OK, my blog entries have been very dark of late. Time for something a tad lighter.
Today I was reminded that the apartment building in downtown Downers Grove, right across from the main train station, and its bus-loading lanes, is called: Acadia on the Green.
Say what? I see no green of even a mini-golf scope nearby. At that moment what I did see was a line of tanker cars rumbling by with "flammable" and "radiation" stickers prominently mounted on them.
I used to teach about the difference between connotation and denotation in classes, often with the study of poetry, and we always had fun with car names, even occasionally pulling out the famous sequence of letters between an American poet and Ford Motor Company regarding naming a new car model.
So I am reminded of the usual marketing slime-ology that goes into naming the places where people will be asked to live, either by renting or buying there. I will skip the absurdity of senior retirement home titles...waaaay too easy. Lets think about the category that, of course, includes Glen Garry and Glen Ross.
Now, let us pick a tree. It should be a noble tree, a well-known tree, and not too weird (nix "Ginko"). Let's try "Birch". Now let us see the gradations of name that connote who will live in a place with "birch" in its name.
Birch Heights or Birch Glen: here we have the ordinary, where there will be diversity, and perhaps even riff raff
Birch Valley: better, but valleys are low, and southerners will be reminded of who lives on the hill versus "down in the holler.."
Birch Hill: better still, and of course we are UP on a hill, whether or not it actually exists.
Birch Hills: Ahhh, many hills, and hence seclusion and discovery. And who knows, the hills may be alive with the sounds....
Birch Terrace: OK, but sort of apartmenty sounding. Besides, terraces are made of hard-scape material, not cushy golf green grass.
Birch Woods: Oooh, much better. Living in a woods means trees, and everyone prefers trees over a developer's billiard-table-on-farmland.
Birch Chase: now we are getting into the money. People here are not merely in the hunt, they have perhaps won the chase for gold. Thank goodness Chevy Chase is now mostly forgotten...
Birch Trace: At last. Nirvana. Not merely a Chase, but a Trace. Here there is no "trace" of riff raff, and the only illegals are cleaning the homes and pools.
The Ponds at Birch Trace: Yikes! A whole new connotative Eden emerges, and possibilities are endless. We have trees and ponds and a "trace." Can life get better
I pause here, as any of my ex-students know damn well I will, to consider names that might, should, could, or oughta be:
The Barbed Wires of Birch Way
The Barks of Birch
The Terraces in the Promenade of Birch Woods
Birchya Can't Afford It Here
The mind spins out of control. I welcome further suggestions.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
More musings about the drift toward fascism in America
"Ahh,
the "either/or" logical fallacy at work."
Some of you saw this post on Facebook recently: "Strange that some young singles know so very much about marriage without ever having been in that kind of love...it's almost like hearing "holy" and "expert" ecclesiastical celibates expound authoritatively on the subject. One out of three marriages in America does end in divorce; so, what does that actually mean? Is that actually a bad thing? Does that mean all marriages are bad? Bad some of the time? Bad all of the time? Bad compared to what? Bad compared to singleness? Bad compared, say, to a drunken stupor at the end of an unsuccessful Saturday evening of looking for Mr/Ms Goodbar? Bad compared to life in old age without children? Generalities simply can't apply to the hundreds of millions of individual human male and female and transgender lives, all of them different, and lived in hundreds of thousands of cultures. Ya makes your choice and ya lives with it; stop advising me about my own choices! Put your big, biased, and inexperienced paintbrush away; there is nothing to paint with it."
In my older age, which does come with greater experience and wisdom (sorry, 20-somethings...) I grow more angry with illogic and its drift toward fascism, which is born and nurtured by illogical thinking. The greatest gift from any god that may or may not exist -- and surely the greatest gift of our species-- is the ability to think, and thus, to reason. The gift is not faith, it is not identity, it is not even culture itself. The gift is to be able to reason logically.
I have written elsewhere about the characteristics of fascism as outlined by Umberto Ecco, who both studied and lived with it. I see the steady creep of fascist extremism in American culture more and more. Four examples:
*Religious fascists: "Our god is the one god and his (nearly always "his") way is the one way and the one truth. This being so, we cannot tolerate or recognize anyone who does not believe as we believe, and we are justified in punishing them for their blasphemy."
*Political fascists: "Our party is totally right and yours is totally wrong. Compromise and state-craft are impossible due to the fact that we have unilaterally declared a grave crisis in our country, offering as evidence whatever we choose to offer. We shall win by crushing our opponents, not listening to them. I know all these things to be true because a man in a strange hat tells me so in my house of worship which is the only legitimate house of worship."
*Social facists: "My way of living is superior to your way of living. My choices should be your choices or else you are stupid and uninformed, and you certainly cannot be counted among my friends. If I can, I will institutionalize discrimination against you" ("you" based on gender, age, sexual preference, race, religion, etc etc).
*Educational facists: "Our way of schooling is the only way of schooling. Traditions as we have identified them, must be maintained at all costs. Whatever was done in the past is to be venerated, and the past was better than the present."
Fascism ( I will re-post my summary of Ecco's outline) is about bullying. It starts by excluding and labelling, and quickly moves to excluding, punishing, and even exterminating perceived "enemies. In my view, America is terribly ripe for fascism now. This is not about the tyranny of the majority; fascism grows from the tyranny of a minority who find a way to seize power, and then exploit the helplessness or passivity of the masses.
But I hear some voices: this is the old, tired promise of mere relativism. This is just a guy making sure there can be no right or wrong, which translates into permission to believe or do anything at all. Wrong! There are basic laws of right and wrong, subscribed to by all human beings everywhere on the planet earth. I refer readers to C.S. Lewis on this fact ("The Law of Human Nature"...an essay that used to appear in high school literature anthologies until the Texas Christian right wingers drove it out). One example is that there is no culture anywhere on earth that highly values and praises betrayal of trust. See Lewis for many other examples here on my blog.
I hear readers saying to themselves that I am also way overstating the danger of fascist thinking in current America, but I don't think so. Fascist thinking becomes a habit of thought, replacing logic and humanism and those "laws of human nature" that Lewis outlines so well.. It aims to destroy and humiliate its opponents in whatever category, not to exercise free speech and debate in a democracy. For example, if I was to say out loud that America was not, is not, and never shall be a Christian country, I would be a target for lynching and car-bombing these days. And yet, America is not a Christian country; it is a FREE country, where no national religion can ever be established BY LAW. This fact stuns and angers many Americans, particularly in a time when they feel threatened by the realities that Americans may no longer have the highest standard of living, no longer have the best health care system, no longer have the top educational system, no longer have the safest economy, the safest food supply, the most secure jobs, the most solvent banks....or even the shreds of the so-called "American Dream."
Hard times indeed. I can forgive anyone for being angry, most especially the legions of of young people for whom all American promises seem to have been broken, but I won't tolerate anyone bullying me.
Some of you saw this post on Facebook recently: "Strange that some young singles know so very much about marriage without ever having been in that kind of love...it's almost like hearing "holy" and "expert" ecclesiastical celibates expound authoritatively on the subject. One out of three marriages in America does end in divorce; so, what does that actually mean? Is that actually a bad thing? Does that mean all marriages are bad? Bad some of the time? Bad all of the time? Bad compared to what? Bad compared to singleness? Bad compared, say, to a drunken stupor at the end of an unsuccessful Saturday evening of looking for Mr/Ms Goodbar? Bad compared to life in old age without children? Generalities simply can't apply to the hundreds of millions of individual human male and female and transgender lives, all of them different, and lived in hundreds of thousands of cultures. Ya makes your choice and ya lives with it; stop advising me about my own choices! Put your big, biased, and inexperienced paintbrush away; there is nothing to paint with it."
In my older age, which does come with greater experience and wisdom (sorry, 20-somethings...) I grow more angry with illogic and its drift toward fascism, which is born and nurtured by illogical thinking. The greatest gift from any god that may or may not exist -- and surely the greatest gift of our species-- is the ability to think, and thus, to reason. The gift is not faith, it is not identity, it is not even culture itself. The gift is to be able to reason logically.
I have written elsewhere about the characteristics of fascism as outlined by Umberto Ecco, who both studied and lived with it. I see the steady creep of fascist extremism in American culture more and more. Four examples:
*Religious fascists: "Our god is the one god and his (nearly always "his") way is the one way and the one truth. This being so, we cannot tolerate or recognize anyone who does not believe as we believe, and we are justified in punishing them for their blasphemy."
*Political fascists: "Our party is totally right and yours is totally wrong. Compromise and state-craft are impossible due to the fact that we have unilaterally declared a grave crisis in our country, offering as evidence whatever we choose to offer. We shall win by crushing our opponents, not listening to them. I know all these things to be true because a man in a strange hat tells me so in my house of worship which is the only legitimate house of worship."
*Social facists: "My way of living is superior to your way of living. My choices should be your choices or else you are stupid and uninformed, and you certainly cannot be counted among my friends. If I can, I will institutionalize discrimination against you" ("you" based on gender, age, sexual preference, race, religion, etc etc).
*Educational facists: "Our way of schooling is the only way of schooling. Traditions as we have identified them, must be maintained at all costs. Whatever was done in the past is to be venerated, and the past was better than the present."
Fascism ( I will re-post my summary of Ecco's outline) is about bullying. It starts by excluding and labelling, and quickly moves to excluding, punishing, and even exterminating perceived "enemies. In my view, America is terribly ripe for fascism now. This is not about the tyranny of the majority; fascism grows from the tyranny of a minority who find a way to seize power, and then exploit the helplessness or passivity of the masses.
But I hear some voices: this is the old, tired promise of mere relativism. This is just a guy making sure there can be no right or wrong, which translates into permission to believe or do anything at all. Wrong! There are basic laws of right and wrong, subscribed to by all human beings everywhere on the planet earth. I refer readers to C.S. Lewis on this fact ("The Law of Human Nature"...an essay that used to appear in high school literature anthologies until the Texas Christian right wingers drove it out). One example is that there is no culture anywhere on earth that highly values and praises betrayal of trust. See Lewis for many other examples here on my blog.
I hear readers saying to themselves that I am also way overstating the danger of fascist thinking in current America, but I don't think so. Fascist thinking becomes a habit of thought, replacing logic and humanism and those "laws of human nature" that Lewis outlines so well.. It aims to destroy and humiliate its opponents in whatever category, not to exercise free speech and debate in a democracy. For example, if I was to say out loud that America was not, is not, and never shall be a Christian country, I would be a target for lynching and car-bombing these days. And yet, America is not a Christian country; it is a FREE country, where no national religion can ever be established BY LAW. This fact stuns and angers many Americans, particularly in a time when they feel threatened by the realities that Americans may no longer have the highest standard of living, no longer have the best health care system, no longer have the top educational system, no longer have the safest economy, the safest food supply, the most secure jobs, the most solvent banks....or even the shreds of the so-called "American Dream."
Hard times indeed. I can forgive anyone for being angry, most especially the legions of of young people for whom all American promises seem to have been broken, but I won't tolerate anyone bullying me.
About facism, the new American challenge
The term fascist
comes
from Latin “fasces.”
Fasces were bundles of rods tied around an ax which were a symbol of
the authority of the Roman empire. They were carried by certain of
the Roman emperor's lieutenants. That symbol of authority meant that
the carriers of it could, if they chose, kill those they deemed
enemies of the state (Rome).
The most useful way to
detect modern fascism, which people mainly ascribe to Hitler and his
so-called “Third Reich” (although nothing about fascism as an
ideology is unique to Hitler or to Germany), was outlined by Umberto
Ecco, an Italian writer and thinker of some renown who lived through
the fascist dictatorship of the 1930s-1940s in Europe. He has
outlined 14 characteristics of “fascism”, and they are
more important than ever for enlightened citizens in a democratic
Republic to both memorize, and, to teach to their children (for
critical thinking skill and the ability to detect anti-democratic
ideologies is usually never taught in American public or private
schools).
By using the term
“Ur-Fascism” in his original 14 points, Ecco attempted to capture
this ideology without reference to any specific time, place, state,
or regime. I attempt the same herein, hastening to say that there is
no one, single fascist threat in my view, but rather many of
them which seem to be gathering influence in America. Please read
Ecco's own words, readily available on the Internet...at least for
now...!
Here I outline, with
the help of Ecco's own language, his 14 characteristics of fascim.
Please
note, however, that nothing in these 14 critical aspects suggests
that any American guarding against fascism must thus be against free
speech, or a strong and regulated military, or naturally opinionated
political leaders, second amendment rights, or enlightened regulation
of immigration. Neither does it demand that those who guard against
fascism should support every human rights lobby that clamors for
legal rights or for an end to all censorship!
I write this because of the disturbing rise in the number of voices
in America who cry loudly that there is only ONE way, only ONE truth,
only ONE light;
who separate people into those who are with us and those against us;
who want to stop the teaching of thinking and the reading of books
they “suspect” in our public and private schools; who are forming
isolationist communities of extreme fear and prejudice supported by
their own media, schooling, places of worship that stand against
democratic values. These people are not one enemy or only one group,
but instead reflect a fascist trend which posits that, in these
uncertain times, we must suspend reasoning, dis-believe science and
research, be suspicious of those different from us, set aside
democracy, and instead join a mythic quest to “return” to a
vague, or worse, impossible (!), set of values in this 21st century
world. This trend denies complexity, refuses discussion, quashes
debate and free speech, labels objectors as “traitors,” bullies
our government, denies the value of journalism's “fourth estate,”
listens to no voices but its own, despises intellect and humanism,
and occasionally promotes violence toward people like you who will
now choose to read Ecco's 14 points:
1.
The first feature of fascism is the
cult of tradition.
In the mindset of a cult of tradition, there can be no advancement
of learning. Truth has been already spelled out once and for all, and
we can only keep interpreting its message, known only to
self-designated “experts.” Citizens will be told that the truth
can ONLY be found in one book, one religious tract, one theology, one
ideology, one politics. All else is traitorous, thus exposing the
cult of tradition as a prime example of the black/white or either/or
logical fallacy (see “logical fallacies” at
www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies)
2.
Fascists reject modernism, even though modern technology and
the latest police and military tools are matters of great pride to
their regimes. The Western Enlightenment (the Age of Reason) is
viewed by fascists as the beginning of modern depravity and decline.
They complain mightily of the breakdown of_____?____ (family, moral
authority, old-time religion, etc...it is easy to fill in this blank
for anyone who reads a newspaper).
3.
Facism's irrationality depends on action for action's sake,
where taking action is often seen as beautiful and noble. Action
must be taken without reflection, since thinking too much is
cowardice and calls patriotism and masculinity into question.
Thinkers and intellectuals are always suspect, frequently referred
to as “effete,” “elitist,” “ivory tower intellectuals,”
“eggheads,” or “snobs.” Hermann Goering is alleged to have
said: "When I hear talk of culture I reach for my gun,”
presumably because such conversation betrayed the cult of tradition
and the refusal to reject modernism.
4.
For Facscists, disagreement is treason. They reject analysis
(“paralysis through analysis”) for it could threaten the cult of
tradition and also delay immediate action. One must listen,
believe, act.
5.
Fascists always exploit the fear of what is different, most
especially different culture, religion, race, gender, sexuality,
and/or ethnicity. These are seen as threats, intruders, disrupters
of some “natural” order and by-gone standards.
6.
Fascism tends to rise when people feel angry and dispossessed.
When whole nations embrace fascism, it is often because they cannot
admit they no longer have wealth, power, and or prestige they once
enjoyed; that their standard of living is perceived to have
declined; that they feel “under attack” and want simple,
decisive retaliations. More simply, their people are afraid,
and yearn for simple solutions and a return to a simpler time. Fear
leads to a rise in mystical religion-ism, a desire for isolation
from the world, and tendency to turn to “strong-man” leadership.
“Fascist” responses might also happen in the culture of an
institution or corporation,...perhaps not harmful to a nation, but
clearly harmful to those living within them.
7.
People in fear tend to turn to the one thing that is a clear
identity for them: being born in the same place. Fascism feeds
this by urging exclusion of “foreigners,” radical punishments
for those deemed “alien,” application of simplistic formulas for
who is “us” and who is “them,” arguing for a strong
military not merely for fighting invasions, but for “policing”
the citizens – who are also urged to report suspicious behaviors
to them. Fascists want citizens to live in perpetual fear, and
believe that there are vast plots against them. The “enemy” is
always embodied in a single word: “communist,” “socialist,”
“Muslim,” Jew,” “liberal,” “traitor,” and ironically,
“fascism” itself! It is instructive to recall that Hitler's
German supporters acted for the “Fatherland.”
8.
Fascism portrays it's enemies as powerful and devious,
feeding people's fears that they themselves are not in control, or
that the world is spinning out of their control. After all, if the
enemy is not depicted as powerful and overwhelming, there is not so
much to fear.
9.
Because enemies are powerful, fascists depict life as a struggle
for survival, never a quest for diplomatic solutions, detente,
individual expression, change, a new way of life, or peace. Those
who offer such solutions are depicted as weaklings and traitors. A
problem all fascists face is that once so powerful an enemy has
successfully been created, no final end to the conflict against it
can exist, and, of course, people do grow weary of fighting with no
end, no victory in sight. Fascism must constantly find new ways to
energize fear and keep the “war” going: new incidents, new
atrocities, new horrors, new threats.
10.
Fascism's power does not come from open discussion, critical debate,
analysis, or democracy; fascism comes to power from bullying and
force, having created the conditions described in 1-9 above.
But to win through bullying is to have contempt for the weakness of
those citizens who have been successfully bullied; thus, fascists
have nothing but contempt for those they have persuaded to follow
them. Such contempt (these days often a mash-up of Machiavelli and
SunTzu and Dick Cheney) justifies ever more strident and autocratic
leadership. The weak must be guided, shaped, ruled, threatened, and
then rejoice at having been saved and remaining subordinate. Every
fascist “Caesar” is, however, constantly fearful of the
“Cassius-ness” of individual humans making up the masses:
“Beware yond Cassius. He hath a lean and hungry look. He thinks
too much. Such men are dangerous!”
11.
Fascism controls citizens through force, but also by creating
myth. In the myth, dying for a cause is great and noble, death
is not to be feared, and suffering is part of a grand quest,...often
for a reward in some imagined heaven or an afterlife or an eternal
fame. Thus, everyone is urged to be a mythic hero, and a test of
one's loyalty is their willingness to die for a cause. Blood
rituals, often secret and tailored to hierarchies of privilege, are
often used to extract and affirm this willingness.
12.
People grow weary of war and hard-to-attain heroism, so Fascism
again resorts to human sexuality, which is a powerful influence.
Typically, to be weak or rebellious is depicted as being infantile,
a-”sexual, homosexual, girlish,” perverted, or sexually
impotent. It is not a coincidence that fascist propaganda depicts
mostly masculine figures, sexual symbols of machismo, and physical
domination. In a fascist mindset, the gun is the most powerful
(phallic) symbol of sexual potency.
13.
For fascists, individuals have no rights...no rights to be
unique, to choose, to think, to question, to change, to grow, to
self-rule,...even to live. The people are seen as “us,” never
individual “I” or “you”. People are required only to be of
“The People,” the mass with one common and supposedly noble will.
14.
Fascism “speaks newspeak.” Newspeak was invented by George
Orwell, in his novel
1984,
as the official language of “Ingsoc” (Eng-lish
Soc-ialism). Fascists exploit language in order to limit
reasoning and individual critical thinking. They reduce words
describing their enemies to simple single words. They argue for
action using slogans (“the time is now” or “take back our
beloved country”). Worse, they strive to change the connotative or
even the literal meaning of words, such as, for example,
“conservative” or “intellectual” or “patriot.”
“Newspeak” is especially dangerous in today's digital world,
where words and slogans can spread with exponential speed over the
Internet, where digital spying can identify individuals using taboo
or suspect words or phrases in writing or in electronic conversation,
and where words/phrases/whole chapters in textbooks can be altered
forever within the time of several keystrokes.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Twitter twit
I have begun to realize that Twitter, the contents of which are often sophomoric, is designed to make people like me feel like high school sophomores again. By that I mean it is a competition to see who has the most friends. The emphasis is on "most" not "friends". This explains why it has quickly become a marketing tool for the famous and wanna-be-famous. Apparently one links oneself to a thousand sites, ever trolling for more "fans". The implied result is that one is fascinating and worth following so that the world can know, for example, what you had for breakfast.
Chicagoan Bob Sirott once described Twitter as this: "I am eating a cheese Danish." It may be about being famous for fifteen minutes every fifteen minutes, yet it is undoubtedly alluring, and I think it has surpassed Facebook as THE social site (I hesitate to use the word "networking" here...), because it is instant, like a shout of joy or a conversational interjection. It says (much more than the plodding Facebook post) "I am here in this instant in a place that is real and I am alive and I am me!"
So I suppose I am sad that few care that I am here, now, and alive. Yet, on top of that I am sad for the legions of the wanna-be-famous. What will the trail of twitters add up to when your star has fallen, or worse (?) has yet to ever rise? "I knew so and so...I was once somebody...I am still here in this instant...but it seems no longer to matter now that my "friends" who follow the once-great me are only Twitter sites for organizations, clubs, causes, and manufacturers.....where did all the people go?"
Oh well, I am just a twitter twit...who could never have boiled the preceding midnight ramble into 140 characters.
Chicagoan Bob Sirott once described Twitter as this: "I am eating a cheese Danish." It may be about being famous for fifteen minutes every fifteen minutes, yet it is undoubtedly alluring, and I think it has surpassed Facebook as THE social site (I hesitate to use the word "networking" here...), because it is instant, like a shout of joy or a conversational interjection. It says (much more than the plodding Facebook post) "I am here in this instant in a place that is real and I am alive and I am me!"
So I suppose I am sad that few care that I am here, now, and alive. Yet, on top of that I am sad for the legions of the wanna-be-famous. What will the trail of twitters add up to when your star has fallen, or worse (?) has yet to ever rise? "I knew so and so...I was once somebody...I am still here in this instant...but it seems no longer to matter now that my "friends" who follow the once-great me are only Twitter sites for organizations, clubs, causes, and manufacturers.....where did all the people go?"
Oh well, I am just a twitter twit...who could never have boiled the preceding midnight ramble into 140 characters.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Musings about racing...
-->
course, generically lonely, filled with down time and travel, with low job
security, frequent trades to other teams, moving oneself and/or family,
omnipresence of drugs and alcohol for self-medication and/or physical
endurance, the bad nutrition on the road, fickle fans who want super-human
and error-free performances, paparazzi (or perhaps worse, the obvious neglect
of the media), “stage-door” fans who want to notch their guns with more than
autographs, grueling and fickle weather for those who play outdoors, and the
strain placed on any long-term relationship attempts. Racers, however, have a
unique dilemma.
Racing, unlike soccer or even down-hill skiing, involves taking life-threatening risks. It involves trusting the thousand myriad parts of a dumb machine (and the expertise of those who maintain it), and also the dozens of driver’s personalities who will practice their skill only feet away from each other…all at three times the speeds most people drive. It is no wonder that drivers are a very “closed” and tightly knit community, but also that this very closeness brings on its own stresses. Friendships or romances in this setting are fragile indeed. Today’s friend disappears to race in Europe, becomes my most daring competitor who will know all too well my fears and hesitancies, becomes a part of a rival team, will make a mistake in setting up my car, will mis-quote me to the press. The stock response is that “we leave all that on the race track;” however, real humans don’t function with such a black and white compartmentalization of life.
Add to the list of stresses that fact that the owners and sponsors really don’t care very much about racers’ psychological needs. In the business of racing, it’s win or place and show the logos….or find someone who can win or place.
Consider, too, the worst stress of all: youth. Drivers in world competition grow younger and younger. In essence, many are going through adolescence….many of them still technically in school but often far, far from home. The twenty-somethings live with the stresses of that stage of development, and can become conflicted about their trajectory: “will I/can I find a stable relationship, put down true roots, be a provider for some significant other(s)?” Females in racing don’t lock away awareness of their biological clock either, and it goes without saying that living in a sport born of testosterone isn’t easy for women.
Are there any racer psychologists? Is social Darwinism the only life philosophy of the racing business? Can friends de-stress themselves during the long January nights in the small apartments a few miles from the shop, or all alone with the American TV blaring…wondering if they‘ll have a ride? Or…do even the women have to “man up” and deal with it alone?
Friday, January 9, 2009
Illinois' narcissistic governor
Rod Blagojevich, embattled governor of the state of Illinois, clearly suffers from a well-documented personality disorder, narcissism, which causes enormous suffering to others both in public and private, and is akin to alcoholism and schizophrenia in terms of the damage caused to others. It's definition and traits follow:
"Narcissistic personality disorder is a condition characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance and an extreme preoccupation with one's self.
Symptoms
A person with narcissistic personality disorder:
* Reacts to criticism with feelings or rage, shame, or humiliation
*Takes advantage of others, even children, to achieve own goals
*Has feelings of self-importance
*Exaggerates achievements and talents
*Is preoccupied with fantasies of success, power, perfect health, beauty, intelligence, or ideal love
*Has unreasonable expectations of favorable treatment from everyone surrounding them
*Requires constant attention and admiration from others
*Lacks empathy; unable to see the viewpoints of others
Causes
The cause of this disorder is unknown. Narcissistic personality disorder usually begins by early adulthood and is marked by disregard for the feelings of others, grandiosity, obsessive self-interest, and the pursuit of primarily selfish goals.
Other symptoms and examples:
The cocky photo of a young Blagojevich in the recent news media, the would-be boxer who views himself proudly as a fighter who fights to win, is typical of an adolescent narcissist who postures being an expert with no real expertise.
Narcissism has early onset, particularly manifest in early adolescence, when such a person's combativeness with parents and siblings may assume abnormal extremes. These extremes then follow into adult life, and are aggravated under stress. Narcissists always exhibit adolescent behavior when they are upset, despite their chronological age, and the more loudly they proclaim their maturity or adult superiority, the more they remain trapped in adolescent patterns of behavior such as feuding, being spiteful toward others, poisoning others with gossip, etc. Mature adults understand that change is inevitable, control of others is impossible, and control of one's destiny is a falsehood; however, narcissists will frequently be heard making loud and absolute proclamations of absolute control and authority: “I will never...”, “You will never ...” “They will never...” -- as though they can control time, other people, and human events.
Other notable signs of the disorder include:
*refusing to speak to a family member/formerly close friend or even to acknowledge their physical presence for hours, days, months, or even years, due to some perceived slight or insult.
*running away from home, and not returning until lists of demanded conditions must be met -- since they perceive their constant needs have not been attended to adequately. Similarly, they will issue absolute decrees in their home about how all others shall always and ever behave.
* obsessiveness, most especially related to food and exercise, and forcing opinions about these obsessions upon others. If attention is not paid to their point of view, insult will be felt.
*Obsession with hair, make-up, and/or clothing, or an obsessive lack of attention to these. Blagojevich's obsession with his hair is well-documented. Insistence about appearance, about what is right to wear versus wrong to wear, etc. are a mark of control issues.
*feelings that only one way of doing things, or one way of thinking about things, exists. Such persons do not acknowledge the existence of the “either-or ” logical fallacy; they believe they are right, have always been right, and all others are wrong; and thus, the error of other people's ways must always be pointed out to them.
*obsessive exercise routines, often involving hours and hours of jogging/biking/lifting weights, during which time the person reviews over and over what recent disturbances or perceived insults have occurred, gradually rationalizing everything to be an attack upon them. During these ritualistic episodes, the person can often be observed muttering to themselves, clenching their teeth, or growling.
*Use of other people as pawns to achieve their ends, or, to punish those who are perceived to be attackers – this includes using their children, spouses, parents, mutual friends, school personnel, and any other members of a shared social network as tools to gain attention to themselves. Narcissists will steadfastly stand watch over all others they wish to “use” in order to assure that they are not being “disloyal”. Since they perceive that they are right, and others are wrongful/immoral/unethical/ attackers, they believe they are serving the best interests of the people they use as their pawns
* A pattern of constantly losing former close friends, constantly warring with siblings, constantly losing or changing jobs over issues of who is right and who is wrong are typical of narissists.
*Narcissists will spy on their own parents,siblings, children and/or spouses, viewing their private diaries, checking cell phone histories, tracking all websites visited, eavesdropping on e-mails, searching bedrooms for any signs of straying from the rules or consorting with the “wrong” people. They will often not allow any independent forms of communication to their own children out of fear of losing control over them (ie, no cell phones, e-mail, texting, and no mail that is not first opened by, or "read over the shoulder" by the narcissist.
*Narcissists are deeply suspicious of people who are psychologists or religionists, because on the one hand such people can lay claim to scientific research and experience that proves the truth, and/or on the other hand, espouse a faith that reveals “truth” to them. In either case, anyone with higher or professional authority is a threat to a narcissist's internal "understanding" of “truth”. Narcissists will sometimes defend their authority by finding a highly self-righteous religious or political group, and then use it's beliefs to bolster their “infallibility” -- always in ways that are not open to logical proof or logical argumentation by any one, even professional experts.
*Often are unable to hold a full-time job, maintain career, attain any authentic professional degree status, or, stay in any one line of work for long -- because the longer they stay in a job, the more their infallibility will be called into question. They will be unable to deal with any authority figures who are in a position to tell what must be done and how it must be done. In the narcissist's mind, they are the only ones who“truly know”, and any authority is subject to their approval or denial in all cases.
*Often narcissists will particularly see same-sex persons as a threat, especially if they are of different physical type/stature, race, ethnicity, beauty, or accomplishments. Narcissists are often misogynists, and/or racists, and hold other deep-seated and often virulent prejudices against people perceived to be 'not like me.' In extreme situations, they will talk about how they would “kill” such rivals, how these rivals deserve to be killed or exiled forever, or even how they would “die” before allowing such rivals any authority or power. Blagojevich even now speaks of "bringing down the Madigan brand.'
*All narcissists see arguing only as a 'blood-sport,' rather than a struggle to reach agreement or consensus. Narcissists argue ONLY to win and to always have the last word, ...not to listen, not to learn, not to empathize. As parents, narcissists will have frequent problems with their children, especially their adolescent children, who will begin the normal process of breaking away from the home, and thus, breaking away from the narcissist's authority and control.
*Bully and threaten other people even if they have absolutely no real resources, or leverage, or power to do so. They can be heard screaming “I'll do what I want” or “You'll do as I say!” or “You'll never have ...x... again!”. Governor Blagojevich's cavalier disregard for other law-makers continued happening EVEN AFTER his own ARREST! His emerging defense seems not to be about his guilt/innocence, but about control of and retribution to perceived attackers. Like all narcissists, he speaks in terms of fighting “to the death” or “to his last breath”. As with all narcissists, whatever happens is always about them and centers upon them, never really about other people or issues.
*Only very rarely will narcissists submit themselves to psycho-therapy or counseling; if they do, they will immediately find faults with the counselor, subsequently feel under attack, and finally refuse to continue the counseling as soon as any hint of the possibility of their being wrong or being mistaken surfaces in the counseling. Narcissists are among the humans who are least able to engage in self-reflection. They see themselves, by definition of their existence, as right and logical and faultless and deserving of everyone's attention and adoration.
Narcissists emerge in many professions, but are attracted to teaching, law, preaching, and even counseling itself, because these are professional activities that, once a person is allowed into the profession, automatically confer an unassailable position of professional status and of “being right”. Narcissistic teachers and preachers are able to hide behind closed doors, with hardly any official over-sight, and, are often in front of 'clients' who by virtue of their age or mental condition are powerless and must listen to them unquestioningly. Seeking this position-power is also typical of narcissists who stay at home rearing children, only with the added twist that they then have parental authority as well.
More narcissists seem to seek elementary education, because in secondary education and higher education, adolescents and adult students are too smart, too cynical, and too rebellious for narcissists to create a constantly controlled and adoring circle. Elementary youngsters are much easier to manipulate. In politics, narcissists will keep a loyal groups of apologists (one thinks of Nixon, Blagojevich, Jim Bakker) even despite any public loss or humiliation. In religion (and also things they have made into a quasi-religion such as exercise or diet), narcissists viciously guard the status quo, in which they can remain the center of all power and all attention. This is also true in the family setting, especially whenever any new situation, new person, new neighbor, or other new or outside 'threats' to their control are perceived, and thus also threaten the constant attention they believe should be given to them.
Narcissists are doomed to have epic battles for control and attention when their own children become normally rebellious adolescents, and they will sadly often cause their stressed-out children to self-medicate, engage in risky behaviors, deliberately dis-obey rules, and even run away from home, and/or run off at a very young age with a person who will protect them and/or give them the unselfish attention they need and which the narcissist parent is incapable of honestly giving. Often, these kinds of behaviors have already happened between the narcissist and his/her sibling(s) where, for example, a brother, sister, or step-parent has already chosen to completely cut off any ties or any social relations with the narcissist due to their fears of, or, their weariness of dealing with constantly being tested and judged and told what to think. It is noteworthy that not one member of Blagovevich's own childhood family has proclaimed his innocence. His spouses family immediately tried to rescue their daughter from him.
Surprisingly, because narcissists are often also bi-polar personalities, they may be seen by a distant public as wonderful, friendly, caring individuals, and may be given all sorts of public praise (just as Blagojevich is even now seen by some as a wonderful man crusading to end corruption in the state). However, those who must work with them, supervise them, or live with them know that Dr. Jekyll is really most often Mr. Hyde. Reports about Blaogjevich are surfacing that while he was a smiling Cubs fan/friend of the poor/carer of the sick and poor, that behind the scenes he would fly into screaming rages at his staff, instructed everyone that the prime objective was to “bring down the Madigan brand”, hated Barack Obama because he was utterly jealous of him, and hid at home giving instructions to his staff via voice mail and conference call – apparently too cowardly to truly face people, and when he did face them, was often unable to argue rationally.
In their families as in their public life, narcissists suffer terribly due to their condition, since it takes enormous energy to constantly -- 24 hours a day and seven days a week -- thrust themselves into the limelight while also mounting elaborate defenses, rationalizations, and counter-assaults against perceived enemies and rivals for attention. However, because they can be expert manipulators, they often get help from a parent or significant other person who “enables” them and may have long-enabled their behaviors -- someone who typically rushes to pay attention to their needs, who may alter their entire lives or travel great distances to lavish attention onto the narcissist. Such 'enablers' rush to smooth over a narcissist's outbursts, reckless words, running away from responsibility, or other hurtful behaviors -- often in the name of keeping peace in a family rather than facing the hurtful person who desperately needs psychotherapy. Normal parents or spouses rush to attend to their children or mate, but they do such things by rational choice; an 'enabling' parent or spouse of a narcissist is utterly controlled BY the narcissist, and therefore feels bound to spring into action by virtue of the narcissist's bad behaviors. This process is much the same with parents of alcoholics in families, who will go to great lengths to disguise and excuse the problem of alcoholism.Blagojevich's enablers are, of course, all poltical people who have eagerly sought to get wealth and status from his office.
A narcissist's circumstances are even more psychologically complex if he/she was raised by grandparents rather than by birth parents, or, if he/she was adopted. The complication comes because of deep-seated angers about having been utterly rejected by birth parents. The angers lingering from childhood may persist, and if left untreated or unresolved, no amount of attention or obedience will ever be enough from any other human being.
Other life events involving rejection may add to the fuel for a narcissistic personality disorder: traumatic divorce of parents, being abnormally small or frail and thus teased and/or rejected at a young age, being an adopted child in a mixed family, abandonment due to the death of a loved one, or even guilt over the death of a sibling.
TREATMENT:
Most narcissists refuse any kind of treatment and will even ignore a total family intervention. In their minds, the world owes them total attention, they are and always have been completely right, and there can be no rational discussion with others. Psycho-active drugs given to bi-polar patients can have some positive effect with narcissists, but narcissists are suspicious of all drugs, because they are a threat to their control. Counseling can help, but is expensive, and often takes many years -- during which time the narcissist will find hundreds of excuses to quit. Counseling will be difficult, because it will need to probe root causes, sometimes not consciously recalled, and often exploring far back into childhood experiences of loss, rejection, or abuse that are likely extremely painful life-changing events.
The people who must live with an un-treated narcissist are like those in the families of alcoholics...theirs will be a daily roller coaster ride, in which every single day, like Blagojevich's staff and family, everyone will whisper "what mood is she/he in? Who does she/he hate now??"
Impeachment (like a divorce) will do nothing to "cure" a narcissist. Even if they are the last person standing in an empty field in an empty country, they will scream their perfection to the air. Blagojevich will face federal charges in a federal court and it is only there, in a court of law, that a judge can legally require a court-ordered psychiatrict evaluation, which any defendant cannot ignore on pain of being held in contempt and subsequently thrown into jail. However, unless they become violent, narcissists rarely allow themselves to lose control to the ultimate public authority: the courts.
If they do become violent, enormous damage can be done without anyone able to stop it: the woman who poisoned her children in Naperville several years ago, or the woman on the east coast who drove the car containing her children into the water and drowned them all, or Jim Jones who forced his followers to obey the ultimate act of obedience and adoration....these were likely all deranged narcissists who rationalized that only death would take everyone to a place where the narcissist would finally be God, adored by all."
"Narcissistic personality disorder is a condition characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance and an extreme preoccupation with one's self.
Symptoms
A person with narcissistic personality disorder:
* Reacts to criticism with feelings or rage, shame, or humiliation
*Takes advantage of others, even children, to achieve own goals
*Has feelings of self-importance
*Exaggerates achievements and talents
*Is preoccupied with fantasies of success, power, perfect health, beauty, intelligence, or ideal love
*Has unreasonable expectations of favorable treatment from everyone surrounding them
*Requires constant attention and admiration from others
*Lacks empathy; unable to see the viewpoints of others
Causes
The cause of this disorder is unknown. Narcissistic personality disorder usually begins by early adulthood and is marked by disregard for the feelings of others, grandiosity, obsessive self-interest, and the pursuit of primarily selfish goals.
Other symptoms and examples:
The cocky photo of a young Blagojevich in the recent news media, the would-be boxer who views himself proudly as a fighter who fights to win, is typical of an adolescent narcissist who postures being an expert with no real expertise.
Narcissism has early onset, particularly manifest in early adolescence, when such a person's combativeness with parents and siblings may assume abnormal extremes. These extremes then follow into adult life, and are aggravated under stress. Narcissists always exhibit adolescent behavior when they are upset, despite their chronological age, and the more loudly they proclaim their maturity or adult superiority, the more they remain trapped in adolescent patterns of behavior such as feuding, being spiteful toward others, poisoning others with gossip, etc. Mature adults understand that change is inevitable, control of others is impossible, and control of one's destiny is a falsehood; however, narcissists will frequently be heard making loud and absolute proclamations of absolute control and authority: “I will never...”, “You will never ...” “They will never...” -- as though they can control time, other people, and human events.
Other notable signs of the disorder include:
*refusing to speak to a family member/formerly close friend or even to acknowledge their physical presence for hours, days, months, or even years, due to some perceived slight or insult.
*running away from home, and not returning until lists of demanded conditions must be met -- since they perceive their constant needs have not been attended to adequately. Similarly, they will issue absolute decrees in their home about how all others shall always and ever behave.
* obsessiveness, most especially related to food and exercise, and forcing opinions about these obsessions upon others. If attention is not paid to their point of view, insult will be felt.
*Obsession with hair, make-up, and/or clothing, or an obsessive lack of attention to these. Blagojevich's obsession with his hair is well-documented. Insistence about appearance, about what is right to wear versus wrong to wear, etc. are a mark of control issues.
*feelings that only one way of doing things, or one way of thinking about things, exists. Such persons do not acknowledge the existence of the “either-or ” logical fallacy; they believe they are right, have always been right, and all others are wrong; and thus, the error of other people's ways must always be pointed out to them.
*obsessive exercise routines, often involving hours and hours of jogging/biking/lifting weights, during which time the person reviews over and over what recent disturbances or perceived insults have occurred, gradually rationalizing everything to be an attack upon them. During these ritualistic episodes, the person can often be observed muttering to themselves, clenching their teeth, or growling.
*Use of other people as pawns to achieve their ends, or, to punish those who are perceived to be attackers – this includes using their children, spouses, parents, mutual friends, school personnel, and any other members of a shared social network as tools to gain attention to themselves. Narcissists will steadfastly stand watch over all others they wish to “use” in order to assure that they are not being “disloyal”. Since they perceive that they are right, and others are wrongful/immoral/unethical/ attackers, they believe they are serving the best interests of the people they use as their pawns
* A pattern of constantly losing former close friends, constantly warring with siblings, constantly losing or changing jobs over issues of who is right and who is wrong are typical of narissists.
*Narcissists will spy on their own parents,siblings, children and/or spouses, viewing their private diaries, checking cell phone histories, tracking all websites visited, eavesdropping on e-mails, searching bedrooms for any signs of straying from the rules or consorting with the “wrong” people. They will often not allow any independent forms of communication to their own children out of fear of losing control over them (ie, no cell phones, e-mail, texting, and no mail that is not first opened by, or "read over the shoulder" by the narcissist.
*Narcissists are deeply suspicious of people who are psychologists or religionists, because on the one hand such people can lay claim to scientific research and experience that proves the truth, and/or on the other hand, espouse a faith that reveals “truth” to them. In either case, anyone with higher or professional authority is a threat to a narcissist's internal "understanding" of “truth”. Narcissists will sometimes defend their authority by finding a highly self-righteous religious or political group, and then use it's beliefs to bolster their “infallibility” -- always in ways that are not open to logical proof or logical argumentation by any one, even professional experts.
*Often are unable to hold a full-time job, maintain career, attain any authentic professional degree status, or, stay in any one line of work for long -- because the longer they stay in a job, the more their infallibility will be called into question. They will be unable to deal with any authority figures who are in a position to tell what must be done and how it must be done. In the narcissist's mind, they are the only ones who“truly know”, and any authority is subject to their approval or denial in all cases.
*Often narcissists will particularly see same-sex persons as a threat, especially if they are of different physical type/stature, race, ethnicity, beauty, or accomplishments. Narcissists are often misogynists, and/or racists, and hold other deep-seated and often virulent prejudices against people perceived to be 'not like me.' In extreme situations, they will talk about how they would “kill” such rivals, how these rivals deserve to be killed or exiled forever, or even how they would “die” before allowing such rivals any authority or power. Blagojevich even now speaks of "bringing down the Madigan brand.'
*All narcissists see arguing only as a 'blood-sport,' rather than a struggle to reach agreement or consensus. Narcissists argue ONLY to win and to always have the last word, ...not to listen, not to learn, not to empathize. As parents, narcissists will have frequent problems with their children, especially their adolescent children, who will begin the normal process of breaking away from the home, and thus, breaking away from the narcissist's authority and control.
*Bully and threaten other people even if they have absolutely no real resources, or leverage, or power to do so. They can be heard screaming “I'll do what I want” or “You'll do as I say!” or “You'll never have ...x... again!”. Governor Blagojevich's cavalier disregard for other law-makers continued happening EVEN AFTER his own ARREST! His emerging defense seems not to be about his guilt/innocence, but about control of and retribution to perceived attackers. Like all narcissists, he speaks in terms of fighting “to the death” or “to his last breath”. As with all narcissists, whatever happens is always about them and centers upon them, never really about other people or issues.
*Only very rarely will narcissists submit themselves to psycho-therapy or counseling; if they do, they will immediately find faults with the counselor, subsequently feel under attack, and finally refuse to continue the counseling as soon as any hint of the possibility of their being wrong or being mistaken surfaces in the counseling. Narcissists are among the humans who are least able to engage in self-reflection. They see themselves, by definition of their existence, as right and logical and faultless and deserving of everyone's attention and adoration.
Narcissists emerge in many professions, but are attracted to teaching, law, preaching, and even counseling itself, because these are professional activities that, once a person is allowed into the profession, automatically confer an unassailable position of professional status and of “being right”. Narcissistic teachers and preachers are able to hide behind closed doors, with hardly any official over-sight, and, are often in front of 'clients' who by virtue of their age or mental condition are powerless and must listen to them unquestioningly. Seeking this position-power is also typical of narcissists who stay at home rearing children, only with the added twist that they then have parental authority as well.
More narcissists seem to seek elementary education, because in secondary education and higher education, adolescents and adult students are too smart, too cynical, and too rebellious for narcissists to create a constantly controlled and adoring circle. Elementary youngsters are much easier to manipulate. In politics, narcissists will keep a loyal groups of apologists (one thinks of Nixon, Blagojevich, Jim Bakker) even despite any public loss or humiliation. In religion (and also things they have made into a quasi-religion such as exercise or diet), narcissists viciously guard the status quo, in which they can remain the center of all power and all attention. This is also true in the family setting, especially whenever any new situation, new person, new neighbor, or other new or outside 'threats' to their control are perceived, and thus also threaten the constant attention they believe should be given to them.
Narcissists are doomed to have epic battles for control and attention when their own children become normally rebellious adolescents, and they will sadly often cause their stressed-out children to self-medicate, engage in risky behaviors, deliberately dis-obey rules, and even run away from home, and/or run off at a very young age with a person who will protect them and/or give them the unselfish attention they need and which the narcissist parent is incapable of honestly giving. Often, these kinds of behaviors have already happened between the narcissist and his/her sibling(s) where, for example, a brother, sister, or step-parent has already chosen to completely cut off any ties or any social relations with the narcissist due to their fears of, or, their weariness of dealing with constantly being tested and judged and told what to think. It is noteworthy that not one member of Blagovevich's own childhood family has proclaimed his innocence. His spouses family immediately tried to rescue their daughter from him.
Surprisingly, because narcissists are often also bi-polar personalities, they may be seen by a distant public as wonderful, friendly, caring individuals, and may be given all sorts of public praise (just as Blagojevich is even now seen by some as a wonderful man crusading to end corruption in the state). However, those who must work with them, supervise them, or live with them know that Dr. Jekyll is really most often Mr. Hyde. Reports about Blaogjevich are surfacing that while he was a smiling Cubs fan/friend of the poor/carer of the sick and poor, that behind the scenes he would fly into screaming rages at his staff, instructed everyone that the prime objective was to “bring down the Madigan brand”, hated Barack Obama because he was utterly jealous of him, and hid at home giving instructions to his staff via voice mail and conference call – apparently too cowardly to truly face people, and when he did face them, was often unable to argue rationally.
In their families as in their public life, narcissists suffer terribly due to their condition, since it takes enormous energy to constantly -- 24 hours a day and seven days a week -- thrust themselves into the limelight while also mounting elaborate defenses, rationalizations, and counter-assaults against perceived enemies and rivals for attention. However, because they can be expert manipulators, they often get help from a parent or significant other person who “enables” them and may have long-enabled their behaviors -- someone who typically rushes to pay attention to their needs, who may alter their entire lives or travel great distances to lavish attention onto the narcissist. Such 'enablers' rush to smooth over a narcissist's outbursts, reckless words, running away from responsibility, or other hurtful behaviors -- often in the name of keeping peace in a family rather than facing the hurtful person who desperately needs psychotherapy. Normal parents or spouses rush to attend to their children or mate, but they do such things by rational choice; an 'enabling' parent or spouse of a narcissist is utterly controlled BY the narcissist, and therefore feels bound to spring into action by virtue of the narcissist's bad behaviors. This process is much the same with parents of alcoholics in families, who will go to great lengths to disguise and excuse the problem of alcoholism.Blagojevich's enablers are, of course, all poltical people who have eagerly sought to get wealth and status from his office.
A narcissist's circumstances are even more psychologically complex if he/she was raised by grandparents rather than by birth parents, or, if he/she was adopted. The complication comes because of deep-seated angers about having been utterly rejected by birth parents. The angers lingering from childhood may persist, and if left untreated or unresolved, no amount of attention or obedience will ever be enough from any other human being.
Other life events involving rejection may add to the fuel for a narcissistic personality disorder: traumatic divorce of parents, being abnormally small or frail and thus teased and/or rejected at a young age, being an adopted child in a mixed family, abandonment due to the death of a loved one, or even guilt over the death of a sibling.
TREATMENT:
Most narcissists refuse any kind of treatment and will even ignore a total family intervention. In their minds, the world owes them total attention, they are and always have been completely right, and there can be no rational discussion with others. Psycho-active drugs given to bi-polar patients can have some positive effect with narcissists, but narcissists are suspicious of all drugs, because they are a threat to their control. Counseling can help, but is expensive, and often takes many years -- during which time the narcissist will find hundreds of excuses to quit. Counseling will be difficult, because it will need to probe root causes, sometimes not consciously recalled, and often exploring far back into childhood experiences of loss, rejection, or abuse that are likely extremely painful life-changing events.
The people who must live with an un-treated narcissist are like those in the families of alcoholics...theirs will be a daily roller coaster ride, in which every single day, like Blagojevich's staff and family, everyone will whisper "what mood is she/he in? Who does she/he hate now??"
Impeachment (like a divorce) will do nothing to "cure" a narcissist. Even if they are the last person standing in an empty field in an empty country, they will scream their perfection to the air. Blagojevich will face federal charges in a federal court and it is only there, in a court of law, that a judge can legally require a court-ordered psychiatrict evaluation, which any defendant cannot ignore on pain of being held in contempt and subsequently thrown into jail. However, unless they become violent, narcissists rarely allow themselves to lose control to the ultimate public authority: the courts.
If they do become violent, enormous damage can be done without anyone able to stop it: the woman who poisoned her children in Naperville several years ago, or the woman on the east coast who drove the car containing her children into the water and drowned them all, or Jim Jones who forced his followers to obey the ultimate act of obedience and adoration....these were likely all deranged narcissists who rationalized that only death would take everyone to a place where the narcissist would finally be God, adored by all."
Monday, December 15, 2008
Corruption creep
Clemenza, consigliere to the Corleone family in the film "The Godfather" says to Michael after a mob war erupts: "Don't worry...these things happen...about every coupla years or so. It gets ridda the bad blood!" It appears our federal prosecutors list of over two dozen recent indictees in Illinois politics reveals the blood-letting is upon us. And, as all Illinoisans know, it has happened here before, and as a matter of fact, it will happen again. And... the melt down is at the same time a national one. Why?
Two reasons.
First, on the local level, Illinois history has ever and always been about bribery, real estate wheeling and dealing, the selling of offices, making big money, and taking advantage when you can. Recall Sandburg's poem about the brawling city of big shoulders. Illinois politics is the politics of Chicago. The players have always learned how to play the game in Chicago. Neigboring states like Wisconsin or Indiana have no such places as Chicago. Chicago, and hence Illinois, is the power bottleneck of the this entire nation. From the very beginning, by virtue of its location, it is strategic to the politics of transportation, manufacturing, commodities, and commerce -- all the sooty, dirty-hands work of our nation that New York is too cosmopolitan to stoop to, Los Angelas is too whacked out to recognize (except in the LAPD), and Washington D.C. needs. Political blood-letting takes place precisely for the same reasons as it once did among the crime families. Power gets lopsided -- somebody's cut is too big. Somebody has to take a fall.
Second, the blood-letting is part of the system itself. Right now, as in 1930, the average citizen has reason to doubt every banker, every broker, every politician, every CEO. Just as in the Great Depression, we have found out, in the words of Studs Terkel, that the "big boys ain't so bright" after all. It is natural to feel that our basic system has failed us once again. However, it would be the same were America socialist, communist, a monarchy, or even something else!
Greed runs in HUMAN cycles, regardless of governments, Greed and ethics run courses inverse to one another. A generation or two accomplishes marvelous feats and the wealth and power of their nation grows. They spoil their children, who then come to expect advantage and want even more wealth. The prevailing social culture of shared values slowly becomes replaced with individual greed, and competition for status and power. The media feed the frenzy with images of the super-rich. Entertainment lavishes billion dollar "salaries" on the sports gladiators of the day who may be too stupid to even graduate high school. It's OK though, it's a market...like everything is a market. Those who serve others become viewed as naive suckers who don't really rate: teachers, policemen, firemen, nurses. Religion sells itself out for a political stake, and leaders suddenly don't need to have divinity school credentials any longer. Race and ethnicity is about confrontation and jockeying for power. Media exhalts in reporting this circus, not the real news, and journalism itself starts to be about "marketing," which is even taught in public school. Presidents are elected on promises to special interests. The government thinks it can throw its weight around anywhere in the world and the result will be "shock and awe."
And so here we are again. It will all happen again in Illinois, and it will all happen again in this nation, regardless of whether our country's pitifully short flirtation with a republic/democracy actually lasts even ten percent as long as the empires of Egypt or Rome or England.
Truth is, we are all learning about ourselves, who WE are behind closed doors. "F" this, and "F" that; screw those people because I deserve more than they do; I should get seven figures because he is; I can run up the charges and tomorrow be damned; everybody cheats; I'm right and you're wrong; it's not gambling...it's "gaming"; everybody else is doing it; we deserve more because of a hundred past grievances I/we have decided exist; gimme, gimme, gimme more. And if I decide I have to have more, I will demand somebody just print up some more money and bail me out. And if they won't do it, I'll elect somebody like Rod, ....who will get it done for me!
Public school teachers, have been watching corruption creep for the past 30 years as their students and their spoiled Gen X and Gen Y parents demand high grades, sue more often, and shamelessly 'work' the schooling system. Cops have watched it infect public behavior. The coming decade of fall-out from corruption creep won't surprise any of them, although they, like all of us suckers, will be the ones hurt most.
Two reasons.
First, on the local level, Illinois history has ever and always been about bribery, real estate wheeling and dealing, the selling of offices, making big money, and taking advantage when you can. Recall Sandburg's poem about the brawling city of big shoulders. Illinois politics is the politics of Chicago. The players have always learned how to play the game in Chicago. Neigboring states like Wisconsin or Indiana have no such places as Chicago. Chicago, and hence Illinois, is the power bottleneck of the this entire nation. From the very beginning, by virtue of its location, it is strategic to the politics of transportation, manufacturing, commodities, and commerce -- all the sooty, dirty-hands work of our nation that New York is too cosmopolitan to stoop to, Los Angelas is too whacked out to recognize (except in the LAPD), and Washington D.C. needs. Political blood-letting takes place precisely for the same reasons as it once did among the crime families. Power gets lopsided -- somebody's cut is too big. Somebody has to take a fall.
Second, the blood-letting is part of the system itself. Right now, as in 1930, the average citizen has reason to doubt every banker, every broker, every politician, every CEO. Just as in the Great Depression, we have found out, in the words of Studs Terkel, that the "big boys ain't so bright" after all. It is natural to feel that our basic system has failed us once again. However, it would be the same were America socialist, communist, a monarchy, or even something else!
Greed runs in HUMAN cycles, regardless of governments, Greed and ethics run courses inverse to one another. A generation or two accomplishes marvelous feats and the wealth and power of their nation grows. They spoil their children, who then come to expect advantage and want even more wealth. The prevailing social culture of shared values slowly becomes replaced with individual greed, and competition for status and power. The media feed the frenzy with images of the super-rich. Entertainment lavishes billion dollar "salaries" on the sports gladiators of the day who may be too stupid to even graduate high school. It's OK though, it's a market...like everything is a market. Those who serve others become viewed as naive suckers who don't really rate: teachers, policemen, firemen, nurses. Religion sells itself out for a political stake, and leaders suddenly don't need to have divinity school credentials any longer. Race and ethnicity is about confrontation and jockeying for power. Media exhalts in reporting this circus, not the real news, and journalism itself starts to be about "marketing," which is even taught in public school. Presidents are elected on promises to special interests. The government thinks it can throw its weight around anywhere in the world and the result will be "shock and awe."
And so here we are again. It will all happen again in Illinois, and it will all happen again in this nation, regardless of whether our country's pitifully short flirtation with a republic/democracy actually lasts even ten percent as long as the empires of Egypt or Rome or England.
Truth is, we are all learning about ourselves, who WE are behind closed doors. "F" this, and "F" that; screw those people because I deserve more than they do; I should get seven figures because he is; I can run up the charges and tomorrow be damned; everybody cheats; I'm right and you're wrong; it's not gambling...it's "gaming"; everybody else is doing it; we deserve more because of a hundred past grievances I/we have decided exist; gimme, gimme, gimme more. And if I decide I have to have more, I will demand somebody just print up some more money and bail me out. And if they won't do it, I'll elect somebody like Rod, ....who will get it done for me!
Public school teachers, have been watching corruption creep for the past 30 years as their students and their spoiled Gen X and Gen Y parents demand high grades, sue more often, and shamelessly 'work' the schooling system. Cops have watched it infect public behavior. The coming decade of fall-out from corruption creep won't surprise any of them, although they, like all of us suckers, will be the ones hurt most.
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