{"id":579,"date":"2024-02-18T11:52:03","date_gmt":"2024-02-18T16:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/?p=579"},"modified":"2024-02-18T11:52:03","modified_gmt":"2024-02-18T16:52:03","slug":"a-tale-told-by-a-cynic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/?p=579","title":{"rendered":"A Tale Told By A Cynic"},"content":{"rendered":"

I happened to catch a recent video clip of the GOP front runner doing his now all too familiar thing in preparation for yet another virtual primary acclamation \u2014 New Hampshire, if anyone\u2019s still keeping score. And was put in mind of another\u2019s lament:<\/p>\n

. . . a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage,\u00a0<\/i>and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot,\u00a0<\/i>full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.<\/i> (Macbeth, V, v)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Seems the \u2018poor player\u2019 is still banging on about the \u2018mental test\u2019 that he \u2018aced\u2019. His stellar result is now cited as further confirmation that his 77 year old intellect continues\u00a0 <\/span>superior to that of \u2018Sleepy Joe\u2019 (at the advanced age of 81). The current iteration of said \u2018reassurance\u2019 notes that SJ couldn\u2019t have gotten past the first three questions (as the queries get progressively harder??); but that the PP (poor player) was happily presented with \u20183,293 times four, divide by 3\u2019, noting that there\u2019s \u2018plenty of tough stuff\u2019 \u2014 way beyond the apparent ken of SJ (but presumably well within his).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Allowing that questions 2 and 3 consist of copying a picture of a cube and drawing a clock face displaying ten past eleven, we are indeed in deep water if SJ is unable to clear this bar \u2014 but are wildly reassured that the Donald can (clear the bar). The contrived math problem, sadly is purely a figment of DJT\u2019s imagination (Confabulation: the act of producing false memories about events).\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Evidently, it has long since been accepted as read that truth, facts really don\u2019t matter. There is no longer the need to count the lies, reinventions, denials, distortions \u2014 they are simply irrelevant. The compulsion to disprove, to catch the prevaricator in his lies has, at least in some very significant segments of the voting public, simply vanished. No necessity to rationalize. It\u2019s all part of \u2018the man\u2019. After all, water into wine, healing leprosy, and that trick with the loaves and fishes are all part of the accepted tool kit \u2014 and, according to some very committed Trumpsters, DJT is sidling up to a similar status. (\u2018Chosen by God\u2019 according to a straight-faced Iowan).<\/p>\n

Young Julia, the apple of Winston\u2019s eye (yes, I\u2019m still \u2018banging on\u2019 about 1984<\/i>) is described as \u2018often ready to accept the official mythology, simply because the difference between truth and falsehood did not seem important. . .<\/i>\u2019, her summary comment being \u2018Who cares? One knows the news is all lies anyway<\/i>\u2019. (Book II, v). Hmm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More currently and with the release of \u2018Matrix Resurrections\u2019 (yep, number four and a quarter century after the original), a decidedly older Neo is well, resurrected. . . and is still sorting through the fact and fiction of his planet. Channeling Winston, Keanu Reeves tries to explain the conceit on which the movies are based to the thirteen year old daughter of a friend:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Well there\u2019s this guy who\u2019s in a kind of virtual world. And he finds out that there\u2019s a real world, and he\u2019s really questioning what\u2019s real and what\u2019s not real. And he really wants to know what\u2019s real.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Her response: \u2018Why<\/i>. . ? \u2018 and questioned further, \u2018No!<\/i>\u2019 in answer to \u2018don\u2019t you care if it\u2019s real?\u2019 Pretty much sums it up!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And so here we are. Bereft of curiosity, disinterested in critical thinking, bored with research, and, quite literally, accepting of the \u2018party line\u2019. Virtual, smirtual<\/i> . . . all the same \u2014 simply ask Julia; or, for that matter any adolescent (or the equivalent!). So just close your eyes, click the heels of those ruby slippers sharply together and repeat after me: \u2018There\u2019s no truth like Donald\u2019s\u2019. And there you\u2019ll be . . . right back in Kansas, along with a base of true believers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I happened to catch a recent video clip of the GOP front runner doing his now all too familiar thing in preparation for yet another virtual primary acclamation \u2014 New Hampshire, if anyone\u2019s still keeping score. And was put in mind of another\u2019s lament: . . . a poor player that struts and frets his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=579"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":586,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579\/revisions\/586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidhowardpsychologist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}