The idea for this piece came from a well made video produced by the Academy of Ideas Substack. The video cites numerous psychologists and philosophers, in highlighting the effects of isolation on the human psyche, and the sense of (lack thereof) belonging in the absence of community.
As much as I respect Hannah Arendt, I have to disagree with her on this: Totalitarians don’t cash in on loneliness. Loneliness is the emotion of a person with something valuable to offer. It’s the emotion of an independent person who seeks intellectual peers (or superiors), who are the only kinds of people he can respect and with whom he can enjoyably socialize. The emotion felt by people who are lured by collectivism at the expense of their independence and freedom (or because they already gave those things up) is not loneliness but fear. They don’t see giving up their freedom as a cost but as a relief: Finally somebody is going to officially do their thinking for them. The reason “absolute and relentless power” was acceptable to so many people was because it removed the demands of independence: thinking, moral judgement, and integrity. That’s why the Branch Covidians embraced “experts” telling them what to think and do. That mentality didn’t develop overnight in 2020. The Covidians longed for it before coronaviruses were a gleam in the eyes of the WHO.
It’s true that most people can’t tolerate moral isolation, but it’s true because they lack moral certainty. To the extent that they can articulate moral ideals, they recite what they’ve passively absorbed from the culture: the conventional wisdom of those around them, who are just as adrift and whose ideas remain just as unexamined. They can’t defy a mob and say, “This is right because,” or “This is wrong because.” They can’t *know* they’re right, so first they waffle and then they cave. They don’t think in terms of principles and they can’t defend (or even define) what they cite as their values. That’s how they could abandon those they claimed to love to the care of TikTok dancers. People like that are the reason you don’t hear “No” any more: “No, I will not pretend that your son is a girl.” “No, I will not pretend that floor arrows stop viruses.” “No, you will not coerce my medical decisions.” The people who resisted the psyop resisted it because the moral isolation of resistance was preferable to greasing the skids for dictatorship. I.e., they resisted because they were brave, and because they were brave they were lonely. Nothing would have made them happier than to find real allies. Nothing would have been more inspirational to them than the sight of other heroes. They are the people who spent the plandemic feeling like they didn’t belong to the world—and like the world no longer belonged to them.
“An unwavering sense of social belonging” is possible *only* to people who are brave enough to stand alone. They’re the only kinds of people suited for civilized societies. They can feel a sense of belonging only with other rational people with integrity: They can’t benefit from belonging to a society of cowards and morons, and they’d rather be alone than settle. Collectivists will do and give up *anything* to avoid being alone. The people I know who socialize often and meet with other people once a week or more, are the very people who chomped like bass on the virus porn. They’re the ones who let others peer-pressure them into muzzles and injections and elbow-bumping. No one who valued his individualism—who had an iota of pride, who understood the all-or-nothing quality of freedom, and who valued himself enough to uphold his integrity regardless of what others screamed at him: No one who was strong enough for that was primed for collectivist ideologies. Such people aren't tempted by collectivism. They’re disgusted by it. And angered. And they’re already the kind of people who are used to feeling lonely.
Good points well made here. Firsthand I noticed how people I know well were choosing to self isolate from 2020 - 2022, barely leaving the house. They became programmed by the MSM through fear and gravitated towards everything 'experts said'. Others, still present in the real world, would rush home to 'isolate' whenever they, or someone in their office 'caught covid' as a precautionary measure. Those people became more unhinged with each wave of fearmongering directed by the govt and media. They would mention their neighbours "breaking the rules" with gatherings etc and sounded inclined to snitch to the (UK) govt hotline, as encouraged to by tee-vee adverts by the police.
I think the collectivist aspect of those who lost their way, originated from fear, but was not crystalised until they were let outside of their chicken coop for a runaround to discuss and reinforce their learned MSM soundbites with other NPCs, during the on/off break-pumps of the lockdowns, the curfews, and the social distancing nonsense.
I agree with what you said here: "No one who valued his individualism—who had an iota of pride, who understood the all-or-nothing quality of freedom, and who valued himself enough to uphold his integrity regardless of what others screamed at him" - Certainly I was pleasantly surprised to discover friends in the UK who had no 'allies' whatsoever at the height of the scamdemic, had their entire families pressuring / ridiculing them for going against the herd, yet never compromised on their beliefs, and spoke up throughout the tyranny.
Let us hope that the minority of people used to feeling lonely and disgusted by collectivism, can stand tall and encourage others to do the same if and when the bird flu scamdemic ramps... up
The Belgian psychologist Mattias Desmet expands on this theme in his recent book "The Psychology of Totalitarianism."
From the foreword:"The world continues to exist in the grips of mass formation―a dangerous, collective type of hypnosis―as we bear witness to loneliness, free-floating anxiety, and fear giving way to censorship, loss of privacy, and surrendered freedoms."
As much as I respect Hannah Arendt, I have to disagree with her on this: Totalitarians don’t cash in on loneliness. Loneliness is the emotion of a person with something valuable to offer. It’s the emotion of an independent person who seeks intellectual peers (or superiors), who are the only kinds of people he can respect and with whom he can enjoyably socialize. The emotion felt by people who are lured by collectivism at the expense of their independence and freedom (or because they already gave those things up) is not loneliness but fear. They don’t see giving up their freedom as a cost but as a relief: Finally somebody is going to officially do their thinking for them. The reason “absolute and relentless power” was acceptable to so many people was because it removed the demands of independence: thinking, moral judgement, and integrity. That’s why the Branch Covidians embraced “experts” telling them what to think and do. That mentality didn’t develop overnight in 2020. The Covidians longed for it before coronaviruses were a gleam in the eyes of the WHO.
It’s true that most people can’t tolerate moral isolation, but it’s true because they lack moral certainty. To the extent that they can articulate moral ideals, they recite what they’ve passively absorbed from the culture: the conventional wisdom of those around them, who are just as adrift and whose ideas remain just as unexamined. They can’t defy a mob and say, “This is right because,” or “This is wrong because.” They can’t *know* they’re right, so first they waffle and then they cave. They don’t think in terms of principles and they can’t defend (or even define) what they cite as their values. That’s how they could abandon those they claimed to love to the care of TikTok dancers. People like that are the reason you don’t hear “No” any more: “No, I will not pretend that your son is a girl.” “No, I will not pretend that floor arrows stop viruses.” “No, you will not coerce my medical decisions.” The people who resisted the psyop resisted it because the moral isolation of resistance was preferable to greasing the skids for dictatorship. I.e., they resisted because they were brave, and because they were brave they were lonely. Nothing would have made them happier than to find real allies. Nothing would have been more inspirational to them than the sight of other heroes. They are the people who spent the plandemic feeling like they didn’t belong to the world—and like the world no longer belonged to them.
“An unwavering sense of social belonging” is possible *only* to people who are brave enough to stand alone. They’re the only kinds of people suited for civilized societies. They can feel a sense of belonging only with other rational people with integrity: They can’t benefit from belonging to a society of cowards and morons, and they’d rather be alone than settle. Collectivists will do and give up *anything* to avoid being alone. The people I know who socialize often and meet with other people once a week or more, are the very people who chomped like bass on the virus porn. They’re the ones who let others peer-pressure them into muzzles and injections and elbow-bumping. No one who valued his individualism—who had an iota of pride, who understood the all-or-nothing quality of freedom, and who valued himself enough to uphold his integrity regardless of what others screamed at him: No one who was strong enough for that was primed for collectivist ideologies. Such people aren't tempted by collectivism. They’re disgusted by it. And angered. And they’re already the kind of people who are used to feeling lonely.
Good points well made here. Firsthand I noticed how people I know well were choosing to self isolate from 2020 - 2022, barely leaving the house. They became programmed by the MSM through fear and gravitated towards everything 'experts said'. Others, still present in the real world, would rush home to 'isolate' whenever they, or someone in their office 'caught covid' as a precautionary measure. Those people became more unhinged with each wave of fearmongering directed by the govt and media. They would mention their neighbours "breaking the rules" with gatherings etc and sounded inclined to snitch to the (UK) govt hotline, as encouraged to by tee-vee adverts by the police.
I think the collectivist aspect of those who lost their way, originated from fear, but was not crystalised until they were let outside of their chicken coop for a runaround to discuss and reinforce their learned MSM soundbites with other NPCs, during the on/off break-pumps of the lockdowns, the curfews, and the social distancing nonsense.
I agree with what you said here: "No one who valued his individualism—who had an iota of pride, who understood the all-or-nothing quality of freedom, and who valued himself enough to uphold his integrity regardless of what others screamed at him" - Certainly I was pleasantly surprised to discover friends in the UK who had no 'allies' whatsoever at the height of the scamdemic, had their entire families pressuring / ridiculing them for going against the herd, yet never compromised on their beliefs, and spoke up throughout the tyranny.
Let us hope that the minority of people used to feeling lonely and disgusted by collectivism, can stand tall and encourage others to do the same if and when the bird flu scamdemic ramps... up
The Belgian psychologist Mattias Desmet expands on this theme in his recent book "The Psychology of Totalitarianism."
From the foreword:"The world continues to exist in the grips of mass formation―a dangerous, collective type of hypnosis―as we bear witness to loneliness, free-floating anxiety, and fear giving way to censorship, loss of privacy, and surrendered freedoms."