Sam Harris is a moron, and there's probably no better illustration of TDS than his lunatic rant. Trump hatred in general exposes the hypocrisy of so-called "liberal" elites, not only because Trump symbolizes the working class proles the elites hate even more, but because to be "liberal" in the deepest sense means to love and defend freedom. I don't understand how liberals can champion tyranny and call themselves liberal. But it seems to me that this is where a deeper significance of the Trump phenomenon shows itself. Trump reminds me somehow of the figure of the holy fool. The holy fool is supposed to turn us inward to ridicule our own hypocrisy, and Trump reflects the ridiculousness of our rotten society. His presence should humble us in the face of how far we've fallen as a civilization, and drive us to open our hearts toward each other. I'm not holding my breath.
You're right, Trump isn't holy. The analogy came to mind ironically in light of some holy fools in Russian literature who start out buffoonish and wreak some havoc before becoming holy inadvertently. And while that doesn't characterize the Trump phenomenon either, there's something about how all the unholy powers of the world-- from the war racketeering of the central banks to the censorship architecture of the global military-industrial complex--converging to try to destroy Trump which gives him an aura of holiness. It's absurd, but so is the scale of the current war against humanity, which certainly feels biblical!
Indeed. I've seen Trump fanatics speak of him like he were the archangel Michael, come to fight evil on behalf of the Lord. Some folks invoke the "armour of God" to describe Trump's unimpeachability and his indefatigable quality in the face of constant political and legalistic entanglements.
No doubt he's an egotist and a bit of a megalomaniac, but it seems to me that Harris is projecting his own megalomania on Trump. Thing is, I think Trump's megalomania is limited by his desire to arrive at what he has by his own hands. It's not that he's above cheating; it's that he believes in "playing by the rules" of the game (of business--which involves a certain kind of cheating). I don't think the professional politicians play by the rules of the same game. Their political game involves a kind of cheating that Trump doesn't seem to like because I think he's an actual patriot. And I believe that's what determines his priorities. He's certainly not unpredictable in the important sense of allowing his ego to determine policy.
Yes, TDS sufferers often rail against how unlike that of a politician Trump's persona is, as if that were an insult. I think they mean he isn't typically articulate or statesmanlike, but it's the consistency of his policy that makes him unlike a politician, and a patriot. I mean, he's been talking about bad trade deals and the disaster of globalism for American industry since the 80s.
Ouch. There is one man whose words read so poorly in print that it is impossible to take him seriously. He should give interviews only to the most forgiving sources and should ask to confirm statements attributed to him. I'm like, um, you know? it's gonna be, like, um, rough out there.
On a commentator's advice I viewed a 21 minute excerpt of a debate on you tube between Harris and Advaita Vedanta master Rupert Spira on Consciousness. Worth a watch if you want to see Harris squirm his way out of an obvious loss. He must always be right, and if he can't be right, he finds a rhetorical means of escape. In the consciousness debate, he claims they actually agree, but it's just a matter of semantics. Very lame.
Sam Harris is a moron, and there's probably no better illustration of TDS than his lunatic rant. Trump hatred in general exposes the hypocrisy of so-called "liberal" elites, not only because Trump symbolizes the working class proles the elites hate even more, but because to be "liberal" in the deepest sense means to love and defend freedom. I don't understand how liberals can champion tyranny and call themselves liberal. But it seems to me that this is where a deeper significance of the Trump phenomenon shows itself. Trump reminds me somehow of the figure of the holy fool. The holy fool is supposed to turn us inward to ridicule our own hypocrisy, and Trump reflects the ridiculousness of our rotten society. His presence should humble us in the face of how far we've fallen as a civilization, and drive us to open our hearts toward each other. I'm not holding my breath.
He certainly appears to be a moron. I mean presumably the guy was educated. Maybe he plagiarised his dissertation.
I like the Holy Fool analogy, though Trump doesn't quite strike one as "holy" anything. He appears most definitely however to be a scapegoat.
You're right, Trump isn't holy. The analogy came to mind ironically in light of some holy fools in Russian literature who start out buffoonish and wreak some havoc before becoming holy inadvertently. And while that doesn't characterize the Trump phenomenon either, there's something about how all the unholy powers of the world-- from the war racketeering of the central banks to the censorship architecture of the global military-industrial complex--converging to try to destroy Trump which gives him an aura of holiness. It's absurd, but so is the scale of the current war against humanity, which certainly feels biblical!
Indeed. I've seen Trump fanatics speak of him like he were the archangel Michael, come to fight evil on behalf of the Lord. Some folks invoke the "armour of God" to describe Trump's unimpeachability and his indefatigable quality in the face of constant political and legalistic entanglements.
No doubt he's an egotist and a bit of a megalomaniac, but it seems to me that Harris is projecting his own megalomania on Trump. Thing is, I think Trump's megalomania is limited by his desire to arrive at what he has by his own hands. It's not that he's above cheating; it's that he believes in "playing by the rules" of the game (of business--which involves a certain kind of cheating). I don't think the professional politicians play by the rules of the same game. Their political game involves a kind of cheating that Trump doesn't seem to like because I think he's an actual patriot. And I believe that's what determines his priorities. He's certainly not unpredictable in the important sense of allowing his ego to determine policy.
Yes, TDS sufferers often rail against how unlike that of a politician Trump's persona is, as if that were an insult. I think they mean he isn't typically articulate or statesmanlike, but it's the consistency of his policy that makes him unlike a politician, and a patriot. I mean, he's been talking about bad trade deals and the disaster of globalism for American industry since the 80s.
Ouch. There is one man whose words read so poorly in print that it is impossible to take him seriously. He should give interviews only to the most forgiving sources and should ask to confirm statements attributed to him. I'm like, um, you know? it's gonna be, like, um, rough out there.
On a commentator's advice I viewed a 21 minute excerpt of a debate on you tube between Harris and Advaita Vedanta master Rupert Spira on Consciousness. Worth a watch if you want to see Harris squirm his way out of an obvious loss. He must always be right, and if he can't be right, he finds a rhetorical means of escape. In the consciousness debate, he claims they actually agree, but it's just a matter of semantics. Very lame.