Paranoia has been part of American politics for a long time. Paul Krugman writes that it has been at the heart of recent American political debates:
Remember, conservatives have spent decades denying the reality of climate change, insisting that it’s a gigantic hoax perpetrated by a vast international scientific conspiracy. And as the signs of climate catastrophe multiply, from wildfires in Australia to drought in California, climate denial has only strengthened its grip on the G.O.P. On the eve of the 2018 midterms, a survey found 73 percent of Republican senators denying the scientific consensus that man-made climate change is happening.
Then there was the fear that Barack Obama's economic policies would fuel an inflationary spiral:
Consider how many on the right reacted after their dire predictions of hyperinflation under Obama failed to pan out — not by admitting that they were wrong, but by insisting that the numbers were being cooked. And I’m not talking about fringe figures, I’m talking about people conservatives consider leading intellectuals.
Conspiracy theories haven't always been the exclusive property of the right. You can see paranoia in the Sanders campaign:
It was dismaying to find a senior Sanders adviser declaring that all those disagreeing with proposals for a wealth tax — which, by the way, I support — “are the types of groups and academics that are funded by the powers that be, the establishment, the billionaire class.”
Paranoia produces what Krugman calls "zombie ideas." These days, most of the zombie ideas are on the right. And, at the moment, the biggest, ugliest zombie idea is that the coronavirus is a "hoax" propagated to take down Donald Trump:
Not to worry, say right-wing pundits and news organizations: It’s all a hoax, a conspiracy by the liberal media to make Donald Trump look bad. Administration officials and Trump himself have echoed their claims.
These claims are, of course, crazy. Among other things, Covid-19 is a global phenomenon, with major outbreaks ranging from South Korea to Italy. Are the South Korean and Italian media also part of a conspiracy to get Trump?
This craziness was, however, entirely predictable to anyone who has been following right-wing politics. It’s just the latest battle in a long-running war on truth, on the very idea that there exists an inconvenient objective reality.
Paranoia is -- essentially -- a denial of reality. That's the world Donald Trump lives in. And that's the virus he has spread for decades.
Image: Signal v Noise
8 comments:
Delusion, widely accepted, is a millstone around the neck of a modern, industrialized nation. It's the stuff of shamans, witch doctors and Voodoo. I watched a clip from a broadcast by the Kenneth Copeland evangelical ministry of a lady (Mrs. Copeland I assume) telling the faithful that they need fear no virus because their faith in Jesus vaccinated them as no medicine ever could. "We don't need a flu shot. God gives us all the protection we require."
Unprotected, these believers can both contract and transmit contagions through the broader community. Those that spread these dangerous delusions aren't much different than the person who yells "fire" in a dark movie theatre triggering a stampede that leaves people dead. We prosecute that person on the principle that we are deemed to intend the logical and foreseeable consequences of our acts. If a televangelist does it, however, we give them a pass.
Elmer Gantry understood, Mound, that there was more money to be made pushing Bibles than in pushing vacuum cleaners.
I've heard something about that term "objective reality". It could be another hoax designed by the secular progressives to take down Donald Trump.
.. Diseased Parasites ..
That's the reality among us in North America, Owen. The term is incredibly accurate. Those infected or infested are Disease Vectors. Political Parties are a breeding ground. Actually, wherever ignorance, greed, deceit or evangelical dogma & beliefs are found are also vector points. When we start accepting this.. and all we need to do is look and consider coherently.. the picture.. the grim reality snaps into focus. We need to look at the parasitic spectrum.. and realistically we can use Lamprey Eels as a measuring stick.. and also how non native species - animal or plant can also become threats. The situation is dire in Canada. We have let lamprey eels proliferate in Political Parties and they have invaded Public Service. Elected and unelected 'politicians' have managed to get the citizenry to pay and pension them.. and to be in command of us and our territory, our country, and on their terms, their posturing 'values' .. 'Political Animal' does not carry the weight or describe the inherent danger of 'Partisan' or 'Political Parasites'. This includes Mainstream Media acting in Symbiotic Parasite modalities.. and/or twisted 'Rapture' belief Evangelicals. BIG BUSINESS is now their lord and master.. their paymaster
If enough Americans "get real" about Trump -- and in the right places -- they'll take him down, John.
The lamprey eel analogy is very powerful, sal. Once they enter a water system, they're very hard to eliminate.
Americans did it to themselves with the help of Moscow Mitch and ms. Graham. Now they can learn to live with it or die because of it. Notice we haven't heard word one from Moscow mitch and Lindsay Graham, Jim Jordon and the rest of those Republican idiots. Most likely looking for health care in Mexico.
Had to laugh, the first picture of Pence and his boys meeting to deal with the COVID-19 VIRUS. No women in the room and that includes none of the experts from the CDC who happen to be female. We must remember pence will not meet with women on his own, unless "mother" is present. What could possibly go wrong with the American version of the Taliban.
At one level I'd like to build a wall between us and the U.S.A. Not possible or smart, but once this all shakes out, I would not be surprised if the U.S.A., on a pro rated basis, had the highest death rate.
In the U.S..A they have to pay for testing, which even with health insurance will be approx. $1,200. Ours if free to those who are part of the health care system. Canadians may qualify for E.I. sick benefits, Americans don't have the same system. American workers may be fired for being off sick. They lack the protection Canadian workers have. Some American blogs are already expressing concern for prison populations which have very bad health care in the U.S.A. Also given the rotation of prisoners though their jails, the transfer rate of the disease will be high. No health care once they make bail, they will transfer the disease to others. In south Korea, the news showed video of the military disinfecting shanty towns. Don't expect to see that in the U.S.A. Homeless camps will not be provided health care. Not that Canada's health care is any screaming hell for the homeless, but it is there.
While Canadian politicians are waxing on about reconciliation, they might want to make plans for providing health care for those in Northern communities, to fight co vid-19.
In the end, e.a.f, it may be the coronavirus that brings Trump down.
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