{"id":26153,"date":"2025-11-03T17:30:04","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T01:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/?p=26153"},"modified":"2025-11-10T11:38:41","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T19:38:41","slug":"troubled-children-cognitive-collapse-cave-man-morality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2025\/11\/03\/troubled-children-cognitive-collapse-cave-man-morality\/","title":{"rendered":"Troubled Children, Cognitive Collapse, Cave Man Morality"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>Paul Krugman about how Trump has ceded the future to China;<\/li>\n<li>Tom Nichols on how the Trump administration resembles a bunch of toddlers, and what Americans who care about democracy should do.<\/li>\n<li>Salon&#8217;s Sophia A. McClennen on how the Trump administration is leading to Americans&#8217; cognitive collapse;<\/li>\n<li>Short items about Christian hypocrisy, Trump&#8217;s 60 Minutes lies, Musk&#8217;s mispronunciations, cave man morality, and Trump&#8217;s investing in the past.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div align=\"center\">&#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/div>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!u7So!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F79965d52-f168-4d96-9ffd-d6b7521a4225_1432x780.png\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Krugman, 3 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/paulkrugman.substack.com\/p\/were-number-two\">We\u2019re Number Two!<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;How Trump ceded the future to China&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Does Donald Trump realize that he has ceded world leadership to China? Probably not: During his recent Asian trip, foreign leaders flattered him and showered him with personal gifts, so he came home with his ego even more inflated than usual. Nobody close to him would dare tell him that if you look at the substance of what he agreed to, it amounted to an ignominious retreat. When Chuck Schumer pointed out the reality of what Trump didn\u2019t accomplish, his reaction was hysterical:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!qd9J!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3bbda324-0303-4e10-9197-272a240b1977_968x316.png\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Well, if this be treason, make the most of it. The whole world knows what Trump\u2019s sycophants won\u2019t tell him: His confrontation with China has ended up demonstrating Chinese strength and American weakness.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\\\\\\<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theatlantic.com\/thumbor\/h_pmmOz3v3n1B157r1xjhdPC_4M=\/0x0:2880x1620\/976x549\/media\/img\/mt\/2025\/10\/2025_10_31_trolls_3\/original.jpg\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Atlantic, Tom Nichols, 3 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2025\/11\/trump-maga-insults-trolling\/684786\/\">A Confederacy of Toddlers<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;The Trump administration is a regime of troubled children.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hannah Arendt was the historian famous for her comment about &#8220;the banality of evil.&#8221; (That is, people whom we view as evil aren&#8217;t necessarily fiendish plotters who intended to be evil; they&#8217;re not the cartoon characters in superhero comics or movies. They were ordinary, amoral people who committed what was later considered to be evil.)<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I<span class=\"smallcaps\">n 1949,<\/span> the German historian and political philosopher Hannah Arendt visited Europe for the first time since fleeing to America during the war. A year later, she wrote an analysis of what she called \u201cthe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commentary.org\/articles\/hannah-arendt\/the-aftermath-of-nazi-rulereport-from-germany\/\" data-event-element=\"inline link\" data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen31117857_899=\"83208\" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time31117857_899=\"100\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired31117857_899=\"1\">aftermath<\/a> of Nazi rule.\u201d She found the Old World lacking in civic maturity and commitment compared with her new home, the then-booming United States, noting that \u201cthe peoples of Western Europe have developed the habit of blaming their misfortunes on some force out of their reach.\u201d She believed that her adopted country, by comparison, enjoyed a kind of clarity of public vision: \u201cWith the possible exception of the Scandinavians,\u201d she wrote, \u201cno European citizenry has the political maturity of Americans, for whom a certain amount of responsibility, i.e., of moderation in the pursuit of self-interest, is almost a matter of course.\u201d Arendt wasn\u2019t celebrating a perfect America; rather, she was lauding a people who approached political life with an adult sensibility and a reserve of self-control.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>How much has changed!<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The United States is now a nation run by public servants who behave no better than internet trolls, deflecting criticism with crassness and obscenity. The White House press secretary answers a question from a member of the free press\u2014a serious question about who planned a meeting between the American and Russian presidents\u2014by saying, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/white-house-wild-response-to-huffpost-question_n_68f26217e4b0ee732e24eb66\" data-event-element=\"inline link\" data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen31117857_899=\"117606\" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time31117857_899=\"100\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired31117857_899=\"1\">Your mom did<\/a>.\u201d The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.war.gov\/News\/Transcripts\/Transcript\/Article\/4318689\/secretary-of-war-pete-hegseth-addresses-general-and-flag-officers-at-quantico-v\/\" data-event-element=\"inline link\" data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen31117857_899=\"117623\" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time31117857_899=\"100\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired31117857_899=\"1\">secretary of defense<\/a> cancels DEI and other policies by saying, \u201cWe are done with that shit.\u201d The <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JDVance\/status\/1970897642361135146\" data-event-element=\"inline link\" data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen31117857_899=\"117629\" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time31117857_899=\"100\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired31117857_899=\"1\">vice president<\/a> calls an interlocutor on social media a \u201cdipshit.\u201d The president of the United States, during mass protests against his policies, responds by posting an AI-generated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/oct\/20\/trump-ai-video-no-kings\" data-event-element=\"inline link\" data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen31117857_899=\"117636\" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time31117857_899=\"100\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired31117857_899=\"1\">video<\/a> of himself flying a jet fighter over his fellow citizens and dumping feces on their heads.<\/p>\n<p>These are not the actions of mature adults. They are examples of crude people displaying their incompetence as they flail about in jobs\u2014including the presidency\u2014for which they are not qualified.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<br \/>\nThe collapse of a superpower into a regime of bullies and mean girls and <a href=\"https:\/\/simpsons.fandom.com\/wiki\/Comic_Book_Guy\" data-event-element=\"inline link\" data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen31117857_899=\"510366\" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time31117857_899=\"100\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired31117857_899=\"1\">comic-book guys <\/a>explains much about why American democracy is on the ropes, reeling from the attacks of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/newsletters\/archive\/2024\/11\/the-senate-exists-for-a-reason\/680702\/\" data-event-element=\"inline link\" data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen31117857_899=\"510400\" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time31117857_899=\"100\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired31117857_899=\"1\">people<\/a> who in a better time would never have been allowed near the government of the United States.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And so on. What to do?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Americans who care about democracy must organize and vote in every election, no matter how small or local. And in their personal lives, people who want to restore maturity to national government must be clear with those around them, even if it means risking their personal relationships, that some things, such as glib schoolyard taunts and scatological nonsense from the commander in chief, are not acceptable.<\/p>\n<p>Americans have learned that guardrails are easily destroyed. Restoring them will take time\u2014because they have to be repaired by each of us, one person at a time, making small but important decisions about how we want to live.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(Here&#8217;s a link to my coverage of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/?s=tom+nichols\">Tom Nichols on this blog<\/a>, including reviews of two of his books.)<\/p>\n<p>\\\\\\<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/11\/donald-trump-press-interview.jpg\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Salon, Sophia A. McClennen, 3 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2025\/11\/03\/how-donald-trump-broke-the-american-mind\/\">How Donald Trump broke the American mind<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;Trumpism&#8217;s real threat isn&#8217;t political chaos. It&#8217;s cognitive collapse&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/topic\/donald_trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2025\/10\/24\/trump-destroys-the-east-wing-and-decades-of-important-history_partner\/\">demolish the East Wing<\/a> of the White House to make way for a ballroom is classic Trumpian theater \u2014 grandiose destruction packaged as vision. But the stories of the institutions, buildings and legacies that Trump and his team have destroyed aren\u2019t the most disturbing threats our nation faces. What\u2019s truly at risk of collapsing is the country\u2019s cognitive infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The real wreckage of Trumpism isn\u2019t political chaos or partisan decay \u2014 it\u2019s the slow demolition of the American mind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The success of any autocrat lies in their ability to mesmerize their supporters and mentally paralyze the resistance. Opposition depends not only on organized protests, but on the collective capacity to think through the crisis. Despots, knowing this, endeavor to do everything in their power to shut down our ability to think outside of their established narratives.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It goes on. You listen to lies long enough, and you cannot distinguish between truth and reality. Religion has the same effect, instilled at early ages. Concluding:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>If you\u2019ve found yourself burnt out, exhausted, confused, dejected and dismayed as you process the daily onslaught of the Trumpian team, you now know why. And while it might be tempting to allow awareness of these authoritarian tactics to sow depression, that would be playing right into Trump\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n<p>Understanding the power of authoritarian confusion must breed clarity, not despair. The more we grasp how Trumpism corrodes thought, the better equipped we are to defend it \u2014 because the fight for democracy always begins in the mind.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\\\\\\\\<\/p>\n<p>The Fringe:<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!FDg-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff17f859e-ccb0-4a3a-8246-8eb59ecd39c5_1257x705.png\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Friendly Atheist, 3 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.friendlyatheist.com\/p\/indianas-christian-nationalist-lt\">Indiana&#8217;s Christian Nationalist Lt. Gov. says Zohran Mamdani wants to \u201cforce his values\u201d on NYC<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;Micah Beckwith railed against Muslim politicians while pushing his own unconstitutional brand of religious rule&#8221; &#8212; &#8212; Hypocrisy. And this is why I think most religious folks are a bit dim.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>JMG, 3 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2025\/11\/cnn-trump-lied-18-times-in-60-minutes-interview\/\">CNN: Trump Lied 18 Times In \u201c60 Minutes\u201d Interview<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; Of course he did. Source link: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/11\/03\/politics\/fact-check-trump-cbs-interview\">CNN<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>JMG, 3 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2025\/11\/oligarch-to-followers-vote-cuomo-not-for-mumdumi\/\">Oligarch To Followers: \u201cVote Cuomo Not Mumdumi\u201d<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; Elon Musk, classy as always, deliberately mispronouncing peoples&#8217; names.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>JMG, 3 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2025\/11\/junior-obama-and-newsom-are-leg-crossing-pussies\/\">Junior: Obama And Newsom Are \u201cLeg Crossing Pussies\u201d<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; Cave man morality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>JMG, 3 Nov 2025:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2025\/11\/trump-admin-gives-coal-plants-100-million-bailout\/\">Trump Admin Gives Coal Plants $100 Million Bailout<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; Investing in the past, ignoring the future, as conservatives are wont to do.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paul Krugman about how Trump has ceded the future to China; Tom Nichols on how the Trump administration resembles a bunch of toddlers, and what Americans who care about democracy should do. Salon&#8217;s Sophia A. McClennen on how the Trump &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2025\/11\/03\/troubled-children-cognitive-collapse-cave-man-morality\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,54,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservative-resistance","category-politics","category-psychology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26153"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26191,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26153\/revisions\/26191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}