Friday, August 27, 2021

It's All Fun & Games Until Your Delusions Collide with Reality

Generally speaking, things are never okay. Nor are they not okay. What mainly changes is the collective perception -- the group fantasy -- that things are or aren't okay. At the moment, the group fantasy that President Biden is okay -- that he is in charge of anything, including his own mind -- is crumbling. 

They gave me a list here... The first person I was instructed to call on was Kelly O'Donnell, NBC.

Thanks for the tip, Creepthroat! If I'm Kelly O'Donnell -- or a journalist, rather -- I'm obliged to cut out the muddleman and find out who they are: Who gave you the list, Grandpa? An extra scoop of ice cream if you can remember their names! 

In any event, this crumbling of the protective group fantasy leads to an upsurge of primitive emotions, including anxiety, fear, rage, and even panic. But it can also provoke primitive defense mechanisms such as denial. Wait -- are there still people in denial about Biden's cognitive dysfunction? 

It depends on what we mean by "denial, i.e., whether we mean it clinically or colloquially. People in the former category are just crazy and/or stupid and obedient, while folks in the latter category are either the usual cynical and manipulative political sociopaths, or else terrified for another reason, one that can be conveyed in two dreadful words: President and Harris

As is the case with the individual, the breakthrough of primitive emotion reveals what the defense mechanism had been defending against: individuals and groups inhabit fantasies of various kinds in order to ward off the emotions they would feel in their absence. When it happens to an individual, it's called "decompensation." When it happens to a group, it's called... 

I don't know if there's a specific word for it, but one can certainly see the effects of the crumbling group fantasy. But only those who weren't plugged into the fantasy can perceive it. Readers of this blog -- trolls excepted -- never adopted the delusion that Biden is in full possession of his faculties. We've been full of dread since last November, with no comforting delusions to distance ourselves from the cold hard facts of life. 

For us it hasn't been a matter of "if" but when: when will reality and delusion collide? In one sense we've drawn comfort from the truism that what cannot go on will not go on. Still, it's always a shock when it suddenly ceases to go on. This doesn't happen to other animals, only humans. Rabbits don't convince themselves that coyotes are their friends so they can go about their lives in peace. 

But in the past week or two, millions of Americans have been shocked to learn that their president is a cognitively diminished husk of his former mediocrity, truly incapable of leading a Cub Scout troop, much less the military. When did this happen? And why so suddenly? Poor Jill Biden! Her husband was so strong and vibrant just seven months ago, when he was sworn in!

The power of denial. 

Let's leave politics per se aside and go to the deeper metaphysics of it all. Again, other animals don't have this problem. Why? How are human beings different?

Ultimately it has to do with the distinction between appearances and reality. (Ortho)paradoxically, a properly functioning human being lives in neither, but rather, in the tension between these poles. This hardly mean reality doesn't exist. Rather, it exists and we know it exists, but we can never know the thing itself in its totality. This latter is reserved for God -- or, if you prefer to leave him out of it, just the nonlocal sponsor, or Principle, of our intellection.

It is possible, however, to live in the -- or a, rather -- world of appearances. Every ideology, for example, is but appearance, some more ludicrous than others. Why do people choose to inhabit this or that ideology, e.g., feminism, or environmentalism, or progressive wokeism? There's no specific answer, since people are motivated by different unconscious agendas. But generally speaking, it's in order to make the bad feelings go away. Remember?

Yes, but so many of these ideologies are the cause of bad feelings. Look at all the kids who are depressed because they think the world is going to end because of global warming, or the blacks who think they're being persecuted by imaginary white supremacists, or feminists who fantasize that their happiness is thwarted by Big Daddy, et al.

As we mentioned in the previous post, this is where the personal and political intersect: if I've got a lot of personal issues, the culture provides a menu ideologies to help me articulate and contain them. For example, if I'm a typical depressed woman, I can project it out into the Patriarchy, thus distancing myself from my dysphoria while nurturing a false sense of control and even hope for a cure: I'd be so damn happy and fulfilled if it weren't for those toxic men! 

Look at the ridiculous buffoon General Milley. The world is a dangerous place. Enemies are everywhere, and we don't mean loitering grannies, Ashli Babbitt, or the QAnon Shaman -- rather, people who will happily commit suicide if they can just bring a few Christians with them. No wonder he seeks refuge in the safety of his own delusions:

I want to understand white rage, and I’m white, and I want to understand it.

Wait, you want to understand yourself? Why not just go into therapy? Why involve the whole military in your Daddy issues?

Me? I know why I'm angry. And I'm always angry; or rather, given the human condition, there are always reasons to be angry.  #1, this isn't heaven and never will be. #2, people aren't perfect and never will be. #3, come to think of it, people are inclined to evil and always will be. 

Memo to this thoroughly postmodern Milley: if you really want to externalize your anger, might I suggest Islamist rage? That should be enough to keep you busy for the next millennium or so.

33 comments:

ted said...

Yeah, some lefty friends are actually licking their chops at Harris stepping in sooner than later. Ugh.

Petey said...

Oh well, bring on the catastrophe. There won't be any real change until after it happens.

Petey said...

(According to my sources.)

John Venlet said...

Ultimately it has to do with the distinction between appearances and reality. (Ortho)paradoxically, a properly functioning human being lives in neither, but rather, in the tension between these poles. This hardly mean reality doesn't exist. Rather, it exists and we know it exists, but we can never know the thing itself in its totality.

Shaeffer addresses this knowing, the distinction you mention between appearances (imaginary) and reality in his book "He Is There and He Is Not Silent." From Chapter 4 - The Epistemological Necessity (at least for professing Christians) - Being a Christian and knowing that God made the external world, there is no confusion for me between that is imaginary and that which is real. The Christian is free; free to fly, because he is not confused between his fantasy and the reality which God has made...Thus the Christian may have fantasy and imagination without being threatened. Modern man cannot have daydreams and fantasy without being threatened.

This is true, even though we cannot know the world, or God, in totality, or exhaustively, as Shaeffer says.

Anonymous said...

I don’t know a single progressive who worships either Biden or Harris. I do however, know a whole lot of staunch conservatives who’d follow Trump into the pits of hell.

It seems that today’s conservatives are the Big Daddy authoritarian worshippers, while the progs get to be the big power skeptics.

I blame Fox News for the confusion. There are many side-by-side montage videos showing Fox pundits saying one thing on the one side, then the opposite on the other side. My current fave is the one where they praise Trump for his Warp Speed vaccine success, then criticize Biden for telling people to get those very same vaccines.

Seems all we have left is to blame Biden for it all.

Gagdad Bob said...

Fellow online obsessive collectors are saying this new Beach Boys box set covering 1970-'71 is the best archival project of the millennium, or possibly all time. Came out today, but mine is still in the mail.

Gagdad Bob said...

Out of stock already on amazon.

julie said...

Hi John, nice to see your comment here. Your blog has been on my feed reader for a couple months now, and your posts are much-appreciated.

To your comment, Thus the Christian may have fantasy and imagination without being threatened. Precisely. In fact, the Bible's extensive use of parables in order to explain the otherwise inexplicable (from our side of the veil) speaks to the necessity of fantasy and imagination in the healthy mind.

To Bob's post,

#1, this isn't heaven and never will be. #2, people aren't perfect and never will be. #3, come to think of it, people are inclined to evil and always will be.

Yep. It's a bitter pill to swallow. Even though the Man told us quite specifically who is running the show herebelow, when we manage to carve out a little slice of heaven for ourselves it becomes easy to think otherwise. Until...

Anonymous said...

Bob, maybe you can harken back to yester-month when you were still a working stiff, pull out your couch and lay this fellow retiree down and offer some post professional advice.

After the great heist of November 2020, I decided to, and been quite successful at, keeping my head buried in the sand. My rationale is - why let things I can't control stress and anger me. Of course I'm not totally isolated from the world around me, at the very least my wife mentions the odd Biden gaffe every now and then, and the sidebar headlines on internet websites alert me to things like devastating hurricanes and Taliban takeovers. But for the most part I've dissociated myself from the things that would throw gasoline on my smoldering embers. I realize this is most likely a temporary respite but it seems like a good thing for now.

Is this a healthy thing for me or will I pay a steeper price later on when the world finds a way to break through my cocoon?

Anonymous said...

When I first happened across this blog while googling a question on a very limited not so smart phone many years ago I must admit it definitely had a sense of taboo and I'm definitely not talking about good vibrations, it was more like a space where people with tourette's syndrome mentioned the unmentionable, but with the intent of scaring the souls of those who didn't dwell so deep. I must admit the only occasions I would visit hence were when I thought the truth must out and state it anonymously, when in fact the said proclamations may be in fact the nothings further from the truth. Unfortunately the miracle doesn't illuminate to its self, but I can see it, so maybe I'm a stone as well.

Cousin Dupree said...

Can I buy some pot from you?

julie said...

Wow, that's almost as whacky as those Japanese music reviews.

Gagdad Bob said...

People used to find their way here via google all the time, but that was years ago. Since then they've sealed the cracks in the matrix. Which of course is why Dementia Joe is our president.

Anonymous said...

Word has it Rumsfeld was offered deal by the Taliban which included a conditional surrender, but refused it because anything less than unconditional was unamerican at the time.

Another rumor is that the strong not-nice Afghani men (the bimbos swoon) are gearing up for war. In that one, it’d be ISIS-K (special?) versus the Taliban (still stone cold after all these years), to duke it out over control of the women.

I couldn’t find any right wing sources to confirm so such rumors could well have demonic origins.

julie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
julie said...

Happy thought of the day

That said, I have to assume that just like last time, no matter how hard we vote, the fix is already in...

Gagdad Bob said...

California has become as crooked as any urban Democrat machine. Knowing this, there are a lot of Republican lawyers who are on the case. But with all the bought-and-paid for unions getting out the vote, I'm guessing Newsom will hang on and defeat the notorious Black Face of White Supremacy.

Cousin Dupree said...

File under "Today’s conservatives are the Big Daddy authoritarian worshippers, while the progs get to be the big power skeptics":

Active Duty, Retired Naval Intelligence Members Told They Cannot ‘Disrespect’ Biden Over Afghanistan Debacle

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 4:06 was lucid for the first half of the comment, but the second complex sentence was impossible to parse.

Try again, anon? I sense you may have something interesting to tell us. Also please refrain from using marihuana for the one half hour prior to commenting.

Anonymous said...

Biden, demented or not, ordered a drone strike which was said to have been effective.

I think the blog author's emphasis on Biden's supposed dementia is sour grapes talking. Gagdad the half-hearted psychologist, tepid about his career, never attained power or influence in his vocation. Now, understandably, he throws darts at those who have. That's human nature. His first book never took off, and his second book never got written. His blog enjoys limited success and does have some committed fans. But we sense that is not enough.

Gagdad may be asking "Is this it? Is that going to be all she wrote for me?" Well, that's up to you Gagdad. We suggest you drop the slack schtick and get down to some serious words-mithing for at least straight 8 a day. And no nap. Yes, you. Start tomorrow.

Yeah, Biden's old and forgetful like anyone in his dotage. Biden is just down-right geriatric. He probably struggles to stay awake for much of the day. It will be a miracle for Biden to get through his presidency without cracking under the strain. Even a frisky youngster like Obama got gray and gaunt from his years in service. The job will tear you down.

By the time Trump left off he wasn't looking great either, kind of bloated and pale. By 2024 he'll be as old as Biden and and we will hopefully get another old codger for a President. I like Trump, I thought he did a bang-up job.

America told the Apprentice host Trump "You're fired." That's how it went down. I think it did Mr. T to be on the receiving end of the pink slip for a change. This will give him some depth and maturity. When he returns, he will be even better than before.

Anonymous said...

For those of us who have been reading Bob for a couple decades, it has been and still is about what he writes, not really about the free for all the comment section can, at times, devolve into.

John Venlet said...

Good Morning, Julie.

...nice to see your comment here.

Bob's agile mind and thought processes sometimes make my wheels spin, too.

Your blog has been on my feed reader for a couple months now, and your posts are much-appreciated.

Thank you for the kind words.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of delusion....
"That said, I have to assume that just like last time, no matter how hard we vote, the fix is already in..."

More like, no matter what lack of evidence, we have to assume that if Republicans lose, people here will whine and cry about fraud like petulant children, throw tantrums, and be willing to overthrow democracy to get their way. That is true delusion. I still challenge anyone here to defend their position that Trump really won the election. Nobody will be cause that is patently false. You don't see anything wrong with accepting a position that has no basis in fact? Just think about it seriously. Is there anything else in your lives that is blatantly false that you blindly believe in? Why this? How can educated and smart people be fooled so easily?

After all of this time, not one single person on this thread including the author have presented one iota of evidence of fraud, yet they still believe it. It is a gut feel at best. If you want to live in a dictatorship, there are plenty of places you can move to.

The difference in between you an me, I can look objectively at both sides. I agree that Biden's mental acuity is declining and in bad shape and question if he is up to the job and also would hate the idea of a President Harris. I also have the ability to look at Trump and all of his faults and the danger he poses to democracy. You can only say, the other side is 100% evil and my side is 100% good. That isn't how reality works.

Cousin Dupree said...

When a leftist uses the word "reality," reach for your revolver.

Anonymous said...

The problem with debating lefties is they are impenetrable. No amount of verbal slapping around will awaken them from their wokeness. Hence the wisdom "don't feed the trolls".

Anonymous said...

I am not a leftist. I am a centrist. I think that I have a pretty good grasp of reality. If Trump had botched the exit from Afghanistan as poorly as Biden did, I would criticize him as I criticize Trump the incompetent behavior itself is the issue. You will not do that. You will criticize the actor instead of the activity. I also am very against wokeness and find it pretty much all bullshit.

If you or anyone else presented reasonable evidence that Trump won the election, I would consider it and would be in the streets to defend democracy even for Trump if he actually won the election and it was stolen from him. Why is that you are afraid to defend your position? What do you fear? You have years of detailed arguments argue your positions. Why is it that you refuse to defend this position with evidence. I honestly don't get it. Is your fear that if you look at this logically you will recognize that your position is untenable? You lose all credibility when you take a stance as important as this and refuse to back it up with any logical evidence.

Although I don't agree with Bill Maher, the one thing I respect about him is he states he is a liberal and will criticize liberals as much as conservatives. He doesn't just blindly throw around labels and look at things in a binary fashion. Fox news frequently quotes him as they did here: https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/bill-maher-greg-gutfeld-king-of-late-night

There is more to the world than black and white. There are shades of grey.

Again I challenge anyone on this site to defend their contention that Trump won the election with facts. What do you all fear? Why are you all so cowardly when it comes to this? How do you expect to be taken seriously?

Cousin Dupree said...

How ever did you arrive at the misapprehension that anyone here expects to be taken seriously by you? Go back to square one.

Anonymous said...

Is there nothing in between Left and Right to you? Is a Regan Conservative who doesn't like Trump the left? Is a conservative who doesn't believe the patently false contention that Trump won the election the Left? Is anyone who doesn't 100% share your beliefs, the Left? Is the world really that binary?

Someone who can't discuss their beliefs based on facts would seem to be very fragile and insecure in their beliefs. Why the need for nothing but cheerleaders on this site that only agree 100% with what you espouse and labeling and discrediting of anyone who shows any disagreement with you? Are you that insecure? You have made a claim about the failure of democracy in the last election. Are you that much of a delicate flower that you can't defend your position?

Isn't examination and challenging of one's opinions a good thing? You will still be a leftist had you never done that. Wouldn't there be more satisfaction in examination of your opinions vs. the adulation of your cheerleaders?

Gagdad Bob said...

I've been exposed. I have the most intelligent and perceptive readers in all of cyberspace.

Cousin Dupree said...

Until now, most of our trolls have been adolescent girls. It's nice to see that Bob is attracting some even younger readers.

Anonymous said...

Different anon from all the rest here. It's little wonder to me why religion in America is in steep decline. And I actually appreciated religion, before it went anti-Christian political nuts. Maybe Bob needs to explain better how this is all part of Gods plan.

Anonymous said...

One post in a row with no mention of Afghanistan. Let's be grateful for small mercies.

Joe said...

Agreed. Bob, why don't you ever post about my Build Back Better agenda?

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