a more understandable motivation. Renfield was more symapthetic. They do present a challenge to the fiction writer, to be sure. They push the envelope of incredulity so far, we are left wondering where it will end.
I was telling a friend recently that if, back when I was the guy at the show who writers met with and pitched ideas, someone had come in and pitched the last five years, I would have risen up, grabbed them by their lapels, and told them they were the worst fabulist I had ever met, that I was going to call everyone I knew and tell them never to take a meeting with this person, that a modicum of reality is needed in such stories.
As a teacher, I see many students who can listen to and absorb history lessons about absolute monarchies, fascist dictators, and tyrants, can write essays about yellow journalism and Nazi propaganda, and then turn around and parrot the nonsense they hear on FAUX News because that's what's on at home. For far too many, history is what happened a long time ago to someone else - they can't see the history they are part of, because they can't (or won't) internalize the lessons of history. I personally blame the focus on testing - the students (the ones who are invested in even a small way in graduating) only really care about memorizing just enough to get the grade they want, and teachers don't have enough time to dig deep into historical analysis to open the students' eyes to what is really important. I teach English, and when I teach literature like Elie Wiesel's "Night" I not only reinforce the history of the Holocaust, I stress the overarching theme of "us vs them" as the main cause of so much pain in suffering in human history. We read about and watch interviews from survivors, I show them the Oprah episode with Wiesel when they walk through Auschwitz - I try to put a face to the words. I think in the moment their eyes are opened a bit more than they were before - but I have no idea if they in any way generalize the lesson. And for some, they get much more exposure to the polar opposite lesson of "Night" at home and on social media.
I wish I had teachers like you when I was in school. At nine I read the Diary of Anne Frank on my Christmas vacation and I was never the same. And none of my friends wanted to read it or talk about it. I read it once a year and tried in vain to educate myself about how dictators rise and how so many people could follow someone like Hitler and not rebel against his superiority and evil crimes against humanity insanity. Whilst we do not have human ovens, we do have a virus that Lame' Duck a l'OrangeI completely does the opposite about, so I have witnessed this deadly brainwashing in my own country. We need teachers like you so we can learn to think for ourselves and not repeat history. Thank you for doing such wonderful and often thankless job...
I am so grateful that I was long gone from high school before the 'teaching to the test' insanity was put in place. Because of that, I was blessed with a history teacher much like HCR. It changed my life, literally.
Ah, like the fabled Ivory-billed Woodpecker, thought to be extinct until discovered living quietly in an Arkansas swamp, here we have an Actual Very Good Teacher! God, I would hate to be you, someone who obviously knows, understands and loves your subject, who would have no trouble actually EDUCATING your students, stuck in that godawful Teach-to-the-Test No-Child-Left-With-A-Mind bullshit that passes for current American public miseducation.
After watching my grandson do "math" - the sheer stupidity in how he is being taught blows my mind. How any of these kids manage to get thru high school escapes me. On the other hand the fact that so many DO - makes me wonder exactly what they have learned. Thank heavens both my kids loved to read. And so do most of my grandchildren.
Thank you for your engagement of your teaching skills. My parents were Holocaust victims. Never knew my grandparents. Regardless, if nothing else comes of this horrendous debacle we are enduring, I sincerely hope that there is a demand of the absolute truth in future history books, written by scholars such as HCR, who explain exact events in their entirety.
I wonder if teaching them also those events closer to home at the same time, the things our nation has done and is doing, showing the similarities, might make a difference in making the connection for them.
I think you're wrong about Miller. He'd happily lead a Holocaust. We just haven't yet gotten to the point where our institutions would allow it. Heydrich, too, was a self-dealer who waited until he could do his evil within the framework of Hitler's government.
Thanks for posting this..it is DAUNTING! Don't you just love the fact that Miller mentioned he has "no family"? After he and Sessions committed this act on immigrants, his family disowned him. He and Kushner have not given any of us who were born Jewish a great name. They both should be locked up in those cages with other GOP members. You think then any of them can be reformed to a place of decency? I don't.
I would be surprised if any of have any integrity left. I am kind of amazed how little integrity is evident among Republican Senators, especially those who were elected years before Trump was on anyone's radar. Including our own Susan Collins. How is it that that none of them can find that decency they had once possessed.
I believe Anne Applebaum’s article, History Will Judge the Complicit—will answer your question. If you chose to do so, you can read OR listen to it here:
"What turned them into monsters, or were they always monsters but just able to maintain a facade?" I think they were born monsters-in-the-making. All it took was the right catalyst. It is said that no one is "born" bad, but I have a hard time believing that, now more than ever.
As for your Dylan quote, I'm right there with you.
One of the things that has gotten me over the past four years, and moreso this past month in which four years of Trumpcrap has been compressed into 30 days, is that I cannot figure these people out. I have for a number of years worked as a creator of dramatic fiction, during which time I gained a reputation for being able to create "honest, believable characters." Not that all were honest, moral people, but rather that they were honest portrayals of people who might do the good, bad or indifferent. But with these Trump people, I really can't figure them out, how they got to the level of awful they inhabit. I mean, how did an otherwise unremarkable kid from a middle class Jewish home full of what appear to be decent people, become this kid who went out of his way to be an asshole, who got his jollies from the outraged responses of others to his assholery, become Stephen Miller, who I can only compare to Reinhard Heydrich, even though he likely doesn't have the stones to become the author of a Holocaust? Lewandowski, Bossie, O'Grady, mentioned here tonight. You look at who they were and their previous unremarkableness is the constant. What turned them into monsters, or were they always monsters but just able to maintain a facade? And why were/are they? Most of them don't appear to be getting rich from their involvement with Trump, but they're drawn to him like moths to a candle.
'Tis a puzzlement.
And then there's the response they raise in me, which is best left to the Dylan line - "If my thoughts 'n dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in a guillotine."
As an emergency physician this is not so confusing. Nor is it an unknown. We have good evidence from Functional MRI that the patterns in the brain of an individual that has experienced near absolute power, or even one who thinks he has, conform exactly to the patterns seen in addictive disease. Power is the most addicting experience a human can have. Addiction is a condition that will lead the afflicted to do irrational, self centered, self justifying actions often right up to the brink of death or to death itself. Trump has been addicted to power for many years but the experience of being president has pushed his condition to its logical conclusion. The problem with addiction to power is that it does not carry the same destructive power to the body itself as other addictions. Also in power addiction a cohort of like addicted personalities are often drawn in to support the central figure. They can then all act in an irrational manor together thus supporting their delusion while continuing their self denial and self aggrandizement. This behavior will function at shorter and shorter time scales and exhibit greater amounts of energy until the end, whatever form that takes.
So I submit that what is happening is not a puzzle. What to do about it seems to be.
Thank you, Dr. Munson, This makes sense to me for both the individuals with power and those who are followers. I have always been very interested in the function of the brain. My personal experience with absolute power as an orchestra conductor could be described as a high without drugs. Just holding a little stick you control a hundred or more people in that moment. And, you don't make a sound. The sound comes from the musicians who grant you your power by following you. Getting high on music feels good and has the advantage over addictive drugs in that you can choose when you come off the high. Again with functional MRI they show that playing a musical instrument lights up the entire brain and is a total body workout. Here's a favorite TED talk on this https://www.ted.com/talks/anita_collins_how_playing_an_instrument_benefits_your_brain/transcript?language=en
But, what to do about it... Don't think a 12 step program would have any takers. One approach might be having a government that focuses on the well-being of everyone using a Well-Being Index. This would include building resilience so people are less susceptible to this kind of addiction. And, change our culture's sleep habits so we get enough N3 deep sleep which cleans out toxins like amyloid betas linked to Alzheimers accumulated by the brain during the day and REM sleep which give you more resilience in dealing with situations you encounter. Shorter term it would be helpful to stop negative campaigning which works because our brain pays attention to negative things in order to survive if something bad is coming at you. Interesting enough, it is the candidate using hope and a vision of a positive future who will win in a healthy society. Wish I had some more immediate answers to this.
I will add just one thought. Addictive disease has been with humanity, likely, from the start. It has generally been accepted as a norm. It is only recently that it has even been thought of as a disease and that realization hasn't fully penetrated society yet. The companion to addictive disease is co-dependence. This is a non addicted personality that is attracted to the addicted personality where a predictable dance of behavior ensues. The co-dependent attaches to the addict with the energy stream, of ideas, money, allegiance, etc. between the two crippling both. The hallmark of this dance is denial.
If people in general can come to recognize addiction and to be able to see the denial that supports it then progress may be forthcoming.
Yes, his base restricts the President in many ways. What is the co-dependence of the silent Republican elected officials or is it just fear of not getting re-elected. Term limits would go a long way to solving that.
They are far too complicit for fear to be the whole explanation.
They can see their advantage and intend to outstay him.
Hey, we need to brainstorm and get ideas out there!! This is great’
News commentary and discussion groups like this one need to start practicing positive journalism which not only tells you what is going but also what can be done about it. I do hope we'll discuss remedies here and stay out of the weeds. Sometimes we also need to step back and try to see the whole picture.
Brilliant comment Cathy. We need to create the world we wish. Like:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/22/marshall-plan-middle-america-eight-mayors/
a Marshall Plan proposed by eight mayors of Ohio River cities
and ....
https://www.maine.gov/future/sites/maine.gov.future/files/inline-files/MaineWontWait_December2020_printable_12.1.20.pdf
the action plan to date, from the Maine Climate Council
So true, Cathy- thanks. When we let ourselves get drawn down the rabbit hole of analyzing negative things, we get disconnected from our ability to even see solutions. I've worked with dozens of groups whose existence was to identify the nature of problems and find the means to resolve them. Part of that process was to keep them looking for possible solutions even while trying to understand the problem. Not fix as you go, but having that positive outlook alongside the problem analysis to keep the process afloat.
A type of ‘Marshall Plan’ perhaps?
Yes, that's a great example and incredibly successful one at that!
I agree, Penelope!
Your suggestion of establishing a governmental Well-being Index is brilliant, Cathy. That would be a significant way to embed different--healthy--values in our societal structure. Thanks for posting the TedEd Talk. Emphasizing creativity's empowerment is key to our cultural healing and evolution.
I'm certainly promoting the idea but it is already happening in countries like Great Britain. And, the US Army has a Comprehensive Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program. This is based on the work of Dr. Martin Seligman and his theory of Well Being. So, there are already examples on how to set this up. https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/learn/soldiers
Yes, I knew you weren't originating the idea, but sharing it, Cathy. People need to know about this extremely important solutionary concept! Thanks for sharing this link. As visuals are important and reveal a lot of hidden meaning, it'd be so much better if the peripheral circles in the Venn diagram overlap in the center, instead of being somewhat separate. That would powerfully illustrate how interconnected thinking--instead of problematic dualistic thinking--leads to optimal fitness. I like the text describing the goal to develop optimal fitness skills, especially where it says: "when facing uncertainty and adversity, these same skills help these individuals to put the problems into an appropriate perspective, find meaning in their lives, reduce rumination and catastrophic thinking, and focus on finding solutions." We definitely need that these days!!
Thank you. Powerful.
As a double boarded NP working in addiction and psych I appreciate your input on this and agree that this is not a puzzle but that the challenge is to find a solution. Sadly, I am not sure there is a workable one. As I’ve posted several times before, these people are not going away. Our biggest challenge moving forward will be to keep them out of power and to remove those already there. I fear it will not end well.
Not only are they not going away, but this is not a new phenomenon. They have always been among us. Hopefully, with a sane administration and nobody manning the dog whistle, they will fade from the forefront. Of course, that will require removal of the worst who remain in positions of authority. I doubt it will happen in my lifetime, but we could witness the beginning.
Thank you, doctor.
I just started reading "The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence", by Dacher Keltner, of Berkley. He mentioned the fMRI studies on a radio interview so I got his book. He said it is true that 'absolute power corrupts absolutely", in that it literally changes the brain. I'd never heard that before and am very intrigued to read the book and learn more.
One of the basic gains of a child from his parents is the understanding of the limits that society imposes on acceptable behaviour. Absolute power blows away the limits....and with it all the accumulated benefits of childhood "socialization".
Thank you, Dr Munson, for your clarifying explanation! It is very helpful in understanding this phenomenon. Interestingly, your comments align with what Stuart Attewell said earlier albeit in a different way, that being a Trumper gives them their one shot at feeling like a master of the universe. Both explanations illuminate how insecure people feel empowered through identification with this cult/ ideology. I think the attraction of trumpism lies in one's sense of insecurity. (Perhaps Miller feels insecure in relation to his other upright family members? As people take different roles in family systems, it's not unusual for a family of upstanding people to include a deviant or outcast.) As most people feel insecure, the potential number of such cultists in the future is vast. When we identify the problem as you have done, then we can mitigate it. Clearly, we need to find other ways for people to feel empowered.
Miller apparently was a social outcast early on in life....vengence is sweet in his mind. Whereas people didn't listen before now they are afraid of what he'll do next! What a rush for this "loser".
I can’t believe he found a woman to marry him!
Well, from what I've read about her involvement with the children being held in detention - they are very compatible!
Being asocial is not a masculine prerogative
Excellent analysis.
Love, rather than money or things, might be a good start beginning in the early years. .
Yes, definitely! Unfortunately, our highly competitive, highly acquisitive culture often undermines the bonds of a loving family. Sadly, it is called a rape culture for a reason. I agree that love in its widest, most active form--love of self, each other, and the Earth--is the answer. With it, children grow up with a belief in their inherent goodness and creativity, a sense of acceptance of their own and others' limitations, a positive sense of shared community, and a deep connection with the Earth. The mutual aid that is proliferating during these tumultuous times is an expression of such love, and is extremely hopeful.
I loved that Paul (of Peter, Paul & Mary) responded on this site to HCR's recent question about our ideas for a new narrative for America. Paul (Noel Paul Stookey) offered a song instead: America The Beautiful, with 2 additional verses he wrote: (https://www.amazon.com/America-the-Beautiful/dp/B008XTXZ7K
Your comment, Imogene Drummond, feels like that same gooodness.
Peter, Paul and Mary...part of a marvelous period of humanity. Our youth with Dylan, Joan Baez and many more. The times they are a changing...
Autumn 1965, Peter, Paul & Mary concert at Darmouth College, Hanover NH. Good times!
Wow, what a fantastic compliment, MaryPat!!! Thank you so much! 😍 How terrific that Paul responded and in such a wonderful way.
It appears we are already slipping into that rabbit hole. This is not the only kind of problem analysis we can use- but it is the one that our culture is conditioned to turn to, particularly the tendency to "individualize" both problems and solutions. Other societies and cultures are already using other ways of looking at things, and some have been doing so for centuries. I wonder why we repeatedly return to the particular perspective we have- even while we think we are learning from the way others have of thinking?
Unfortunately we are not talking about rats in a laboratory but about rats in the WH and the Senate.
No kidding! A sad tale.
Without your medical knowledge, I was about to say that these cohorts have similar psychological makeup, and his being in control gives him the opportunity to grant permission to display their base instincts. Thank you, Dr. Munson!
So, G.K. Chesterton was right, way back in the day, when he observed that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Good to know,. Thank you!
FWIW, Chesterton may have riffed on the theme, but the quote is from Lord Acton in a letter (1887) insisting on the necessity of evaluating and condemning the actions of past leaders, with particular objection to justifying the cruelties of Popes:
"Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority."
A shortened version of the letter is available at:
https://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/165acton.html
Always good to be able to come here and depart more knowledgeable than I was on arrival.
Yes, I also get a lot of useful perspectives and references. Cheers.
Good point, Doc - my working hypothesis is a mass form of Folie à deux. But as you say, what to do is the issue.
Great post – befuddlement in understanding the Trumpists is something we share.
You probably recall the rampant greed, entitlement and general rapacity with which aspiring finance and real estate scum waded through the cocaine cloud that was the 80s. “American Psycho” was the hyperbolic testament to those times. I was living in Manhattan then and never could get my head around those folks – they were such unrepentant Arschlochs.
I don’t do Twitter, but I came across a story this morning about the NYYRC (New York Young Republicans Club) who held a maskless get together yesterday hosted by young Gavin Wax with special guest Matt Gaetz (R) Florida – one of the world’s signature Arschlochs.
The Tweet, complete with a photo of the group jammed in nice and tight, rich with exuberant décolletage, goofy looking men – and a strange hand gesture that must be some kind of secret club thing, was a stomach turner.
I can’t reproduce the picture (it’s searchable), but the text read:
Ashley StClair
@stclairashley
Catch us if you can, Commie aCuomo.
The show will always go on for patriots...
Thanks for organizing an amazing America First event!
@GavinWax
@NYYRC
They NYYRC slipped into New Jersey to hold their super fun, super spreader event.
Explain these folks to me if you can – and this is the next generation! Lord help us.
"cuiusvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare". (Anyone can err, but only the fool persists in his fault) Cicero, Philippica XII, 5.
Covid......and life.....will take care of arrogant ignoramuses.... if they survive!
Stuart, from your mouth to the goddess's ear. . .
I've often thought that superspreaders among Trumpers might not be all bad, but, of course, I'd never say that. . . .
Oh how naughty of you...!
Thanks!
As I said yesterday,He has been trying to kill off his supporters at his rallys.
It is a fallacy to attribute something to an entire group. All Rottweilers are not bad. But, stupid maybe...
True, my dear husband is a benign Republican - though socially liberal (one of a very small group). I'm hopeful for his enlightenment, and frequently provide printouts of Heather's letters. He would never attend a superspreader. . . .
You bad, bad person, you. Welcome to the club. :-)
Thanks so much. Nice to be in good company.
Unfortunately, the virus is opportunistic and does not give a hey ho who its' victims are. Darwinism only applies to a certain percentage of the losses in this viral war.
Statistics suggest that they will likely survive it if they get it, since they are young. The fatal consequence could fall on their more elderly family and/or acquaintances. Would they accept responsibility or feel guilt for any harm that their foolishness might produce?
Not likely....but when the old man disinherits them because of their callousness...perhaps. But don't your breath for either.
I see this as a great example of survival of the fittest. The stupid and arrogant will not survive hopefully making the populace that is left is a little smarter. I don't think we get of the arrogance though...
Not the best charactoristics for ensured survival, that's sure. Keep your fingers crossed!
I heard about that happening and I believe the governor of New Jersey told Gaetz he was never to enter the state again!
Good for Gov. Murphy!
NJ has worked long and hard to remove toxic substances from its environment – they do not need Matt Gaetz spreading his Codswallop across the Garden State.
Now here's a nasty thought. While wise people wear masks when out of their homes, avoid crowds, frequently wash their hands and observe social distancing, perhaps they should add to that the avoidance of any people, including neighbors, whom they know to be Republicans. Not a joke. It is possible that such people have had contact with others who may have attended super-spreader events, if not having been at one themselves. You never know with folks who were gullible enough, or sufficiently ignorant, to vote for Trump, or live in areas like the one that elected Matt Gaetz to Congress, or perhaps in the entire State of Florida where the GOP governor and legislature refuse to support masking mandates, even locally.
I've been following that advice since before the pandemic, since 2015.
Matt Gaetz is a flaming a$$hole! Of course he’s one of our Florida congressmen. I donated to his opponent, Phil Ehr, but the Flori-duh idiots thought Gaetz was a better candidate than the fighter pilot.
Politico reported that NJ Governor Phil Murphy laid into Gartz for headlining at that gathering, calling him "a fool," and "Matt Putz." He also said he didn't ever want Gaetz to come to New Jersey again. Well done by Governor Murphy!
Had to look that one up: " a foolish or contemptible man] ice hole [vulg.] [ deliberate mispronunciation of arsehole / asshole] Arschloch {n} [vulg." Thank You.
How ironic, I was just thinking about American Psycho yesterday! (And Bonfire of the Vanities...). These people will be looking for another Ronnie Reagan to carry their standard in 2024 because they aren't going away any time soon...
One response to that post:
The Hoarse Whisperer
@TheRealHoarse
Genius Ashley here bragged about the NY Young Republicans breaking COVID restrictions.
They were in New Jersey not New York.
NJ’s Governor is Phil Murphy not Andrew Cuomo.
He caught them. Now the restaurant is shut down.
Nice work, Ashley.
(and Matt Gaetz)
This party was featured on the news in my area (DC) It may have even been on Lester Holt's Nightly News (I can't remember). But the footnote was they are considering suing I'm not sure who! (either Cuomo or Murphy) for violating their right to hold a political rally which apparently allows for more than 100 people. https://www.nbcnews.com/video/new-jersey-governor-calls-matt-gaetz-putz-for-maskless-indoor-fundraiser-doesn-t-want-him-back-in-state-97137221917
I think the STATE of NJ should "consider suing THEM! Considering the fact that there will be an increase of virus in the area. I assume these idiots didnt wait on themselves at this event - certainly werent their own caterers. Those are the people I would be concerned about.
Why do you think Mitch wants employers indemnified against covid suits from employees?
Absolutely, Maggie!!!
Of course they are.
If they called it a religious service, they'd have the Supremes on their side.
True!
In the case of Gaetz, he's second generation of this bullshit. Grew up in it and knew no other. Likely the case with many of the others. I find that often among the "upper ranks" of the Far Right Wing.
Fortunately, it's not all of the next generation.
I always thought Steven Miller looks like Goebbels.
I call him the Nazi whisperer. Insidious.
Yes, a good argument for reincarnation.
He's actually quite close in look to Heydrich. If I could figure out how to attach pix here, I'd show you.
Looks more like Roy Cohn to me.
Miller is Fake 45’s Cohn but so is Rudy!
Also looks like Adolf Eichmann. You know he and his wife are getting ready to have a baby? That, in itself, is horrid!
Poor little kid.
They already spawned. :-(
OH NO! They did?? Was it Rosemary's baby?
Daughter Mackenzie Jay Miller born November 19, 2020 to Stephen and Katie Miller (Katherine Rose Miller (née Waldman)
🤢 big UGH
Poor child.
It really is a cast of unbelievable characters. Even their dialogue is melodramatic and preposterous. They are like charicatures of charicatures. Boris Badenov even had a more understandable motivation. Renfield was more symapthetic. They do present a challenge to the fiction writer, to be sure. They push the envelope of incredulity so far, we are left wondering where it will end.
A writer might get criticized for creating a character so craven as to be deemed inhuman, a caricature. And yet, here they are, sadly all too real.
I was telling a friend recently that if, back when I was the guy at the show who writers met with and pitched ideas, someone had come in and pitched the last five years, I would have risen up, grabbed them by their lapels, and told them they were the worst fabulist I had ever met, that I was going to call everyone I knew and tell them never to take a meeting with this person, that a modicum of reality is needed in such stories.
As a teacher, I see many students who can listen to and absorb history lessons about absolute monarchies, fascist dictators, and tyrants, can write essays about yellow journalism and Nazi propaganda, and then turn around and parrot the nonsense they hear on FAUX News because that's what's on at home. For far too many, history is what happened a long time ago to someone else - they can't see the history they are part of, because they can't (or won't) internalize the lessons of history. I personally blame the focus on testing - the students (the ones who are invested in even a small way in graduating) only really care about memorizing just enough to get the grade they want, and teachers don't have enough time to dig deep into historical analysis to open the students' eyes to what is really important. I teach English, and when I teach literature like Elie Wiesel's "Night" I not only reinforce the history of the Holocaust, I stress the overarching theme of "us vs them" as the main cause of so much pain in suffering in human history. We read about and watch interviews from survivors, I show them the Oprah episode with Wiesel when they walk through Auschwitz - I try to put a face to the words. I think in the moment their eyes are opened a bit more than they were before - but I have no idea if they in any way generalize the lesson. And for some, they get much more exposure to the polar opposite lesson of "Night" at home and on social media.
I wish I had teachers like you when I was in school. At nine I read the Diary of Anne Frank on my Christmas vacation and I was never the same. And none of my friends wanted to read it or talk about it. I read it once a year and tried in vain to educate myself about how dictators rise and how so many people could follow someone like Hitler and not rebel against his superiority and evil crimes against humanity insanity. Whilst we do not have human ovens, we do have a virus that Lame' Duck a l'OrangeI completely does the opposite about, so I have witnessed this deadly brainwashing in my own country. We need teachers like you so we can learn to think for ourselves and not repeat history. Thank you for doing such wonderful and often thankless job...
Lame' Duck a l'Orange. Yup.
I am so grateful that I was long gone from high school before the 'teaching to the test' insanity was put in place. Because of that, I was blessed with a history teacher much like HCR. It changed my life, literally.
Ah, like the fabled Ivory-billed Woodpecker, thought to be extinct until discovered living quietly in an Arkansas swamp, here we have an Actual Very Good Teacher! God, I would hate to be you, someone who obviously knows, understands and loves your subject, who would have no trouble actually EDUCATING your students, stuck in that godawful Teach-to-the-Test No-Child-Left-With-A-Mind bullshit that passes for current American public miseducation.
After watching my grandson do "math" - the sheer stupidity in how he is being taught blows my mind. How any of these kids manage to get thru high school escapes me. On the other hand the fact that so many DO - makes me wonder exactly what they have learned. Thank heavens both my kids loved to read. And so do most of my grandchildren.
Thank you for your engagement of your teaching skills. My parents were Holocaust victims. Never knew my grandparents. Regardless, if nothing else comes of this horrendous debacle we are enduring, I sincerely hope that there is a demand of the absolute truth in future history books, written by scholars such as HCR, who explain exact events in their entirety.
I wonder if teaching them also those events closer to home at the same time, the things our nation has done and is doing, showing the similarities, might make a difference in making the connection for them.
We can only hope...
I think you're wrong about Miller. He'd happily lead a Holocaust. We just haven't yet gotten to the point where our institutions would allow it. Heydrich, too, was a self-dealer who waited until he could do his evil within the framework of Hitler's government.
Yeah, but the difference is Miller hasn't got the "follow-through," at least I hope not.
Miller hasn't got the power. He has done so much evil with the power he has had; I'd rather not find out if he has any limits.
It brings us back to the Cohen Bros 2006 film "Idiocracy".
you mean Mike Judge
Yeh! I keep getting stuck on it being co-written by Etan Cohen!
Did you see this article from the March 2 issue of The New Yorker? https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/02/how-stephen-miller-manipulates-donald-trump-to-further-his-immigration-obsession
Thanks for posting this..it is DAUNTING! Don't you just love the fact that Miller mentioned he has "no family"? After he and Sessions committed this act on immigrants, his family disowned him. He and Kushner have not given any of us who were born Jewish a great name. They both should be locked up in those cages with other GOP members. You think then any of them can be reformed to a place of decency? I don't.
I would be surprised if any of have any integrity left. I am kind of amazed how little integrity is evident among Republican Senators, especially those who were elected years before Trump was on anyone's radar. Including our own Susan Collins. How is it that that none of them can find that decency they had once possessed.
I believe Anne Applebaum’s article, History Will Judge the Complicit—will answer your question. If you chose to do so, you can read OR listen to it here:
https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/612250/
WOW. This artcle is so illuminating and powerful. "Just try to be decent."
Impressive, isnt it? Which shines a light on these wimps in Congress& the Senate. I hope that the old saying "what goes around, comes around" is true.
"What turned them into monsters, or were they always monsters but just able to maintain a facade?" I think they were born monsters-in-the-making. All it took was the right catalyst. It is said that no one is "born" bad, but I have a hard time believing that, now more than ever.
As for your Dylan quote, I'm right there with you.
'tis banality.
In France we are starting to talk about Absurdistan! And thats's our experience over here, where does that put the US currently then?
Gehenna!
Oh, yikes. That is so painful to acknowledge the reality of that...ugh...