Beware of the Alien Nation:
What kind of truth do they seek?
In the heat of the violence / The night's exploding everywhere / When hate pulls the trigger / The devil comes to take his share / In the garden of Eden / The time is running out so fast / In the heart of the demon / With no escape our die is cast (Scorpions, Alien Nation)
– A personal connotation[1] –
Since kicking off his bid for US Presidency[2], a single man has brought more devastation to the American nation, than one could’ve ever imagined.
Countless Americans had availed Donald Trump their votes, having supported his undisputed inauguration in 2016 on sheer desperation for economic, financial and social reasons, inevitably coupled with suspicion towards the long-standing dual political establishment and self-imposed societal aggravations as much as social unrest having frustrated the prospects of an American Dream altogether.
How many Americans still believe, e.g., their country had ... sorry ... has overcome the Subprime Mortgage issue[3] (2007-2010), European Debt[4] (2009-2010) and Global Financial crisis[5] (2009) as much as the Great Recession[6] (2007-2009)?!
The workers´ stairway to the stars in Jonesville and America is no longer an open highway. Climbing step by step to bigger and better jobs for most workers and their sons is a story of the past. So we see this increasing social unrest, all caused by the false impressions of American life cooked up by some eggheaded art directors. (Vance Packard, The Status Seekers)
What’s been Trump‘s different kind of Political Truth[7] all about?
To this day and despite his loss of the previous Presidential Elections in 2020, Trump has simply kept on bottling these American concerns, having persistently channelled frustration and aggravation into fueling and spreading hatred and seggregation all over the country. He has been keen on turning the American Nation into a C-Class Society[8].
How strongly have the American people been feeling about the Capitol[9] attack on 6 January 2021 ever since? Doesn’t that incident compare to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center[10] in 2001 by means of National Trauma?!
How come, still too many American fellow citizens, especially Republicans have had trouble confessing to‘ve taken Trump’s priming[11] on eradicating the United States’ Constitutional Foundations‘ ink (much too) seriously?
What do the ink-eradicators say about the First Amendment? The Amendment itself is couched in what the rest of us might consider rather direct terms. It provides that "Congress shall make no law" on certain subjects that the Founding Fathers considered sacred and indispensable to human dignity. Although the Amendment says precisely that "Congress shall make no law" in these fields the ink-eradicators claim that it means something quite different. They claim that when it says "Congress shall make no law", it means "Congress shall make no unreasonable law." (Edmond Cahn, Confronting Injustice)
Is this still the Wild Wild West[12]?!
Had Mike Wallace witnessed the Capitol attack, would he‘ve called Trump a Lunatic[13]?!
Bernstein and Woodward once called Nixon a Criminal, apparently not on legendary Buckley Jr’s Firing Line[14]. However, the latter having proven a loyal Republican as could be, rather seemed to‘ve had trouble with a charmingly eloquent Democrat[15] at his side than feeling uneasy about Watergate[16].
What holds true for Donald Trump? Is he a Criminal too or just a neverending story of an American Dream ... sorry ... Nightmare having come true?!
Has Trump perhaps been suffering from the Syndrome of Fascism[17]?
Well, Donald T. neither sings German songs like an antecedent Prussian Officer[18] nor overdresses like a neo-classical Nazi[19] in the late 1970s, hence he can’t be one, right?! Understandably, e.g. The Great Escape[20] and Hogan’s Heroes[21] will have coined the cliché of National Socialism in the United States alongside documentaries on the Third Reich‘s ascent and descent.
I once knew a funny person who, upon entering a room full of people, liked to sniff and say "I smell a messiah." ... Indeed, hysteria and charisma share many similarities and an enthusiastic political gathering strongly resembles a divine service on christianisation. ... Hitler must have possessed a gift of nonverbal atmospheric suggestive power, so that any listener to his mindless tirades could be dreaming his fondest dreams while listening; of hot dogs, of the conquest of Moscow, of the extermination of the Jewish race. (Erwin Chargaff, Serious Questions)
At any rate, talking about Revolutionary Spirit, Trump‘s undulating speech[22] at the Capitol definitely features lots of content serving reminiscence of Fascist Talk, especially against the backdrop of perhaps the most infamous State of the Nation Addresses[23] Fascism has ever brought about.
Well, does The Wave[24] ring a bell?!
By the way, as a matter of Equal Opportunity not only men qualified for supporting and exercising murder during the Third Reich – #me ... sorry ... #women[25] too.
Above all, it must be emphasised that the historical experiences of fascism in Central Europe may have exerted a certain immunising effect on the common and therefore easily recognisable expressions of fascism, but have not become effective against those tendencies that are emerging in new kinds of phenomenologies investing themselves in society, remaining largely unrecognised and misunderstood. ... A token-like bias in historical research, as much as the display of ideologemes arresting themselves in terms of fictional continuity must be avoided, suggesting a modern concept of the Syndrome of Fascism be established, capable of meeting the current state of enlightenment and experience. (Frederick J. Hacker, The Syndrome of Fascism)
Trump also seems to‘ve proven a Womaniser[26] in regard to fostering his Entourage of Female Revolutionaries. Mayhem ... sorry ... maybe, Trump is just a Farcessist and Narcissist in unison.
Undeniably, one of Trump’s greatest accomplishments has proven his mind-blogging ability to‘ve established his image as a Truth Seeker[27], while having alienated[28] the American Nation from their society’s long-standing Constitutional Foundations as much as their Ethical and Social Values‘ Primates.
Having successfully advertised and marketed himself as an All American Dude is another stunning achievement of his, for most recently, trade unions in Europe, the United States and elsewhere have been rioting against CEOs of his calibre.
His capitalist[29] mindset and professional attitude[30] are a cross-purposes with most of the Americans’ natural bias in regard to self-reliance[31], i.e. Grass-Roots approach, Effort, Persistance, Positive Thinking towards Regular Income, Shelter, Decent Living, Pursuit Of Happiness[32] … Love[33].
Trump‘s on-going Craze[34] has turned sane people in sane places into an insane[35] guy‘s playground.
Perhaps there has rarely been a time, when factual truths, opposing the gains and ambitions of any of the uncountable single pressure groups have been combatted with such zeal, with such effectiveness. Wherever aggravating facts are discussed in the free world, one can often observe that their mere finding is tolerated only for the sake of the right to freedom of expression, i.e. factual truths are interpreted in the sense of opinions. Bothersome kinds of evidence are handled as if they weren‘t matters of fact but seemingly availed room for different kinds of points of view. (Hannah Arendt, Politics and Truth)
Trump, this unique kind of Chairmen of the Bored[36] ... sorry ... Board ain’t the Solution to the Problem but the Problem to the Solution. His kind of communication is the problem to the answer[37] resolving the Great American Divide.
Keeping the economy going, millions of workers[38] are being sick and tired of remaining an invisible hand taken for granted without any sustainable reward.
Hide your face forever / Dream and search forever / Have you ever been for sale? / When your -isms get smart / Oh, so selfish and mindless / With that comment in your eye / Do you think that you are hard? / Really harder than the other? / Man, you're acting cold / If you are not in charge / Don't split your mentality / Without thinking twice / Your voice has got no reason / Now is the time to face your lies (Guano Apes, Open Your Eyes)
Executives always seem to view worker participation and trade union engagement as a threat to their Entrepreneurial Freedom – whatever that should mean – don’t they?
Most of nowdays‘ Members Of The Board and Managerial Staff prove not to be Entrepreneurs in the original and proper sense of apprehension, i.e. they are common employees themselves. Staff, i.e. people inevitably involved in Corporate Businesses can’t suggest Executive and Managerial Freedom bordering on Arbitration by means of Cost Cuts and Lay-Offs; AI + Homo Minusculus[39] substituting for Qualified Personnel.
Apart from their Career Risk, these Off-The-Shelf-Leaders do not bear any adherence for their Companies‘ Liabilities with Personal Assets of theirs.
In contrast, these so-called High Potentials surely benefit from Revenues and Surpluses boosting their Bonuses and Divident Equivalents to Stock Options etc. The extent to which such leaders are granted the Freedom to solely account for corporate failure – usually featuring a Golden Parachute Agreement – or success and even higher compensation and benefits is a different issue, in terms of Irresponsibility and Sense of Responsibility.
According to Haavelmo[40], societies bearing unequal[41] Income Ratios tend to impair their Economical Performance. The Economic Aggregates‘ Lifting and Shunting Effects fail to substantiate in mutual compliance, resulting in a kind of Piston Seizure frustrating the Economy as a whole. National Money Flow is the (!) Lubricant granting and sustaining a successful National Economy.
Consequently, Haavelmo deducts, the Lowest Third of Income Earners accounts for an Economy’s Power Reserves inducing Impetus and Momentum bottom-up into all other Aggregates. His findings diametrally withstand the Reagonomics‘ infamous Trickle Down Theory[42].
Institutional and individual Large-Scale Income Earners tend to invest significantly more time in verifying their Investment Decisions and Return Expectations than Low and Average Income Earners.
Such Monetary Caution on the highest (private and public) Financial Level puts a Systemic Restrain on the National Economy‘s performance. Over the past decades, the Exponential Accumulation of Large Assets and Fortunes by means of Interest Yields, particularly in Developed Economies, has brought about a Degree of Wealth Transition and Concentration unheard of, having coincided with galloping Wealth Inequality in these countries respectively.
The question, Trump is supposed to be asking himself, isn’t What do we do now[43] but What’ve I accomplished? – less than nothing, Sir! Off the record, Trumpler, why don’t you just vendaface[44].
In most acts of communication many imprecise factors are inherent even though they may not be recognized as such. ... Talking about democracy: A Russian cannot understand why Americans hold the word in reference since to the Russian it has overtones of an unwieldly and massive town meeting unguided by intelligent and far-seeing leadership. Democracy to an African may mean the elimination of oppression and little more. To a villager in Southeast Asia, it may mean continued oppression under a government supported from abroad. ... The range of interpretation may wreck the morale of an organization if it is not recognized that this seemingly simple message involves a whole system of human elements and responses in an ongoing organization. (J. Douglas Brown, The Human Nature of Organizations)
Fore one thing, America seems to‘ve been selectively blind not having perceied the All American Gorilla[45] long before he could be running for Presidency, eventually, assuming office in 2016. To a greater or lesser extent, American Awareness also seems to‘ve missed the Economic Principles of That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen[46] as much as having failed to notice the small fs[47] in terms of doing Homework[48] instead of putting focus on meeting the Future’s Greatest Challenges[49].
Not Deep Throat, most likely Columbo[50] would've subliminally convicted such an American President of his rotten Attitude. Accordingly, Americans might be interested in shifting their attention to looking at what’s been happening to them, instead of searching for a skeleton in their neighbour’s cupboard.
The extent to which Donald Trump has praised one part of the American Population, while having exposed the other half of American Citizens to ceremonies of ehtnical seggregation and ethical degradation[51] remains unbearably inhumane.
With all due respect, Trump, Sir, you must be immortally insane[52]!
Talkin‘ ‘bout change, who would seriously wish for a Groundhog Day[53]?!
But it is something, that everyone can get behind, we need – a Symbol[54]!
Thus, how much soever men are in earnest and constant in pursuit of happiness, yet they may have a clear view of good, great and confessed good. As therefore the highest perfection of intellectual nature lies in a careful and constant pursuit of true and solid happiness; so the care of ourselves, that we mistake not imaginary for real happiness, is the necessary foundation of our liberty. The stronger ties we have to an unalterable pursuit of happiness in general, which is our greatest good, and which, as such, our desires always follow, the more are we free from any necessary determination of our will to any particular action. (John Locke, An Essay Concerning the Human Understanding)
How about it Folks?!
Frame of Reference
[1] Writing such a feature requires emphasising deep empathy for the American People and their country, having withstood the test of time – ever since a small boy took a first ride on his bike without training wheels – somewhere in SCHENLEY PARK, PITTSBURGH – late in the afternoon, some time during the Summer of Love – one could hear the Grass Roots singing Let's Live For Today.
[2] Golden escalator ride: the surreal day Trump kicked off his bid for president | Donald Trump | The Guardian
[3] Subprime mortgage crisis (2007-2010) (Wikiped)
[4] European debt crisis (Wikiped)
[5] Global financial crisis in 2009 (Wikiped)
[6] Great Recession (2007-2009) (Wikiped)
[7] Hannah Arendt, Truth and Politics: Perhaps there has rarely been a time, when factual truths, opposing the gains and ambitions of any of the uncountable single pressure groups have been combatted with such zeal, with such effectiveness. Wherever aggravating facts are discussed in the free world, one can often observe that their mere finding is tolerated only for the sake of the right to freedom of expression, i.e. factual truths are interpreted in the sense of opinions. Bothersome kinds of evidence are handled as if they weren‘t matters of fact but seemingly availed room for different kinds of points of view. Literally questioning the primate of objectivity poses a pivotal political concern of the highest order indeed. People being imperceptive of hard evidence well known to them, as such facts contradict their gains and ambitions proves such a ubiquitous phenomenon, one might as well figure, that it is perhaps in the nature of political as well as pre-political, human affairs to be having a hard time with the truth. Aren't such state of affaires simply selected from the turmoil of incidents according to one’s point of view, themselves not qualifying for being considered actus reus? Aren‘t they composed and staged in terms of a story from one’s perspective, in no way bearing similarities with the respective event‘s empirical manifestation? Accordingly, sciences as well bear on the challenging nature of pursuing objectivity, for any degree of factual uncertainty neither suggests negating empirical proof, nor can it serve to simply blur differences between facts and their interpretations giving rise to opinions, or to deal with the impressions of perceived reality as one pleases. ––– related: Lying in Politics - Hannah Arendt (1972) - YouTube ––– related: VRG: The Last Interviews #2 Joachim Fest - YouTube
[8] Erich Fromm, The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (lust-for-life.org): – System A: Life-Affirmative Societies – In this system the main emphasis of ideals, customs and institutions is that they serve the preservation and growth of life in all its forms. There is a minimum of hostility, violence, or cruelty among people, no harsh punishment, hardly any crime, and the institution of war is absent or plays an exceedingly small role. Children are treated with kindness, there is no severe corporal punishment; women are in general considered equal to men, or at least not exploited or humiliated; there is a generally permissive and affirmative attitude toward sex. There is little envy, covetousness, greed, and exploitativeness. There is also little competition and individualism and a great deal of cooperation; personal property is only in things that are used. There is a general attitude of trust and confidence, not only in others but particularly in nature; a general prevalence of good humor, and a relative absence of depressive moods. – System B: Life-Affirmative Societies – This system shares with the first the basic element of not being destructive, but differs in that aggressiveness and war, although not central, are normal occurrences, and in that competition, hierarchy, and individualism are present. These societies are by no means permeated by destructiveness or cruelty or by exaggerated suspiciousness, but they do not have the kind of gentleness and trust which is characteristic of the system A societies. System B could perhaps be best characterized by stating that it is imbued with a spirit of male aggressiveness, individualism, the desire to get things and to accomplish tasks. – System C: Life-Affirmative Societies – The structure of the system C societies is very distinct. It is characterized by much interpersonal violence, destructiveness, aggression, and cruelty, both within the tribe and against others, a pleasure in war, maliciousness, and treachery. The whole atmosphere of life is one of hostility, tension, and fear. Usually there is a great deal of competition, great emphasis on private property (if not in material things then in symbols), strict hierarchies, and a considerable amount of war-making.
[9] Capitol Violence in Washington, D.C., January 6, 2021 — FBI
[10] 9/11: A timeline of the September 11 attacks visualized | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
[11] By analogy: An Introduction to Forensic Linguistics: Language in Evidence (uns.ac.id) ––– related: Textualism (Wikiped): Textualism is a formalist theory in which the interpretation of the law is primarily based on the ordinary meaning of the legal text, where no consideration is given to non-textual sources, such as intention of the law when passed, the problem it was intended to remedy, or significant questions regarding the justice or rectitude of the law.
[12] The Wild Wild West pilot commercial - CBS TV - 1965 - YouTube
[13] By analogy: Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini (1979) | 60 Minutes Archive - YouTube
[14] Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr.: The Limits of Journalistic Investigation - YouTube
[15] Gore Vidal vs William Buckley Republican Convention 1968 Debate 1 - YouTube ––– Best of Enemies review – entertaining clash of political titans | Documentary films | The Guardian ––– ‘Don’t call me a crypto-Nazi!’ The lost heart of political debate | Ed Vulliamy | The Guardian
[16] The Watergate Scandal - Timeline, Summary & Deep Throat | HISTORY
[17] Frederick J. Hacker, The Syndrome of Fascism: Above all, it must be emphasised that the historical experiences of fascism in Central Europe may have exerted a certain immunising effect on the common and therefore easily recognisable expressions of fascism, but have not become effective against those tendencies that are emerging in new kinds of phenomenologies investing themselves in society, remaining largely unrecognised and misunderstood. ... A token-like bias in historical research, as much as the display of ideologemes arresting themselves in terms of fictional continuity must be avoided, suggesting a modern concept of the Syndrome of Fascism be established, capable of meeting the current state of enlightenment and experience. ... However, there are enough indications of a renewed blaze of right-wing extremist activities, especially if one considers Adorno's prophetic word that the aftermath of National Socialism in democracy is potentially more threatening than fascist tendencies openly directed against democracy. ... The anarchist protest against all institutions and every form of power can easily be used by the existing powers to mobilise the masses and be converted into an instrument of domination by a political elite over these masses. ... Downright paranoid anti-attitudes coupled with stereotypes of enmity serve to ignite and justify acts of violence in unison, rendering leeway to unrestricted practices and inevitable policies of discrimination against minority groups, communities of critical contemporaries and intellectuals being labelled traitors, facing exclusion, seggregation and eradication. ... The dramatised theatrical staging of verbal aggression and glorification of vulgar display of power is eventually to prime societal subscription to a "self-purifying" process of legitimisation and legalisation. ––– On the aforementioned Author: Dr. F. J. Hacker, 75, A Psychiatric Expert On Violence in Man - The New York Times (nytimes.com) – Frederick Hacker; Noted Expert on Terrorism - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com) – Statement of Dr Frederick J Hacker (From Terrorism Hearings before the House Committee on Internal Security, Part 1, 93rd Congress, 2nd Session, February 27, 28 and March 21, 22, 26, 1974 - See Ncj-17653) | Office Of Justice Programs (ojp.gov) – Frederick J. Hacker, Books (Amazon.com) – Frederick J. Hacker | Open Library ––– related: DEREX INDEX: According to sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf, "It will take six months to reform the political systems, six years to change the economic systems, and sixty years to effect a revolution in the peoples’ hearts and minds." His words are yet again proved by the recent news of rising demand for the extreme right all over Europe. This claim is also supported by the findings of the Political Capital Institute’s Demand for Right-Wing Extremism Index (DEREX Index), which measures and compares people’s predisposition towards far right politics in 33 countries using data from the European Social Survey. Demand for Right-Wing Extremism Index tracks changes in those social attitudes that can destabilise the democratic political systems of Europe. ––– related: Fascism Has an American History, Too von O Burton · Zitieren von: 2 — The specter of fascism is once again haunting the United States. ... section not as an exception but rather as a culmination of the trends. (Google) ––– These are the three reasons fascism spread in 1930s America — and might spread again today - The Washington Post ––– Trump, Nixon, and the glide path to US fascism | Opinions | Al Jazeera ––– Are Trump Republicans Fascists? | BU Today | Boston University ––– Fascism Comes to America: A Century of Obsession in Politics and Culture, Kuklick (uchicago.edu) ––– Farewell to the F-Word? Bruce Kuklick's Fascism Comes to America – The Brooklyn Rail ––– The US Is Descending Into a Crisis of Overt Fascism. There’s Still a Way Out. - Truthout ––– Chapter Thirty-Two, Fascist Trends In The United States (weisbord.org) ––– How can anyone be a fascist if everyone is? – Democracy and society | IPS Journal (ips-journal.eu) ––– Home - The New Fascism Syllabus ––– America is now in fascism’s legal phase | The far right | The Guardian ––– Confronting the enduring appeal of fascism (brookings.edu) ––– related: Fascism on the rise: where does it come from, and how to stop it, with a common European response | European Economic and Social Committee (europa.eu) ––– related: The Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide – Verfassungsblog ––– related: Bug-out Bags and Bullets: The Misguided Ideology of Doomsday Preppers – MIR (mironline.ca) ––– related: Democracy's Survival: The destructive nature of fascists posing as "Cultural Warriors" in America | Milwaukee Independent ––– related: Beyond Prepper Culture as Right-wing Extremism von TW Luke · 2021 — Should the ethical, political and social currents in contemporary survivalist “prepper” cultures in the United. States be dismissed simply (Google) ––– related: Populism, Fascism, and the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s - American Academy
[18] Jonathan Winters: German Song - YouTube
[19] The Blues Brothers (1980) - Nazis Take a Dive Scene (3/9) | Movieclips - YouTube
[20] The Great Escape (7/11) Movie CLIP - The Tunnel Keeps Collapsing (1963) HD - YouTube
[21] Hogan's Heroes - Escape Or Stay - YouTube
[22] Transcript of Trump's Speech at Rally Before US Capitol Riot | Political News | US News: Media will not show the magnitude of this crowd. Even I, when I turned on today, I looked, and I saw thousands of people here. But you don’t see hundreds of thousands of people behind you because they don’t want to show that. We have hundreds of thousands of people here and I just want them to be recognized by the fake news media. Turn your cameras please and show what’s really happening out here because these people are not going to take it any longer. They’re not going to take it any longer. Go ahead. Turn your cameras, please. Would you show? They came from all over the world, actually, but they came from all over our country.
[23] Adolf Hitler's Reichstag Speech on Revolutionary Spirit, 30 January 1937 (worldfuturefund.org): At the time when I used to go here and there throughout the country, simply as a public speaker, people from the bourgeois classes used to ask me why we believed that a revolution would be necessary, instead of working within the framework of the established political order and with the collaboration of the parties already in existence, for the purpose of improving those conditions which we considered unsound and injurious. Why must be have a new party, and especially why a new revolution? ––– Joseph Goebbels' Sportpalast Speech on Total War, 18 February 1943 (calvin.edu): I do not know how many millions of people are listening to me over the radio tonight, at home and at the front. I want to speak to all of you from the depths of my heart to the depths of yours. I believe that the entire German people has a passionate interest in what I have to say tonight. I will therefore speak with holy seriousness and openness, as the hour demands. The German people, raised, educated and disciplined by National Socialism, can bear the whole truth. It knows the gravity of the situation, and its leadership can therefore demand the necessary hard measures, yes even the hardest measures.
[24] The Wave -- Afterschool Speical -- 1981 - YouTube ––– The Wave (1981 TV version) | Arroyo Grande High School (aghseagles.org) ––– related: Jane Elliot, A Class Divided - The Blue Eyes Experiment (full documentary) | FRONTLINE - YouTube – Asch Conformity Experiment - YouTube ––– related: Milgram Obedience Study - YouTube – Psychology: The Stanford Prison Experiment - BBC Documentary - YouTube
[25] Hitler’s Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields - Wendy Lower (yadvashem.org): Ordinary women? They shot Jews at point-blank; they collected human skin and fashioned it into lampshades; they flung children off balconies. They actively helped the Nazis implement the Final Solution. – Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields by Wendy Lower – review | History books | The Guardian ––– related: Fashionable Fascists: How Female Nazis Used Fashion for Empowerment During the Holocaust | Published in Johns Hopkins University (scholasticahq.com) ––– related: The Reader by Bernhard Schlink | Goodreads – The Reader (2008) Official HD Trailer [1080p] - YouTube – Bernhard Schlink author of The Reader - YouTube
[26] Women for Trump (Wikiped) ––– Meet the Trumpettes: Donald Trump’s Loyal High Society Female Supporters - ABC News (go.com) ––– Here Are the Women Who Are Crazy for Donald Trump | Fortune ––– Meet the Women Who Support Donald Trump (voanews.com)
[27] By analogy: BBC Two - The Trap, F**k You Buddy – BBC Two - The Trap, The Lonely Robot – BBC Two - The Trap, We Will Force You To Be Free ––– The Trap (2007, Adam Curtis) - Cap. 1 Fuck you, buddy (Sub. español) - YouTube – BBC: The Trap - Part 2 of 3: The Lonely Robot - YouTube – BBC: The Trap - Part 3 of 3: We will force you to be free - YouTube
[28] C. Fuchs, The Relevance of Franz L. Neumann's Critical Theory in 2017 - Anxiety and Politics in the New Age of Authoritarian (triple-c.at): Neurotic, persecutory anxiety can lead to ego-surrender in the mass through affective identification with a leader. This caesaristic identification is always regressive, historically and psychologically. [...] An important clue for the regressive character is the notion of false concreteness, the conspiracy theory of history. [...] The intensification of anxiety into persecutory anxiety is successful when a group (class, religion, race) is threatened by loss of status, without understanding the process which leads to its degradation. [...] Generally, this leads to political alienation, i.e. the conscious rejection of the rules of the game of a political system. [...] The regressive mass movement, once it has come to power must, in order to maintain the leader-identification, institutionalize anxiety. The three methods are: terror, propaganda, and, for the followers of the leader, the crime committed in common. (Neumann 1957, 293-294; Neumann 2017, 628)
[29] Paul M. Sweezy, Monopoly Capitalism (Monthly Review)
[30] Vance Packard, The Status Seekers – Pecking Order in Corporate Barnyards (Supervisory Management): Want to Move Up? Learn to be a First Class Subordinate! (The status seekers : Packard, Vance : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive) ––– related: Peter principle (Wikiped) – Parkinson's law (Wikiped)
[31] Defining American Culture - YouTube ––– related: Willard and Marguerite Beecher, Beyond Success and Failure: Introduction – The individual trapped in the struggle for prestige, recognition and appearances, is a helpless victim of his own wishful thinking. It becomes evident then, that the one who leans and the one who allows himself to be leaned on are equally lacking in self-sufficiency. They are a kind of mutual admiration society, which amounts to a conspiracy to exploit each other. The tragedy of suggestibility – The ultimate tragedy of dependency is that the dependent does not develop his inborn ability to bring his own powers into focus and direct them to solve his own problems. We are all born with the same human potentialties. But the dependent individual has not developed the self-reliance that acts as a catalytic agent to evoke and combine innate powers and release them in activity. When the leaning individual is confronted, he is helpless and must search for someone on whom to lean for help in the solution of his problems. But all situations rooted in leaning and depending on others result in disappointment. (Beyond Success and Failure : Hillard & Marguerite Beecher : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive)
[32] John Locke, An Essay Concerning the Human Understanding (philotextes.info): Thus, how much soever men are in earnest and constant in pursuit of happiness, yet they may have a clear view of good, great and confessed good. As therefore the highest perfection of intellectual nature lies in a careful and constant pursuit of true and solid happiness; so the care of ourselves, that we mistake not imaginary for real happiness, is the necessary foundation of our liberty. The stronger ties we have to an unalterable pursuit of happiness in general, which is our greatest good, and which, as such, our desires always follow, the more are we free from any necessary determination of our will to any particular action. ––– related: H. Hesse, Entrepreneurs, Politicians and Thinkers in Economic History: John Locke’s concept of the State affected the American Declaration of Independence in 1776, the French Constitution in 1791 and even the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. Particularly in his writings, he created the statutory premises to empiricism and enlightenment. His most profound work is An Essay Concerning the Human Understanding. ––– related: David Hume, Critique of Rationalism: To develop a science of human nature, it is first necessary to undermine the foundations of all forms of false and misleading metaphysics. When we are rid of these sources of superstition, prejudice, and error, the stage will be clear for the kind of mental geography that constitutes true metaphysics. Accurate, just reasoning about human nature – the descriptive project of true metaphysics – requires us to examine the scope and limits of our cognitive capacities, so that we may at last obtain an exact picture of the powers and limitations of human understanding. (Hume’s Critique of the Rationalists | SpringerLink)
[33] Mork & Mindy Season 1 Episode 5 - Mork in Love - YouTube: Orson: This is Orson, what's the matter with you? – Mork: Me? Nothing. – Orson: You've got a strange look on your face! – Mork: Maybe it's love. – Orson: Love? Isn't that an emotion? – Mork: It's a many splendid things. It makes the world go round. It'll keep us together. It's all y' need! – Orson: All I need, is a report that makes sense! – Mork: Oh!
[34] Crusaders, Criminals, Crazies: Terror and Terrorism in Our Time: Hacker, Frederick J.: 9780393011272: Amazon.com: Books
[35] By reverse analogy: Rosenhan (1973) Experiment - 'On being sane in insane places' (simplypsychology.org) ––– The Rosenhan Experiment - Being Sane In Insane Places - YouTube
[36] Iggy Pop - I'm Bored - YouTube
[37] 10cc - The Things We Do for Love - YouTube
[38] The Union Advantage | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov); The State of Our Unions | CEA | The White House; Unions are not only good for workers, they’re good for communities and for democracy: High unionization levels are associated with positive outcomes across multiple indicators of economic, personal, and democratic well-being | Economic Policy Institute (epi.org); Labor Unions and the Future - Center for American Progress; Ten reasons why unions are important | War on Want; Labor Unions In The US: History & Objectives | StudySmarter; How Unions Work for the Economy (tcf.org); Why is there a union boom? (cnbc.com)
[39] Note: Little education is basically associated with high employment risk, whereas high qualification usually suggests low employment risk. Does that approve of today's labour market situation? How should virulently declining qualification requirements for the majority of workers in business match political advertisements proclaiming the opposite? Are well-educated and skilled employees to seek non-specialist or non-generalist job opportunities? Should demand for more education eventually apply to an elite only? ––– related: Gunther Anders, The Antiquatedness of Man (II): Today's entrepreneurs – not only the capitalist ones – don't favour layoffs but wish for enterprises devoid of humans and humanity. ––– related: Wilhelm Steinmuller, Automation of Intellectual Work: Since the human ability of continuous learning (adaptability) still surpasses those of machines, the cheaper way of adapting humans to machines is usually chosen, than vice versa. Operational cost accounting and the organisation of health care affirms of such a systemic approach, omitting consideration of adverse social costs (inclining absenteeism rate, escalating mental disorders, degenerating social relationships), i.e. fall-out costs coinciding with a company’s organisational and operational condition. ... Such common effects of rationalisation are also known to the introduction of information technology and artificial intelligence, specifically, tacit requirements to deskilling the majority of staff (human rudiments), monocultivation of communication and monotonisation of work, decaying job contentment, digital taskwork sparking increased stress levels (coinciding psycho-social consequences).
[40] Trygve Haavelmo (Wikiped): Trygve Magnus Haavelmo (13 December 1911 – 28 July 1999), born in Skedsmo, Norway, was an economist whose research interests centered on econometrics. He received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1989.
[41] The Wealth Gap Costs the US Economy $300 Billion Every Year: Study (businessinsider.com)
[42] Trickle-down economics (Wikiped): Trickle-down theory is an economic strategy where taxes levied on the high-income group are curtailed. The theory claims that the increase in wealth will trickle down into lower economic sections in the form of increased investments and employment.
[43] The Candidate What Do We Do Now - YouTube
[44] Muppet Show: VendaFace and Statler - YouTube
[45] The Invisible Gorilla (featuring Daniel Simons) - EMMY Winner - YouTube
[46] Frédéric Bastiat, That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen | Mises Institute: In the department of economy, an act, a habit, an institution, a law, gives birth not only to an effect, but to a series of effects. Of these effects, the first only is immediate; it manifests itself simultaneously with its cause — it is seen. The others unfold in succession — they are not seen: it is well for us if they are foreseen. Between a good and a bad economist this constitutes the whole difference — the one takes account of the visible effect; the other takes account both of the effects which are seen and also of those which it is necessary to foresee. Now this difference is enormous, for it almost always happens that when the immediate consequence is favorable, the ultimate consequences are fatal, and the converse. Hence it follows that the bad economist pursues a small present good, which will be followed by a great evil to come, while the true economist pursues a great good to come, at the risk of a small present evil.
[47] Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques - YouTube
[48] Some examples in alphabetical order as follows ––– Crime (Violence): FBI — Violent Crime ––– Discrimination (Racial Profiling): Racial Profiling | American Civil Liberties Union (aclu.org) ––– Discrimination (Racism): Federal Protections Against National Origin Discrimination (justice.gov) ––– Discrimination (Reverse Discrimination): Reverse Discrimination - FindLaw ––– Drug Abuse: Drug Abuse in the United States (fmprc.gov.cn) ––– Employment (Unemployment): Employment Situation Summary - 2023 M04 Results (bls.gov) ––– Homelessness: How many homeless people are in the US? What does the data miss? - USAFacts ––– Homeownership: How Many Homeowners Are There In The U.S.? 51+ Statistics! (simplyinsurance.com) ––– Illiteracy: Illiteracy Among Adults in the United States - Ballard Brief (byu.edu) ––– Incarceration (Business): The American Prison System: It’s Just Business (fordham.edu) ––– Incarceration (Inmates): United States of America | World Prison Brief (prisonstudies.org) ––– Income Inequality (Rich Poor Gap): The Wealth Gap Costs the US Economy $300 Billion Every Year: Study (businessinsider.com) ––– Poverty (Children): Child Poverty in America - Facts, Statistics | United Way NCA ––– Poverty (Senior Citizens): Poverty Among the Population Aged 65 and Older (fas.org) ––– Prostitution: Prostitution in the United States - HG.org ––– Suicide: Suicide statistics | AFSP ––– Trafficking: About Human Trafficking - United States Department of State ––– Unbanked People: The Costs Of Being Unbanked Or Underbanked – Forbes Advisor ––– Uninsured Citizens (Health Care): Key Facts about the Uninsured Population | KFF etc.
[49] Policy Issues - United States Department of State ––– America’s Biggest Issues | The Heritage Foundation ––– related: Our criminal society; the social and legal sources of crime in America : Schur, Edwin M : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive ––– Schur: Crimes Without Victims: Deviant Behavior and Public Policy (umich.edu) ––– related: Dennis H. Wrong, The Oversocialized Conception of Man in Modern Sociology (purdue.edu) ––– related: Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (monoskop.org) ––– related: Carl Rogers, On Becoming a Person: A Therapist’s View of Psychotherapy (vnbrims.org)
[50] Columbo Uses Subliminal Manipulation To Catch His Killer | Columbo - YouTube: I'm not searching, I'm looking.
[51] Harold Garfinkel, Conditions of Successful Degradation Ceremonies (antoniocasella.eu) – Harold Garfinkel, Studies in Ethnomethodology (monoskop.org) ––– Harold Garfinkel: Studies of Work in The Sciences (oapen.org)
[52] Pantera, Immortally Insane - YouTube