The Authoritarian Appeal, Reprise 0
Uriel Abulof, like Daniel F. Seidman whom I mentioned yesterday, is exploring the appeal of authoritarianism.
In Part 2 of two-part series (Part 1 is linked at the link), he makes three main points:
- Some leaders are like toxic therapists: By displaying both power and victimhood, they abuse people’s fears and frustrations.
- People tend to project their pains onto their leader’s wounds and introject the leader’s strength to seek revenge and redemption.
- Some Americans feel like victims, a sensation that may be driven by narcissism and manipulation.
Follow the link for a detailed discussion of each.
QOTD 0
J. William Fulbright:
Power confuses itself with virtue and tends also to take itself for omnipotence.
The Authoritarian Appeal 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Daniel F. Seidman compares and contrast democracy, authorianism, and laissez faire approaches to making decisions, with particular attention the the first two. Along the way, he discusses what attracts persons to authoritarianism. Much of what he says sounds eerily familiar . . . .
Here’s a tiny little bit:
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Melinda Hennenberger marvels at the pretzel logic fantasy world of the New Secesh. A snippet:
Follow the link for the rest.
“A Republic, If You Keep It” 0
Michael in Norfolk points out that that seems to have become very big if.
And I share his qualms.
I can’t shake the feeling that we are in the midst of a slow-motion cour d’etat.
Lies and Lying Liars 0
The Arizona Republic’s E. J. Montini parses the perfidy.
All the News that Fits 0
As someone who smoked cigarettes for a number of years, I can attest that cigarettes are not a positive factor and that nicotine is not a good thing.
Freedom of Screech 0
Shorter Elon Musk: Freedom of speech for me, but not for thee.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Yes, correlation can sometimes indeed show causation.
Originalist Sin 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Ira Hyman explores what he refers to as the “The Cognitive Illusion of Constitutional Originalism.” Here’s a tiny little bit of his article (emphasis added):
I commend his article to your attention as a valuable and timely–especially timely–read.
Recommended Listening 0
If you are a mystery buff, as I am, you might want to check these out:
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 1
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 2
The American Rivals of Sherlock Holmes.
They are anthologies of short stories, mostly from the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, by authors contemporaneous with Arthur Conan Doyle. Some of the stories are, shall we say, better than others. Also, do not be surprised when some of the stories perpetuate the prejudices of their times (I’m thinking specifically of “The Affair of the Tortoise,” chapter 17 of The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 1).
Me, I’m currently (re-)reading the first Ellery Queen novel, The Roman Hat Mystery. I realize on rereading it what I did not remember from my first reading lo! those many years ago! It’s actually rather slow-moving and pedantic (but, then, so am I). I think the secret of its success, beyond the well-crafted mystery (and it is a well-crafted mystery) is the characterization, particularly the relationship between Ellery and his father, Inspector Queen.
In a way, that fits a theory of mine. I’ve long thought that the secret of a successful television series is the characters and their relationship. If the series pulls that off, fans will overlook the occasional lousy episode, because they like the characters. But I digress.