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| The Pied Piper leading the children to their doom |
Reading the paper this morning, one headline struck me as almost insane, causing me shock, dismay, and anger. Sometimes you don't know how to respond, how to name your feelings. The caption read
E.P.A. to Roll Back Regulations on Methane, a Potent Greenhouse Gas
This caption comes hard on the heels of articles about the extreme number of fires in the Amazon. The Brazilian president, Bolinsaro-- a demagogue--reacted with disdain to cries of outrage from around the world. He changed his tune, however, when the Europeans (led by France) threatened to cancel a trade deal with Brazil. These actions--to reduce efforts to quell methane emissions and to promote the destruction of the Amazon's vital rain forest--are suicidally stupid.
These events, and the many more like them, may seem almost hum-drum given the steady drumbeat of dismaying news that we all experience. But stop and think about it: these decisions are insane--the public policy equivalent of playing Russian roulette with a six-shooter. Are we--are our leaders--crazy? The answer is--at least in part--yes. And we elected them. (Well, sort of; most often in a pseudo-democratic manner, oftentimes in the way of a weighted plebiscite sufficient to provide a patina of democratic legitimacy. About whom am I thinking? Trump, Boris Johnson (UK), Victor Orban (Hungary), Recep Erdogan (Turkey), Putin (Russia), Duarte (Philippines), Chavez-Maduro (Venezuala). And this is just an off-the-top-of-my-head list.
Now you should say, of course, we've always had demagogues and dictators. True. But of the autocrats listed above all obtained power in either established or aspiring democracies. In other words, nations with enough of a culture and set of institutions not to have fallen prey to--or continue to follow--the illusions of these demagogues. But men [sic] of this ilk have gained control--even in the U.S. Never have Americans experienced a president so incompetent, ignorant, and disdainful of American values. His lack of any sense of civic duty or shared visions has been obvious since he entered into the public limelight. He doesn't try to hide his narcissistic nihilism. How did he get elected?*
What's going on?
The answer is no doubt complex and perhaps ultimately unknowable with any certainty. We must anticipate that any explanation tendered will prompt other accounts, or claims that what we think is a real threat is only a mirage.
The human herd is spooked. This is nothing new. History is replete with incidents of mass delusion and social breakdown. Go back and look at medieval history and various millenarian movements in that era. Consider the Terror of the French Revolution, the Taiping Rebellion, the First World War, the Second World War, the Holocaust, the Killing Fields of Cambodia. Alas, I could go on and on. Remember also that the Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany through a legitimate process--just as the scoundrels that I listed above have done. (They throw the window-dressing of democracy and the rule of law out the window at their earliest possible convenience, however.)
So what explanation might we tender for our current time of malaise? Economic (and now ecological) uncertainty plays a part. Perhaps a sense of foreboding as population demands, the "brave new world" of automation, and the ever-present reality of nukes, cyber warfare, and terrorism take their toll on our collective psyche. Also, the growing inequality in the U.S., especially, with the decline in quality of life among less-educated whites, plays a crucial role. (This group was a solid block that supported Trump.)
I intend to come back to this topic, and I invite comments and suggestions. I'll also try to identify various trains of thought about this topic. Just for starters, here are a couple of works that I've found insightful:
Pankaj Mishra, Age of Anger: A History of the Present.
*However, most Americans did not vote for Trump. More voters voted for Clinton.
