Many of my friends are drowning in hopelessness. I implore them from time to time to make their doom predictions less hopeless and irrational. But it was less successful than I wanted. I respect their opinions but have decided to look elsewhere for advice. and turned to another group of friends which sits on my bookshelf
Some of these friends have been with me for more than half a century. And they become smarter and sharper with age. One of the first The one I turned to was only slightly older than me: Motivation and personalityBy Academic Psychologist Abraham Maslow This book has a family history: Maslow vacationed on a lake in Maine in a cabin near my grandfather’s house. who owned a homemade shoe factory who came to the United States only with the benefit of an elementary school education.
The story goes that Maslow complained that he could not finish his magnum opus while surrounded by cheering children. and tourists After a few days, Sam Cohen turned to him. Tell him that writing is like any other job. and he had an office arranged for him in his factory. Then he ordered (Instead of inviting) him to do it. Go there and finish the book. Maslow did, and I have the author’s inscription on the title page to prove it.
Maslow thought that psychology focused too much on pathology. Instead, he was interested in what it did for mental health—a deeper, real purpose in my opinion. More than the pursuit of contemporary happiness This tends to be temporary and is sometimes inappropriate for our circumstances.
Here are the two relevant bits:
Because for people who are healthy The unknown is not scary. They didn’t waste time placing the ghost. Whistling through the cemetery or protect yourself from imagined danger. They do not ignore the unknown, deny it, or run from it. Or try to believe that it is really known. And they did not organize, polarize, or rubric it prematurely.
And then this:
They can accept the frailty and sin, weakness and wickedness of human nature with the same unquestioning spirit that we accept the attributes of nature. No one complained about the water because it was wet. Or about rocks because they’re hard. Or about trees because they are green. When children look at the world with wide eyes without criticism Not very demanding, pure, just observe and observe what is happening. Without arguing or demanding otherwise. People who are self-aware tend to look. Human nature in self and others
As Maslow said This is a stoic style. And it is a style that individuals should aspire to in a world where norms are flouted. Bad things have happened and the words are even more vicious than before. And the imagined loom before us is fraught with danger. Maslow’s healthy person has little inclination to express resentment, which does not mean to ignore unpleasant realities. Actually, it’s the other way around.
Once settled in that mindset What about predicting the Trump administration’s policies? Another older friend, George Orwell, spoke to that person.
Political predictions are often wrong. But even when we do the right thing to discover Why The right one can shine a lot. In general, It is correct only when the desire or fear coincides with reality.
I suspect this will be a unique problem in Donald Trump’s dealings with the world. There is no widely shared hope (that he will ignore Tucker, for example). Carlson and Donald Trump Jr. and is more or less normal in many ways) or fear (that he will do whatever he wants and be crazier than he lets on). It will be a useful guideline. But as a human being We will always judge the two emotions to be distorted. Orwell had a solution:
To see what is in front of the nose requires constant struggle. One thing that can help is keeping a daily journal. or record opinions about important events. Otherwise, when some nonsense belief is exploded by an event, one may forget that the person One had held it before.
Helpful advice from a man who confessed that most of his predictions during World War II were wrong. Although, as I know from experience, His remedy may be a painful one.
So on what basis should one attempt to predict Trump’s policies? A serious ancient friend comes to the rescue with this:
Start the morning by telling yourself: I will meet busy, ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, jealous, unsociable people.
This from Marcus Aurelius, the last great Roman emperor and thoughtful Stoic philosopher. Not a bad place to start when looking at an administration that will have some barbarians. He continued:
No matter what man you meet Immediately say to yourself, ‘What principle does this man entertain in human good and sickness?’ Because if he has some principle concerning pleasure and pain, and the source of these things About honor and shame About death and life I wouldn’t be surprised or weirded out if he did something.
Much contemporary speculation about the administration is based on the prominent personalities of the president-elect and some of his advisers and confidants. But screaming about those things doesn’t help anyone understand what’s going on.
One problem with the anti-Trump camp is its tendency to demonize. Some demonic characters may ramble about the administration. But we’d be better off trying to figure out what makes Trump tick. In particular, phrases about honor and dishonor are worth pondering. For a man in the eighties who achieved remarkable political success. He had just survived two assassination attempts. honor In the sense of Marcus Aurelius, it should be something other than “Owning the libs” is more likely Trump’s desire for a lasting record of success. including the peace agreement in Ukraine Figuring out what he wants those things to be. And in what manner? It’s probably best to consider how to influence him. To the extent that anyone It can be done.
Suppose we can practice better judgment and predict what management will do and why. There may still be many things to ponder, such as the possibility of a tariff war. Betrayal of an ally mass deportation Efforts to prosecute citizens of deep states, etc., despite Trump himself, may be less destructive than some fear. But the MAGA movement will also be there: acolytes looking for an opportunity to leave NATO, ban abortion entirely, make getting vaccinated through Medicare impossible, destroy the institutions that guarantee fair elections. Free and fair, or simply brooding and corrupt through embassies and other high offices?
Thus, something more spiritual is indicated. And I found it in the Library of America edition of Reinhold Niebuhr, one of the last century’s most profound thinkers.
Lord, give us the grace to accept the things that cannot be changed. Courage to change what needs to be changed and the wisdom to distinguish one thing from another.
Peace will be what we need in the years to come. If you ask me, a well-stocked library will be more helpful in getting there than sedatives. staring at a mobile phone Or scrambling to see if Irish ancestry qualifies for an EU passport.
