6.38 am. The perfect cast - water is like glass ... kerplunk. The drop, the gentle pull. The slow decending return. Drag on the reel is set just right, like I am in this moment, anticipating magic. Loon in the distance. Seconds pass before the observation ...
There's a shiny squiggly thing moving up ahead in this cool murky green-brown water that's smaller than me. Cautiously approaching. What shall I do? It's food like. Yum. I eat - it dies.
Right. We really aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer, are we? A few fries short of a happy meal. There is a new thought process unravelling in me as of late. In 10 years of looking through the lens at those who gravitate to authoritarianism, I am now realizing that it is mostly genetic. Generations of parenting in patterns. Predictable.
Danger disguised. We are pulled to what's familiar. Safe.
Payback
Rooted in insecurity, the resentment festers and metastasizes. Populists see the opportunity and fan the flames disseminating disinformation, harnessing fear; using media to their advantage and gathering fragmented followers. Reaction feels good (for a few seconds). Heart rate increases, endorphins kick in with the seething stimulation that jumpstarts any given day, adding quality time and strengthening our resolve.
Sound familiar? It should. We're in it.
There are certain politicians that stand out in that regard. Unusually robust, overweight middle aged white guys (who conveniently have a shit-load of money), claiming they actually speak 'for the people' - a tad arrogant, outspoken and no shortage of detached animus. It's like they all have something to prove (to their furious fathers), managing to convince the people that they are legit. The lesson being, you really don't need to be a rocket scientist, to be in politics. All it takes is a little swagger. 'Gift of the gab' was what they called it in the 60s.
Sales.
The Outlaw & The Red Flag
In 2016 and again in 2025 nearly 74 million Americans voted for the strong man. Impotent, outlaw/felon and repeatedly bankrupt. Bully, cheater, purveyor of shams & scams and a penchant for payback. None of that matters. Rock star. Larger than life. It was always there going back centuries and coming around again. Humanity invariably returns to malevolence in a short term gain, long term pain amusement park ride that cycles then recycles ad nauseam. Wilful ignorance along with a convincing public narrative reinforces security.
Our historic fables in folklore, the anti-hero has always carried an unmistakable, charismatic charm that made them appealing regardless of their obvious disadvantages & impairments.
Parenting is the passing on of values on to us children just like their parents passed them on to them, reflected in our religious/ideological beliefs, way of life and most importantly, our loyalty to those who speak for us in precarious parliaments. It's a 'this' OR 'that' referendum marked with rewards and punishments, heroes and cowards.
Worship the Wacko
My Dad would have loved Trump. The big man in charge. Rich, compliant trophy wife - perks. Dad's whole thing was about this or that, reflected in his draconian parenting practices. Eat your liver OR go to bed hungry ... do as you're told OR ELSE! You see, lessons can either be learned the easy way or the hard way. Imposing one's will on another defines our place in the food chain and separates the men from the boys. It all comes down to 4 simple questions:
On a scale of 1 to 10 ... what do you value more in children:
1. Independence OR respect for elders?
2. Curiosity OR good manners?
3. Self reliance OR obedience?
4. Being considerate OR well behaved?
40 points right would point to an ardent supporter of authoritarian values. Dad would have scored an easy 40 with respect, manners, obedience & behaviour characterizing real patriotism. Mom maybe 20; like maybe she might think that being considerate and well behaved are equally important so she scored each a 5. I was spared a lot of unnecessary misery and able to raise my child with some semblance of empathy & humility because of that. Ultimately it was the feminine principle that saved my ass and shone light in the murky green-brown, revealing the lure with razor sharp hooks and the deceptive intention - the trap.
Women. The weaker sex? Right.
Tough love. Remember the line - 'this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you'? ... and so the hypocrisy begins. 'Do as I say, not as I do'. 'My way or the highway'. Economic uncertainty, inflation, cultural misappropriation, identity absence and loss of control are all bi-products of ideological alienation. Radicalization, foreign interference, paranoia, terrorism and inferiority all being components contributing to the MAGA community. Us or them.
Life or death.
Need for Speed
If we don't get this right, we'll perish is what we're being told. The prickly potion - an elixir that makes people feel good again. For now. For politicians like Donald Trump it's nothing more than a game where collateral damage is all part of the outcome. As President, he gets the world's fastest sports car that does 200 mph and there's no point of owning one unless you can take it out and drive it that fast. Right? So THAT my friends, is exactly what he is doing. Full throttle - no prisoners - no quarter.
We are pulled to what's familiar.
According to his niece, psychologist/writer Mary Trump, it's compensation for a damaged childhood where he never felt safe, loved - abused, exploited and emasculated. Learning to adapt with defence mechanisms that proliferate in a new world where angry adolescence has no consequences, power has no limits and where emotional maturity is for woke losers.
Dad was always a hero for me growing up or maybe he was my anti-hero. I'm still hanging on regardless. Wonder why? Maybe it just feels better that way.
a discussion on options and opportunities in a turbulent world
Sweet Salvation
It's all rather morose, fatalistic, don't you think? I mean, c'mon. Pick a side. The right side? You live. The wrong side? You die. Simple stuff. Oh and only GOOD (God) shit happens on the right side. Wrong side? BAD shit. Wake up. Choose. For most voters in America's last election? The choice was in fact, a simple one, defaulting to the devout.
I want to be a winner! ME not you. Me win. You lose!
America is the most powerful nation on Earth and they are at a point now where the powers that be have convinced them that if they choose the right side, they will benefit, prosper, dominate. They will come out on TOP, prevailing over those on the other side, weaker, left behind. Adversaries. Delegated to a BOTTOM position.Those not fulfilling the requirements will perish, refusing to believe.
Outsiders
There is no WIN WIN ... I WIN you LOSE! When we are contorting freedom into being something restrictive, malevolent or something avoidant or punitive, that isn't freedom. It's a short lived conniption. A tantrum.
It's a 'divide & conquer' approach to running things and a convincing one especially when momentum is on your side. Billionaires with billion dollar Super Pacs and God on board. A crime of the century con and all carried out in broad daylight. It’s chasing bad guys out the back door while the good guys slip in through the front door and clean out the living room.
A slam-dunk
I wrote a blog about 10 years ago called 'The Suicide Collective' addressing what I saw as a mass exodus in a willing extermination following. Us & Them by Pink Floyd nailed it 50 years ago. We are that much closer to it now. It's the insight in a resurrection that I'm drawn to - the plight and the revelation. The delivery of a humble humanity in a reimagined global community is far more appealing to me. Getting along with others requires effort. My way or the highway is something Dad blurted out when I was a kid and never made much sense. He died a lonely man.
Erroneous
So ya, I am in fact optimistic that it won't pan out as planned. Such campaigns have never really worked out in the past. Take the Roman Empire or Nazi Germany's kick at the can. Sure, they had legs for a while but dissipated in despair having imploded in its own generic grandiosity, power and unwillingness to embrace humanity as a whole. A failure. History has taught us that an ego driven autocracy can only last so long.
Short term gain, long term pain has its limitations and it always regresses in time.
Winner - Loser. Pick one and if you choose the wrong one? You automatically lose. This is the mindset. You're either with ME or against me. The predictable predicament, always ending the same way. For me, it's all too clear. This is all temporary and ultimately? Will shift back eventually.
I will never know. It's just a hunch. The forecast is fair and faith is universal.
