THREAD
DENIALISM—PART II: DEFEATING THE DISEASE
As we come closer and closer to descending into an authoritarian abyss, we must—emergently—regain focus on the mission at hand.
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DENIALISM—PART II: DEFEATING THE DISEASE
As we come closer and closer to descending into an authoritarian abyss, we must—emergently—regain focus on the mission at hand.
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But as I described in Part I of this series, oppressors like Trump want us to get lost in minutiae—because this minutiae obscures the deeper moral truth.
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With each successive assault, Trump wants us to create obscurity where there is none—to create grey area around a new boundary that keeps getting pushed, a boundary that only becomes further and further removed from any objective moral or democratic standards.
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The boundary of normalcy continues shifting underneath us, blurred out by our loss of reality and driven by the lure of denialism.
As a result, an agenda of oppression masquerades as a narrative of normalcy that insidiously seeps into the mind of our society.
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As a result, an agenda of oppression masquerades as a narrative of normalcy that insidiously seeps into the mind of our society.
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What must we do to defeat this denialism?
In a nutshell, the solution is the following three actions, which I describe in greater detail below.
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In a nutshell, the solution is the following three actions, which I describe in greater detail below.
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(1) Intellectually, we must liberate ourselves from the paralysis of minutiae.
(2) Psychologically, we must overcome the proclivity for denialism.
(3) Culturally, we must shed the belief in American exceptionalism.
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(2) Psychologically, we must overcome the proclivity for denialism.
(3) Culturally, we must shed the belief in American exceptionalism.
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Action #1: On an intellectual level, we must escape the paralysis of minutiae. To do so, we must shift our frame of thinking to a macroscopic viewpoint.
Most of all, we must accept the reality of Trump’s 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 and the reality of our current 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.
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Most of all, we must accept the reality of Trump’s 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 and the reality of our current 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.
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This trajectory is one of authoritarianism, possibly accompanied by conflict and atrocity.
To prove that we are currently on such a path, I could point to a range of evidence, from the work of @TimothyDSnyder to @sarahkendzior to @Peter_Turchin to @brooks_rosa to myself.
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To prove that we are currently on such a path, I could point to a range of evidence, from the work of @TimothyDSnyder to @sarahkendzior to @Peter_Turchin to @brooks_rosa to myself.
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Sarah Kendzior’s statement from December 2016, for example, couldn’t be more poignant today.
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Once we accept the country’s trajectory, the response becomes obvious: we must resist (peacefully) with all means possible.
Most important, the strategy of our resistance must be homed on the country’s trajectory—for strategy that is lost in minutiae is no strategy at all.
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Most important, the strategy of our resistance must be homed on the country’s trajectory—for strategy that is lost in minutiae is no strategy at all.
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I have written elsewhere in further detail about strategy, including why election-based strategies alone are bound to be insufficient.
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I have also spoken elsewhere about how the trajectory of fascism exhibits dynamics similar to those of a pandemic.
Fascism often begins when it is invisible and distant. Like a virus, it is insidious.
Then, one day, it overwhelms the society.
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Fascism often begins when it is invisible and distant. Like a virus, it is insidious.
Then, one day, it overwhelms the society.
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We must take seriously the lesson from the pandemic that we cannot afford to ignore such social ills in their early stages—especially since we are now well past the early stages of the present sociopolitical crisis.
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That’s why I have also written about what we must do 𝘯𝘰𝘸, having reached this later stage of progression.
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Action #2: On a psychological level, we must recognize the human proclivity for denialism and learn to achieve a mental lucidity that allows us to overcome it.
That process starts with moving our denialism from the subconscious to the conscious.
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That process starts with moving our denialism from the subconscious to the conscious.
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Here, I will be the first to admit that each day is a struggle with denialism for me.
Why do we deny? Because we cling to the comfort we thought we had. Because we cannot imagine our nation is not what we thought. Because we do not want the grief that comes with truth.
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Why do we deny? Because we cling to the comfort we thought we had. Because we cannot imagine our nation is not what we thought. Because we do not want the grief that comes with truth.
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Each day, I grapple with an internal force that attempts to lull me into wishful thinking. I often wonder whether we are simply having a nightmare that we will wake up from. I wonder whether a miracle will happen.
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But I make it a habit to remind myself of two things each morning: do 𝘯𝘰𝘵 deny and do 𝘯𝘰𝘵 normalize.
This is happening. This is not normal. This is not right.
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This is happening. This is not normal. This is not right.
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It also helps to constantly remind oneself of the larger truths.
The bottom line is this: what is happening right now would not have happened under any other peaceful president.
Again, this is not normal.
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The bottom line is this: what is happening right now would not have happened under any other peaceful president.
Again, this is not normal.
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Action #3: On a cultural level, we must shed the belief in American exceptionalism—which is the product of the aforementioned intellectual and psychological shortcomings.
Human nature is universal, and we humans in the U.S. are just like all of the other humans elsewhere.
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Human nature is universal, and we humans in the U.S. are just like all of the other humans elsewhere.
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In any other country we would call our authoritarian decline—exemplified by events such as an autocrat teargassing peaceful protestors to clear the way for a Bible photoshoot—what it is.
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Nothing makes our country different. Nothing makes our country immune to the ugly side of humanity.
In fact, the real and dangerous exception may be that our naiveté in the face of autocracy only serves to make us more susceptible to an authoritarian coup.
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In fact, the real and dangerous exception may be that our naiveté in the face of autocracy only serves to make us more susceptible to an authoritarian coup.
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As the DNC has unfolded, it has been hard not to wonder whether the Convention will hold any significance in the end.
As many resistors giddily count down the days to the election, it is hard not to wonder whether they are counting down to celebration or calamity.
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As many resistors giddily count down the days to the election, it is hard not to wonder whether they are counting down to celebration or calamity.
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It is hard not to feel that we may be a colony of ants marching into a trap.
Denialism kills.
Therefore, in the third and final thread of this series that I will publish soon, I will detail the moral urgency of defeating the denialist disease.
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Denialism kills.
Therefore, in the third and final thread of this series that I will publish soon, I will detail the moral urgency of defeating the denialist disease.
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