Illusion versus Reality

A Butterfly Flaps Its Wings: From the Powell Memo to the Eastman Memo and January 6th

Published on by Brynne VanHettinga

Part 10 of a 10-part Series:

What Are We To Do?

What prepares men for totalitarian domination in the non-totalitarian world is the fact that loneliness, once a borderline experience usually suffered in certain marginal social conditions like old age, has become an everyday experience.”

Hannah Arendt

We might ask ourselves whether America is a pathocracy—or might have been a pathocracy on January 6th? I believe we can safely say that America has never been a full pathocracy like Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia, but has, at various points, demonstrated elements of pathocratic tendencies. Leaving aside the sordid issue of slavery, historical examples are the forced migration of Native Americans and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. More recently, we had official Dept. of Justice documents supporting the torture of detainees in Guantanamo (2003) and the inhumane treatment of migrants at the U.S. border, particularly children. At the local level, I have completely lost count of the number of unarmed Black people killed by police. 

As much as Americans convince themselves of their own exceptionalism, we are nonetheless subject to the same dark side of human nature as everyone else. However, we have avoided becoming a full-blown pathocracy because most of the aforementioned atrocities were eventually subject to popular backlash, investigations, and (sometimes) accountability. The January 6th coup attempt itself was prevented because there were honorable persons still occupying positions of power. Regardless of our own opinions of these individuals, the coup was unsuccessful because former Vice President Pence refused to do anything other than his duty to count the Electoral votes. Election officials in Georgia, Arizona and other states refused to submit to Trump’s threats and certified a valid election. Republican-appointed judges (some appointed by Trump himself) upheld the rule of law. If any one of these individuals had been dishonorable, we would likely not be living in the free United States of America anymore. Fortunately, legislators and other pro-democracy groups are working on “fixes” to our antiquated electoral system to prevent another January 6th-like coup attempt from happening again. 

Although America has not succumbed to a full-blown pathocracy, we seem to be at an unusually high point in a “hysteroidal cycle” (to use Lobaszewsky’s term). A sizeable minority of the population continues to subscribe to the Big Lie that Trump used to perpetuate his coup attempt, and a lot of media (right wing outlets and social media) continue to feed it. Even the right-wing oligarchs who stoked and fed the anger that ultimately resulted in January 6th admit they may have created a monster they can no longer control. Shortly after the 2020 election, Charles Koch admits to “screwing up” —and this was before January 6th 

A significant percentage of the US population subscribes to either (or both) Q-Anon and election denial, which represents a disconnection from the reality that most of the rest of us live in. Cult deprogrammers have been overwhelmed with requests for help from family members concerned about one of their own who has gone down the rabbit hole. Most of us simply do not have the skills and training to deal with this level of delusion. Logic, along with arguments about facts and evidence will not work. Rather, the strategy is to help these folks re-learn to think for themselves and connect the dots using a form of “reverse engineering” of the same tactics that led them into the cult. These folks must be able to see a way back to their old lives, which will never happen if they are confronted with shame and humiliation.

 

In order to heal and recover from a pathocracy, Lobaszewsky advises us to build a society based on an equitable distribution of resources; to promote education, particularly education about the human capacity for evil; and to encourage the formation of social bonds across diverse groups. Ironically, Lobaszewsky urges us to refrain from “moralizing,” but rather view evil from the dispassionate position that it will always be with us and the best we can do is to understand and manage it.  

In essence, we will have to build solidarity out of the post-January 6th remains of a tattered social fabric and a dis-United States of America. It is an understatement to say that this will be hard to do. When doing his own research into the nature of macrosocial evil, Lobaszewsky reported having to suppress his own revulsion and “moralizing impulses” to maintain scientific objectivity. He admits that his training in psychiatry (which most of us don’t have) helped him with this. How can we re-connect people back to reality and the fundamentals of prosocial thinking—especially if they hate us? If we only return the hate, then the dark side will have prevailed.

We can begin by recognizing that many (but not all) of those who stormed the Capitol on January 6th are both perpetrators and victims. I personally will probably never find it within myself to forgive the people who planned the coup and knew the “Big Lie” for what it was but continued to push it anyway. Easier to forgive are the folks who simply voted for Trump—perhaps they did not follow politics closely or habitually voted Republican no matter who the candidate was. A little harder (but not impossible) to forgive are those who continued to support Trump even in the face of overwhelming evidence of corruption. Here, the issue of blameworthiness depends on how much of the delusion is the result of willful ignorance (I have to believe Trump is right because he gives me permission to hate the people I don’t like). 

The hardest thing we will have to confront is the huge propaganda machine that continues to poison individual minds and our body politic to this day. The oligarchs are still pumping it out, but now they have been joined by hostile foreign governments, who now have all the evidence they need that America can be destroyed by disinformation. Disinformation that taps into the darkest recesses of the human limbic brain. Disinformation that makes the media oligarchs richer. Disinformation that keeps the rest of us divided, not just on values, but on the very definition of reality. America can be brought to its knees without firing a single missile or sending a single soldier, because Americans can be made to do it to themselves and each other.

Holding those responsible for January 6th accountable to the law and fixing the loopholes in our electoral system is a good start—but it is only a start. The dark side of human nature (what some religions term “original sin”) is probably something we will never be able to fix. But we can come up with ways to contain it. We certainly should be able to find ways to structure society where we don’t reward it. Perhaps we could require some sort of character test (complete with documented history) for every candidate for public office above a certain level. Perhaps we could articulate limits to the First Amendment, permitting (well-defined and narrowly tailored) restrictions on speech that is both false and provably harmful to public health. 

We stand at a crucial juncture in humanity’s history. I do not know what the result will be. But somewhere, a butterfly flaps its wings.

Where are the People Who Look and Live Like Us?

Published on by Brynne VanHettinga

 

Sometimes, when you don’t see yourself in the world,

you start to think that you don’t exist.

 

    DeRay McKesson inOn the Other Side Of Freedom

Being a relative newcomer to the Fargo-Moorhead area, I often pick up a local glossy promotion piece that one finds for free at grocery stores or the library. I know these things are often no more than Chamber of Commerce propaganda touting all the great places to live and things to do (so long as you have money). They are filled with photos of perfect homes, happy people, luxury goods and scrumptious food (OK, I will confess a certain addiction to food porn).  One sure way to know the visual representations in these things are pie-in-the-sky is that the photos almost invariably portray sunny days with green trees and blooming gardens, rather than the dreary, gray, ice-and-snow-buried days that are more typical here for at least five months out of the year.  

Where We Live: Illusion

Where We Live:  Reality

However, these publications can be helpful in learning about the community in general and local businesses in particular, so long as one remains aware of their overly idealized portrayal of reality. A recent issue of one of these things featured 100 things to do, eat and experience in Fargo. One of these sub-articles was about a travel agency, and four of the things on the “list of 100” were actually other places to visit in either North Dakota, Minnesota, and even as far away as Bozeman, Montana.  So, in order to come up with 100 things to do, people have to travel out of town at least once in a while. One good feature of this issue was a section that featured local non-profits and ways to give back to the community.

However, the most interesting section was interviews with locals who described their “perfect day” in various neighborhoods. These individuals were all white. Six of them were dual-earner heterosexual couples. There was one gentleman who was presented as a single person, but there were allusions to “family friendly” activities, which suggested the fellow might either be gay or a single father who had shared custody. There was also one single woman (who lived in a less-desirable neighborhood).

In 2018, Fargo has an (estimated) population of 124,844, which is an increase of 18.2% from the 2010 census. This compares to an overall increase in U.S. population of 5.96%. In spite of brutal winters with below-zero average temperatures, Fargo is growing more than three times faster than the country as a whole. Fargo is also 86.2% White, which is higher than the national average of 72.4%. So, the fact that everyone who works for this publication (they have photographs of the staff on one of the earlier pages) and all the featured individuals therein are White does not necessarily suggest racism or discriminatory animus. The median household income in Fargo is $50,561, which is less than the national average (2017) of $61,372.

Who We See: Illusion

Who We Are: Reality

Taking a closer look at the folks who told us about their “perfect day,” we find:

Heterosexual couple living downtown (a more desirable and higher-rent area), age approximately 30-40. She is a social media manager and he is a manager at Microsoft.

The apparently single gentleman, approximate age 50-55, who lives on the North side of town, enjoys golfing and dining at a restaurant that caters to golfers. He is a business development manager for a local company. He also enjoys cooking at home and the Happy Harry’s Ribfest which takes place in June (something I like to do as well–this guy may be a fellow foodie).

Heterosexual couple, approximate age 30-40, with a pre-teen boy and a middle-school-age girl who live on the South side of town.  She is the owner of a local small business and he is Director of GIS services at a data services company.

Single woman, approximate age middle 20s, lives in one of the commercial corridors. She works as an account manager.

Heterosexual couple, approximate age 50-55, lives in a desirable neighborhood and apparently enjoy the finer things in life. He is a land developer and she is President and CEO of a local non-profit. One gets the distinct impression that their household income is higher than the Fargo average, and probably higher than the national average as well.

Heterosexual couple, approximate age middle twenties or possibly early thirties. Their photo shows them digging into a yummy-looking plate of chicken wings (already warned you about the food porn). They live in West Fargo, and seem to be the closest thing to working class that we see anywhere. He is a marketing technology specialist and she is a kitchen manager at a local restaurant.

Heterosexual couple, approximate age middle thirties to early 40s. They live in an area which is a mix of middle and upper-middle class. They appear to have sufficient discretionary (but not extravagant) income.  He is a technical architect and she is an HR specialist. They apparently have no children.

Heterosexual couple, approximate age mid-50s to mid-60s. They live in Moorhead, MN, a smaller town in MN directly across the Red River from Fargo. He is the owner of a local business and she is a Deacon at one of the (many) Lutheran churches in the area. If this couple has children, they are likely adults by now.  Moorhead contains a somewhat older population—one who likely remembers the days of stable, decent-paying, middle-class jobs, as Minnesota is more worker and union-friendly than North Dakota. People in Moorhead like schoolteachers and even retired people often have small second homes at “the lakes” East of here, although these people are not what most of us would consider wealthy.

What is common to all of these individuals is that they have stable employment (each of them has only one job).  Because most of them describe themselves as managers or business owners, it can be inferred that these individuals possess a college degree.  In this respect, Fargo has a higher percentage of persons with college degrees (38.8%) than the national average (which is somewhere between 33 and 35%, depending on where and how these numbers are figured). This employment also allows them to have regular time off and sufficient income to participate in activities above and beyond basic survival. Ironically (but not surprisingly), no one’s “perfect day” included work.

Because our church does a lot of local “mission” work with homeless shelters and food pantries, I tend to see a lot of people that one never sees in these publications.  Obviously, since the publication’s primary purpose is advertising, it is focused on an audience with discretionary income, and so one would not expect to see the lines of persons who visit the pantries and shelters.  Rather, what is missing is any representation of the more typical working residents. These are the people who come in to have their taxes done (so they are working and have some money), usually with multiple, fragmented jobs (two or more W-2s per taxpayer).

Yet, there is a fine line between the invisible desperate and the precariatized many. These are the folks who constantly juggle work schedules and day care as well as cash flow. Unlike the couples in the publication, who are able to enjoy weekends as a family, these families rarely see a day where all of them can be not working (or going to school) at the same time. If these folks have extra money, they likely don’t have extra time, and vice-versa. A “perfect” day for them might be just to sleep in and have a good meal together with someone (anyone) in their family. They are also more diverse racially, ethnically, and age-wise than the folks we see in the glamorized glossies.

A visitor who picks up this publication (or any similar such publications that are available in most metropolitan areas) would have the impression that residents in the Fargo-Moorhead area have well-paying stable jobs that allow them sufficient predictability, leisure time and resources to actually enjoy life (even life at minus 40 degrees). Some may argue that this is harmless fluff, something like advertising “puffery” that falls short of actual deception because no one takes it literally.

But what does it do to the psyche and self-esteem of the (much more numerous) working folks whose lives are not quite so picture-perfect? We can come to believe that we are the exceptions and not the rule—the “norm” that we constantly see portrayed in front of us. Because our lives are hidden, so is our precarity. The fact that work does not really “work” for many of us remains unseen, unacknowledged, and unchallenged.