“That some should rule and others be ruled is a thing not only necessary, but expedient; from the hour of their birth, some are marked out for subjection, others for rule.” – Aristotle
I think you are saying that those who readily accepted the official government story are slaves at heart. That likely extends to the American Congress, WH, and possibly the Supreme Court - which might explain why they cannot confront the school shootings et al. Damn, now I have to read Nietzsche.
Yes, I did want to talk about how exhibiting either a slave or master morality is not contingent upon the amount of power a person is able to wield in the real world, as was more likely to have been the case in centuries past, but unfortunately, it would have taken the article in kind of a different direction. Indeed, one need only look at the likes of AOC and Ilhan Omar to see how completely they are motivated by ressentiment.
I think the issue goes further back and is quite simple. Humans are animals, omnivores; we are both predators and prey. The “master/slave” mentality is equivalent to acting like predator/prey. It’s literally in our DNA.
What separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom is consciousness. Conscious humans, those who actively manage to keep their egos in check, move from being an animal, an instinctual predator/prey, to freedom, our ability to choose for ourselves.
And thank you very much for reading and commenting, particularly with such kind words. Yes, I've heard that in regard to aspiring tyrannies such as the one we are now facing, there are essentially three types of people 1) those addressed in the article 2) the baffled and indifferent you mentioned, and 3) those who actively oppose it. In fact, I'd love to remember which philosopher/commentator who discussed it as I really wanted to write a piece on their theory, but for the life of me, I just cannot recall.
Thanks again for your comment and apologies also about the delay in reply; I've been working on another article and sometimes I just have to spend some time away from the laptop.
Yes, it is terrible to witness people descend into that state you very aptly call "low-attention, poor impulse control culdesacs." I have friends who I've met up with years after first knowing them and they are now all but incapable of keeping their phone out of their hand. One thing that particularly struck me of late has been people discussing how much screen time they allow their children while at the same time flagrantly breaking this rule themselves.
I also really appreciate your mention of Mattias Desmet. I'm constantly looking for ideas for new articles and one thought I had was a breakdown of society in regard to compliance like the one included in your comment. I knew I'd heard/read someone discuss that kind of ratio before but for the life of me, I couldn't remember who. Now that you've brought Desmet's name back to memory, I've included it in the "ideas" folder on my laptop. Thanks again.
Excellent essay. Nietzsche is so misunderstood.
Thank You Carson.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed.
Slaves of self victimhood.
I think you are saying that those who readily accepted the official government story are slaves at heart. That likely extends to the American Congress, WH, and possibly the Supreme Court - which might explain why they cannot confront the school shootings et al. Damn, now I have to read Nietzsche.
Yes, I did want to talk about how exhibiting either a slave or master morality is not contingent upon the amount of power a person is able to wield in the real world, as was more likely to have been the case in centuries past, but unfortunately, it would have taken the article in kind of a different direction. Indeed, one need only look at the likes of AOC and Ilhan Omar to see how completely they are motivated by ressentiment.
I think the issue goes further back and is quite simple. Humans are animals, omnivores; we are both predators and prey. The “master/slave” mentality is equivalent to acting like predator/prey. It’s literally in our DNA.
What separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom is consciousness. Conscious humans, those who actively manage to keep their egos in check, move from being an animal, an instinctual predator/prey, to freedom, our ability to choose for ourselves.
That’s a really good point, it is absolutely a prey mentality so many of these people possess.
And thank you very much for reading and commenting, particularly with such kind words. Yes, I've heard that in regard to aspiring tyrannies such as the one we are now facing, there are essentially three types of people 1) those addressed in the article 2) the baffled and indifferent you mentioned, and 3) those who actively oppose it. In fact, I'd love to remember which philosopher/commentator who discussed it as I really wanted to write a piece on their theory, but for the life of me, I just cannot recall.
Thanks again for your comment and apologies also about the delay in reply; I've been working on another article and sometimes I just have to spend some time away from the laptop.
Yes, it is terrible to witness people descend into that state you very aptly call "low-attention, poor impulse control culdesacs." I have friends who I've met up with years after first knowing them and they are now all but incapable of keeping their phone out of their hand. One thing that particularly struck me of late has been people discussing how much screen time they allow their children while at the same time flagrantly breaking this rule themselves.
I also really appreciate your mention of Mattias Desmet. I'm constantly looking for ideas for new articles and one thought I had was a breakdown of society in regard to compliance like the one included in your comment. I knew I'd heard/read someone discuss that kind of ratio before but for the life of me, I couldn't remember who. Now that you've brought Desmet's name back to memory, I've included it in the "ideas" folder on my laptop. Thanks again.
Agreed. Unfortunately, they don't seem to yet realize that fact.