WildernessPunk: Narcissism, Debates, and Cultural World View

With the first, and probably last of the 2024 Presidential Debates coming up, I figured it would be the appropriate time to dig into the roots of the situation the United States is finding itself in the midst of. In my opinion the voters choice comes down between picking an elderly man which can function given the right assistance and support but will end up being little more than a figurehead during another term. Or we can choose a self serving evil man with profound mental illness who, if elected, will be the oldest president at the start of his term.

Just to put it out there, I’ll choose spacey over evil every time.

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I’m also just going to come out and quickly state, voting for a person who has attempted to cancel democracy is an evil act and no, your stupidity won’t absolve you.

But tell us how you really feel…

I’m going to back up a bit. I like debating probably more than the next guy, and I’m reasonable skilled at the art. Just ask the midnight crews around the campfire.  However, diving back to the story during the first installments of WildernessPunk, I have lived with an unreasonable narcissist with severe mental illness. Not trying to brag, no just kidding, it was horrible, a true nightmare beyond belief.

However, I learned something during this time, a technique mostly disregarded these days, the ability to not attempt or need to prove you are right. It is freeing to realize you don’t need to prove your point no matter how certain you are you are. This also becomes easier when you’re dealing with people who don’t answer to logic, truth, and reason, no matter how eloquently they are presented.

I might be happy to get into a friendly debate, but I don’t need others to think I’m correct. The world is full of too many illogical people (See WildernessPunk 1 in 3), and I don’t have the time or inclination to educate the corrupted masses. What could I say in fifteen minutes which nine years of evidence couldn’t prove?

So why are people still following the orange monster?

To even the most casual observer, he is obviously a very racist, completely self-serving narcissist. He has no loyalty to allies. No one can work with him for much more than a year. Listen, if you were single would you date someone like that? I know evil is a subjective, perhaps even a religious concept, but by all standard definitions of evil, tRump is a hopelessly evil person. There will be no insight or redemption for this man or anyone who follows in his wake.

So why are people still supporting this horrible candidate who stands against what the US and most religions stand for?

Instead of diving into the propaganda machines and social media, I’m taking another avenue, let’s investigate one of the primary reasons cults work on people over time. Many people who join cults come to a point where they might disagree with a new outrageous tenant or demand asked of them. They might have a severe issue with certain things so why don’t the cards all come crashing down?

One of the primary reason people remain in this disintegrating situation is because deciding the path you’re following is wrong means you have to admit you’ve been an ignorant individual who has made horrible choices for the last nine years and there is really nothing harder for a person to admit. “Not only was I manipulated and wrong, but I’ve been wrong for years and years.”

Could you do it?

Also keep in mind anyone who’s gotten divorced has done it and a lot of people have gotten divorced. Many have escaped cults as well, but they report this is one of the strongest reasons they stayed far past when they should have. Sometimes it was easier for them to double-down despite the ludicrous nature of the cult, than to have the courage to admit they have been played like an ignorant dope for years.

This brings us back to Ernest Becker and his theory of Cultural World View which I have mentioned before. It would state if, let’s say, I try to talk to a tRump supporter and explain to him how he is an evil man in the mold of Hitler, but with only a tenth the intelligence, they will not be hearing my wise words about why tRump is a racist megalomanic who uses the masses like slaves to attempt to get what he desires. Instead, they will become defensive, because since they serve tRump and have chosen him, an attack on their leader will be seen as an attack on them, their decisions, and their lifestyle.

It isn’t so much the man himself as their choice to attach themselves to him emotionally. Since their support of tRump is part of their identity, an attack on tRump is a personal attack on them. If he is determined to be the worst president in modern times, then by association they have become a duped fool. So, they will obviously fight dentures and false nails to defend their mired leader and therefore be the one who, “Sees it how it really is.”

So what is my point here? Perhaps if someone is disgusted by tRump but only watching Fox News, a little data could shift their perspective, but I’m not going to waste my time trying to point out facts to a person who has had nine years to decode something as painfully obvious as tRump is the evil villain in this comic book we attempt to call US politics. If nine years of daily stupidity, insanity, and evil hasn’t proved it, what will me wasting nine minutes do?

However, if it pisses them off and I’m rolling with an icy cold one, I might just do it anyway.

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Thanks for listening feel free to add your take below

If you like cyberpunk dystopia tales, please take a second to look over my Skinjumper novel.

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