Nihilism

 

Philosophically and psychologically there is a relationship between nihilism and authoritarianism.Nihilism and authoritarianism are related in the sense that man's common meanings, morals, rules, laws, values and ideas become blurred and irrelevant. Man is irrational; manipulated within a capitalistic network: subservient to technology,mass communication,propaganda, advertising and  with conformity. These salient factors  and circumstances are connected resulting in a number of lost, unaware, bewildered and alienated individuals. The authoritarians system structure provides a false sense of certainty, security, safety ,protection, regularity and power that, in essence, depletes individual responsibility, objectivity and reason but not man's total submission and obedience.

Nihilistic authoritarianism is defined as pursuing power for its own sake, rather than serving a higher ethical purpose, political or religious ideal.And, this systemic nihilistic  authoritarianism distorts reality and truth because it can.

This  Mega movement has made a mockery and nihilistic statement with respect to the US constitution, Congress, Declaration of Independence, rule of law, free press, science, public health, foreign aid and NATO.

A few New York Times articles from the September 27th, 2026 edition provide salient illustrations:  1.”  How Congress Fell Apart  From an Inside Account From Lawmakers of Both Parties  About How America’s Legislative Branch Descended Into Total Dysfunction.”  This article stated that congressional dysfunction began before Trump.  However, the GOP belongs to Trump.  And if a bill or legislation is in Trump's interest or priority, then the bill  gets passed. Further, Trump doesn’t look to Congress to lead or set limits and acts subservient and irrelevant.

2.  “White House Blocks CNN From Covering Trump’s Trip to Tennessee .”Trump argued that he was banning media from the White House.  “Fake news should not be allowed in the White House!!!  It has gone on too far, too long.”  In response, other news organizations adjusted their coverage of the

White House to show their solidarity.  That was followed when a federal judge ordered the White House to restore the journalists credentials immediately.

3.” Quitting Prosecutor Felt Pressure to File Charges.”  The former head prosecutor in a high profile Trump administration case against anti-ice protesters retired last week and accused Chicago’s US attorney of pushing unwarranted felony charges.  And this resignation escalates the turmoil inside the US attorney’s office in Chicago where a wave of veteran prosecutors have quit or what some of them believed to be pressure to charge certain cases . For example, the current US attorney overruled the former prosecutor and threatened her with discipline or termination if she tried to intervene and defend herself against misconduct allegations.  

That current US attorney personally ordered an expedited transcript of the failed grand jury session and directed that it be circulated among office leadership.  Essentially this man’s tenure as Chicago’s top federal prosecutor has been marred by controversies and criticism.  All seven sections of the office -the criminal division , and many successors and deputies have left . Is the law  blind  ?

4.  “Zombified” CDC Strains To Meet Scientific Mission   Independence  Crumbles in Kennedy's Grip as Work Force Contracts by 30%. For many years.  CDC and prevention was at the the top with  global leaders in public health , scientists there  trained health officials worldwide, and  for the  states it was a primary source of guidance for prevention and treatment of diseases including diabetes, HIV and seasonal flu.  Now, the CDC is a skeleton of the powerhouse it once was.

Interviews with more than 30 current and former employees explained that the agency was now controlled by Kennedy  Jr. and his  political non-trained nor qualified associates.  The  remaining scientists  are finding it difficult to do their jobs effectively. This results in the lack of CDC’s ability to respond to outbreaks such as measles, ebola  and vaccinations.  Also entire divisions have been duly affected, including some teams that work on smoking, sexual violence, child abuse and falls among older adults.

There’s also a leadership vacuum as only one of the 11 center directors from before remains at the agency  despite a series of high-profile disease outbreaks .Also, CDC workers have had little contact with the WHO,  Congress and even their partners in the state and local health departments.  Further statements to the media about the health crisis are also tightly controlled by HHS.

On the very first day of Trump's second term, he withdrew the country from the WHO and his administration has upended the nation’s health policies and aligned them with his political priorities.  Also, there’s been a whole host of political interference in CDC’s activities.  One example was when Kennedy  Jr. overruled the CDC’s scientist in opposing strict quarantine measures for people exposed to the hantavirus.

Many divisions are struggling to distribute money appropriated by Congress and have been saddled with asking for volunteers from other offices to help the Division of Population Health which lost 88% of its staff.

The agency’s dysfunction is alarming. Public health experts, even outside the country  who had previously relied on CDC's experience or expertise during the global crisis, believe we are less prepared now and less capable of having a coordinated response than we were before the pandemic.

CDC’s public health infrastructure grant helps health departments train employees and build systems that were managed by 20 project officers but it now has three.   “You are doing your job , your boss's job who left you and also have three staff people  left under you,.... No one has a spare capacity to help out something that’s not in their field.”

Nihilistic authoritarianism clearly exhibits a willingness to dismiss and destroy democracy ,constitution and the Bill of Rights while establishing absolute control over its citizens.  We the people; pursuit of happiness; rule of law; free press and the health of its people are values that are considered absurd and have no  meaning , purpose .without objective truth , morality  and  just don't matter. Instead, their agenda is about their narcissistic power, control and obedience .

Our current nihilistic authoritarian president’ s wealth has increased by at least $2.2 billion since 2025 while being in office suggesting  his avarice pursuits . It’s  his economic greed  pertaining to nihilism and associated with his neurotic  pursuit of power and illustrates this man’s overwhelming malignant narcissism. However, this emotionally bankrupt man remains unsatisfied and unable to find contentment here on earth .

Trust Part 2

 To reiterate, the “mothering person” (  voice,touch,facial expression ) can be characterized as loving, caring, warm  or insecure, rigid, controlling, angry, anxious, inadequate and/or incestuous. Not surprising, the child is looking for  nurturance, protection, comfort,security ,safety, and love . Taking into account being suckled, as an example,did the feeding  engagement contribute to developing  and become associated with a sense of trust( a good mother) or a sense of mistrust ( a bad mother)?  An/ or , did the “good” mothering person leave and become absent for any number of reasons and then become the “bad “, by introjection, the untrusting  mother to fear and become associated with feelings of   hunger, frustration, insecurity , tension, anxiety, uneasiness , anger, loss and mistrust ? 

With a bad mother ,the child’s emotional  experience of hunger, fear,threat and danger  becomes unconsciously projected,  as a reality , of a dangerous  world . If so, it results in   a fixation of the child’s emotional development  .

When there is the  loss of a” good “mother, the child first encounters feelings of  acute distress and then followed by a  feeling of despair  and subsequently a stage of  emotional detachment.  And , with more losses of mother figures, it gradually begins to lose trust in other human beings . As a defense , the child withdraws and assumes an attitude of indifference toward further human contact.

With a sense of mistrust , begins the development of paranoid , delusional and persecutory  thinking .Paranoid   thinking is defensive, irrational  and rigid. This defense  offers some solutions for a person’s anxiety ,fear, insecurity, discomfort  and distress as the world is perceived as dangerous, threatening and attacking . And because  these children are easily frightened ,experience ongoing frustration,  they are easily given to rage .

Paranoid thinking is a projection and a distortion of reality but does not satisfy the wish for safety, security and love .  Essentially , it’s a mechanism , an orientation  of hyper  vigilance . It’s a prediction of  intention, motives, thoughts and feelings of others made  to be consonant , a confabulation, to fit with one’s distortion of reality . 

It interferes with objectivity and rationality in that it tends to treat impersonal things and events as though they were personal .And  unfortunately, a paranoids  attitude, beliefs , feelings , thoughts and behavior  become less susceptible to correction .These paranoid types rigidly hold onto their crazy ideas and believe in a whole host of extraordinary explanations of events.They are not open to rationality,reason or reality. And, they become easy prey  from other  “ parental” figures falsely promoting power,protection,safety ,caring and love.

Their emotional tensions are transferable and projected to  others in the external world .With paranoid thinking,  they believe that they can identify and discern the difference between self and another.  Despite being unable to discern differences, they  act as though their influences and suspicions are established facts. 

 Simply put, they are unable to identify or take another person's position and see things from that person’s perspective.  They are unable to trust  no one but themselves . And, they lack the  intellectual or cognitive means for reconsidering their beliefs and conclusions. Moreover, they cannot be convinced of their irrationality,hate and craziness . Essentially the defense mechanisms of  denial, rationalization ,introjection and projection are paramount.

Accompanying paranoid thinking,  is  the defense mechanism of denial  which becomes established early in childhood . And denial  becomes an overdeveloped tendency ,in part, because of the excessive amounts of  anxiety , unpleasantness and the threat externally. Not only  do they deny reality but they  project their own toxic and hateful attributes and feelings  onto others.  A hostile paranoid person  deeply feels that he is  surrounded by external hostility and , as a defense, also has identified with angry, hateful  sadistic individuals. likely , at first, with the parenting figures .

These paranoid types are secretive, closed, suspicious and seclusive.They  deny  and can not take responsibility for their failures but  instead , project and blame  others for their failures and situation . Although they often appear agreeable to self and others, they are  actually hostile individuals.

It’s not surprising  that these paranoid mistrusting types engage  and identify with angry, hateful others that lie, project , blame and scapegoat . Without  objective, truthful information , reasoning and a clear understanding ,these brain rot individuals have sympathized - 74% with the Palestinians and 44% were against US military support for Israel. 

A US Millennial Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness Survey revealed  that  63% of Gen Z and Millennial respondents did not know that 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. And, 48% could not name a single concentration camp or ghetto, established during World War II.  In another survey highlighted by USA Today, 20% of young adults in New York incorrectly believed the Jewish people caused  the Holocaust . And  a Claims Conference study in the Netherlands found that 23% of millennial’s and Gen Z  ers believed the Holocaust was either a myth or had been highly exaggerated.

It’s clear that this troubled, non-trusting, suspicious, paranoid ,easily manipulated and receptive to conspiracy ideas population are a threat to themselves and to our republic. They have bought into Covid-19 vaccination misinformation; Trump's phony 2020 election lies;Netanyahu’s manipulating Trump ; Trump’s war with Iranian;Israeli genocide;  winning the Iranian war; the evils of woke, LGBTQ , the Democrats and other nonsense.These dependent, non trusting  paranoid , brain rot individuals ,with intimacy fears, are contributing to our  nations mental, emotional and physical  decline. 

PS

More  Gen Z females graduate from college than the males yet more of the males voted for Trump. 

 

Reference

Cameron, Norman.  Personality Development and Psychopathology.

Erikson H. Erik .  Childhood and Society.

Trust - Part 1

 

Trust has been characterized as a conscious choice, becoming vulnerable to another person, anchored in the confident belief that their intent and competence are reliable. Also, trust relies on integrity, strength, ability, surety of a person , to believe that someone is good and honest and will not harm you. This brief essay has to do with the lack of trust  and paranoia of  many Gen Zers .

The following  troubling statistics , regarding trust, come from the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and  The Hill  “Gen Z Rejects Trump Support and is Mid Term Motivated and Pew  Research.  Pertaining to Gen Z  :1.They make up 21% of the population 2.  Their voter turnout remains lower than other age groups 3.  31% supported Trump in the 2024 election and their GOP showing  was the highest since 2008 4. Trump’s approval rating dropped from 94% to 69% in his first seven months 5.  Prior to the 2024 election 27% strongly agreed that democracy was the best form of government, compared to 69% over the age of 58  6.  Less than one third under the age of 30 trust the government 7.  16% believe  that democracy is working well for young people .

Additional information  pertaining to trust : 1 right-leaning influencers have 9 out of 10 most popular podcasts and shows 2.  Gen Zers are getting information from their favorite influencers, favorite content  creators and/or YouTube streaming 3.  Many conservative youth leaders use highly inflammatory language involving  Nazi-ism and racism.  4.  Information  received is driven by social media not traditional news outlets as they are absorbing narratives not consuming the news 5.Politics of equality don’t  resonate with a lot of these males.

Further  trust statistics: 1.  17% of Americans say they don’t trust the federal government in Washington 2.  66% of Republicans trust science 3.  There’s been a big decline in trusting science associated with the Covid -19 pandemic 4. 23% of Republicans trust higher education 5.  26%.  Republicans trust the current Trump administration 6. Globally, the United States placed 27th in  trusting  the rule of law .

Politically , Gen Zers complain  but do not always vote . Second, a significant number of these types supported , voted  for a man that made 30,573 false or misleading claims  during his first 4 years in office ;  lied about the 2020 election results and  provided inaccurate statistics on the economy ,inflation , and Constitution according to the Washington Post Fact Checker. 

 Perhaps, if these types read and received their news from reliable sources, and  not from  social media , they might've experienced cognitive dissonance. Unfortunately, too few believe in democracy or trust the government  but do support an authoritarian  running government. Can there be any surprise that the government is not working for them ?  Ignorance is not  their bliss .

Psychologically , Erikson  brilliantly described eight psychosocial developmental stages pertaining to personality development.  His first stage described whether or not a baby  was able to show and demonstrate social trust . This psychological issue is an important variable affecting well being . Did the baby experience ease in feeding, depth of sleep, relaxation of bowel movement or does that baby  have to deal and be confronted with  too much unpleasantness , anxiety ,irregularity , vulnerability and discomfort ? 

Social trust has to do with familiarity ,anticipation and expectancy when experiencing anxiety , tension or threat . If  physiological and psychological needs get gratified by the mother  figure (reinforcement), that results in reduction of discomfort  for the baby.  With  a positive  ratio of  primarily continuous reinforcement, anticipation and expectancies develop with that gratification .This allows the infant to become better able to balance the discomfort caused by  its physiology.  With successful reinforcement, that newborn  develops  a familiarity  and  with that results , on a continuum ,of a sense of inner goodness - a”good” mother . 

With a negative  ratio or absence  of reinforcement, tension, anxiety and discomfort is not lessened  and therefore negative anticipations, expectancies with familiarity become established and associated with that mother figure - a “bad “ mother . That baby has developed the ground floor or prototype for mistrust . The sense of mistrust begins with the mother figure and then generalizes to other mother figures .

Questions , just an example ,relating to that mother figure  associated with feeding  for developing a sense of  trust or mistrust  include  the following : 1. The mother figures, age,  character , psychological maturity  and mental health   2.  How much psychological energy  and focus can be devoted  to the baby when feeding without excessive  worry,  fear, distractions, obligations, other responsibilities , priorities or other needs ? 3. Was the bottle propped and/or does a relaxed or tensed ,insecure mother hold the child near

?.  Comparative research by Harry Harlow demonstrated the importance of close and warm contact during feeding.  4.  Was the feeding based on some rigid  schedule or  on demand ? 5. What’s the degree of love or fear associated with that mother figure?

The degree ,comfort , strength  or love of  mutuality that occurs  between caretaker and baby affects the degree of  developing  that sense of trust or mistrust.  If a sense of trust  occurs , that outer predictability  can  and does generalize towards  others and results in a positive  familiarity between self and other human forms . If a sense of  mistrust develops ,a different and negative tendency occurs .That occurrence makes it difficult to trust one’s ability in reducing tension, discomfort , frustration  along with a tendency  to limit and avoid forms of  other humans for expectancies to reduce conflict . 

The task of the caretaker is second to none and must be a priority.  That parent must also have developed a sense of trust, to be able to guide  with prohibition and permission and have a firm sense of what they are doing. Parents that have been deprived or have developed a sense of  mistrust themselves present and reinforce  that untrustworthiness, irregularity and inconsistency. This dynamic  results in frustration, uneasiness, hate , fear and anger with the  development of paranoia.

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The baby must be able to rely on the sameness and continuity of that caretaker which leads to the ability to trust oneself and be able to deal  effectively with urges, deficits, frustrations, and so forth . If not, the newborn develops too much of an inner sense of anxiety, frustration, rejection , anger, fear  and  hate.  In other words, there is an introjection , a taking in, based on that identification . Then ,  that negativity  becomes projected onto others. And,  all those troubling thoughts and feelings turn into  negative implications, ramifications  with toxic behavior . Paranoid thoughts  then hold the infant captive throughout life.

Of course there’s a constant testing in that relationship .Are there going to be  degrees of comfort or rage , initially with that provider and later generalizing with others ? Importantly, we are not talking about absolute quantities of food or demonstration of love, but rather the quality of that mutuality within the relationship.  The importance of personal trustworthiness ,being all right with oneself and others becomes an important psychological task.

Having developed a sense of mistrust, because of inadequate  , irregular or multiple  caretakers, that individual is additionally  faced, during a lifetime, with fragmentary or incomplete information  about reality at the best and  then  consequently makes assumptions that are influenced by  one’s feeling and thinking.  

Feelings and thinking are  reciprocally related . With  that sense of mistrust , that individual becomes unable to  think , reason  and procure information in an objective , cogent and rational manner  .Essentially, an inordinate amount  of internalized  thinking and feelings of fear ,anxiety , desire  and hate Influence both perception and cognition resulting in cognitive unsoundness and irrationality.

To Be Continued

Today's Hal

 

Homo sapiens have a terrific history of creating existential threats by following  and submitting to authoritarian despots.  Alexander ,Caesar ,Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Henry VIII and Hitler come to mind. Their ethical and moral conscience can best be described as being authoritarian with destruction tendencies .

Recently, a 27-year-old Anthropic employee quit and released an A.I.warning pertaining to the end of civilization as we know it.  The zillionaire and two billionaire CEOs agreed . However, they wanted to remain and have  control of AI’s development . They proposed to develop all  the necessary rules and regulations without interference  and received Trump’s support .  

Bernie Sanders, King Charles, Bill Gates  and  others voiced  concerns  . Additionally, the following titles of articles regarding A.I.concern found in the New York Times September 13, 2026 : 1.  The A.I. Safety Experts Can’t Sleep, And Neither Should You.  2.  How To  Rein In An Existential Threat.  3.  A.I. Becomes a Tool To Target Gamblers.  Most Likely to Lose 4.  It Does Not Seem Like a Good Idea to Give A.I. Control of Its Own Frontier.5 Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor Say the End of the World Is Now on the Table.

Donald said  that A.I.was a “hoax” and then called it super intelligence. Of course he would say that because he has financial interests in AI .And, Musk and the four other billionaires have contributed greatly to Trump and his GOP . Government contracts and other advantages have accrued to these robber barons as well with a relationship that’s reciprocal and symbiotic.

From a moral perspective,consider  a few of the characteristics associated with rational authority and humanistic ethics. 1.It is based on competence not on intimidation but on helping, not exploiting  2. It requires scrutiny, criticism and its acceptance is dependent upon performance.  3.  It is based on equality of both the authority and the subject 4.  Only man himself can determine the criteria for virtue and not an authority transcending him.  5.  Good is based on man’s welfare 6.  Man’s virtue is a set of qualities which is characteristic of the human species . And man is virtuous If he unfolds his virtue 7.There is nothing higher and nothing more dignified than human existence 8.Fulfillment , happiness, and relatedness are associated with solidarity with fellow man .  9.  Love is in man’s own power which he relates  to himself , to the world and makes it truly his.

A few points related to   humanistic ethics per Aristotle, Spinoza, Dewey and Freud.  Humanistic ethics for Aristotle, was built on the science of man.  He deduced the idea that virtue or excellence pertained to  functions and capacities peculiar to man .Also, happiness was man’s aim  which  is the result of activity and use  but not a possession or state of mind. Using the Olympic Games as an example,  he stated that it’s not the most beautiful and the strongest that are crowned but those who compete.It is those who act ,win, and rightly win, The free, rational and active man  is  both  good and happy .

Spinoza  hypothesized  about unconscious motivation, laws of association and the persistence of childhood experiences through life. For him, man’s function was to preserve himself and persevere in his existence .And, persevering meant to become that which one potentially is and that virtue was the unfolding of the specific potentialities of every organism . For man it’s a state in which the most human values determine  his real interests, which are freedom and the productive use of his powers.Also, happiness was not an end in itself but is what accompanies the experience and ability to increase his potency .or all the powers characteristic of man.

Dewey postulated that the aim of human life was the growth and development of man in terms of his nature and constitution.  According to him , man does not know what he is until after a course of action is figured out. And, reality relates to the unconscious forces in determining not only  overt conduct, but desire ,judgment, belief and idealization.

For Freud, a passionate faith in truth was critical. Man must strive because he is, by nature, endowed with reason . It’s the power of reason that allowed mankind  to unify and to free men from the shackles of superstition.  Essentially,  faith and truth underlies Freud’s concept of psychoanalysis with its goal- to uncover the truth about oneself. Freud also believed  that virtue was a natural aim in man’s development.

In comparison and contrast an authoritarian conscience is associated with irrational authority. For example: 1. Their commands are determined by their own self centered, selfish  beliefs,  values, judgments ,rules, policies, laws and obligations  which are considered to be good and beneficial for them . They determined right and wrong, good and bad, lawful and unlawful, moral and immoral within their own conscience. 2.  They present fear and admiration with unlimited power .  3.  Irrespective of their behavior , rules and morality, rebellion or disobedience was considered a sin as they are perceived as being morally superior.  4. Their powers, wisdom, strength and magic is unmatched.5.  Their sadism, cruelty ,destructiveness and hate tendencies are turned inward and outward.6. They exhibit unlimited self interest , selfishness ,desire for power, status and possession .

Currently, the top five AI companies driving the industry are NVIDIA, Open AI, Anthropic, Google(alphabet) and Microsoft. Their business models are associated with competition, profit and supremacy . With that being said, the tendency for authoritarian ethnic morality prevails.  This means an absence of  humanistic ethics for mankind  .

In essence, humanistic ethics, values and conscience is associated with man, not  with some  anthropomorphic device.  Humanistic ethics concerns itself with man’s developmental characteristics , with the ability to fully develop,understand, reason ,seek truth , happiness with the  capability  to love self and others. In comparison, authoritarian ethics, values and conscience are diametrically opposed .It is based on  an external authority knowing  and deciding right from wrong, good from evil ,reality from fiction , rationality from irrationality , love from hate , war from peace, freedom from slavery , ignorance from strength and with  their meaning  and definition of happiness.  In essence,they  create the rules,  laws and standards for all others within their dominating restrictive , controlling and destructive culture. 

Reference

Fromm, Erich .  Man For Himself  An Inquiry Into The Psychology Of Ethics.

Orwell, George.  1984.