Root Causes

What's with these people, anyway? This Squatter Administration seems totally inept, but surely no one could actually be that inept. Seems to me like they're trying to instigate a revolt. Which means they must feel like they could prevail in such a situation, which is worrying in itself.

Still, it can be hard to pin down the motivations of these people. 

Some have downright evil intentions and know exactly what they're doing: they're power addicts and all they care about is accruing and retaining power. I'm sure most of those lie to themselves to self-justify: "I'm doing this for the best interests of everybody!" — but I'm sure there are some of those rationalizers who recognize deep down that it's not true. But they don't care, because they've developed a deep hatred for those who they consider to be incorrigible wrongthinkers. They really can't stand them, and the opposition they represent, so they would happily see them exterminated. Sounds crazy and far-fetched, but it's a part of our recent world history, after all.

Then there are all those we term "useful idiots" — the ones who have swallowed the lies and rubbed their tummies with a sigh of "Mmm, that tastes GOOD!" These people are true believers in the whole narrative, and are being used to advance the agenda. 

We need to remember that these people, like the Salt Lake City mayor who is extending the mask mandate in SLC despite the state lifting their own (illegal) mandate, actually believe they're doing the right thing and helping people. They are utterly, completely, and horribly wrong...but they are convinced they are righteous, and that those of us who are awake all lack compassion and decency and are "science deniers(TM)." These people live in an alternate reality, and the only way we're going to solve this without (eventual) bloodshed is to wake them up — educate them — somehow wrestle them away from their illusions and delusions. 

I struggle with how that is to be accomplished, because some people refuse to be enlightened or change their minds. When confronted with facts, they dig in their heels and double down on the lies they believe. It's truly an existential crisis, because we can fight, and we may sometimes win, but as long as they live in their fantasy land, we will always be enemies.

Speaking not of the useful idiots, but of the tyrants in charge...when they utter an obvious lie, I hear people on my side say, "They must think we're stupid." Well, I don't think they think we're dumb. Thinking that they think we're dumb shifts them along the motivation spectrum from malicious to ignorant, and I don't believe they could possibly be that ignorant. They are malicious. They know that we know that they know that we know...and in their position of what they consider unassailable power, they're boldly mocking us with impunity. It's part of the humiliation tactic described by Theodore Dalrymple in a quote that I've sadly had to share dozens of times over the past year:

"In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is in some small way to become evil oneself. One's standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control."

All this is making the division very clear: either you're a person whose first instinct is to force people to do things ("for their own good" or "in the best interests of the collective") or your first instinct is to leave people alone and respect agency. Fear versus love.

But we can't keep treating symptoms. We need to address the underlying reason people are anti-agency.

And ultimately, I think it comes down to who you follow.