The astonishingly prolific Victor Davis Hanson observes Insurrection Day with a fine essay on just who constitutes the actual threat to the American Way. Read it here.
If you are wondering, by the way, what the title of this post refers to, you can read the story of Zhao Gao over at Spandrell’s place, here. In a nutshell, the phrase encapsulates the phenomenon by which people are led, by coercion or other means, to contradict obvious realities. (In case you hadn’t noticed, this is everywhere now; I really do feel more and more every day that we are living in a madhouse.)
This, in turn, ties in nicely with the idea of “mass formations” that has been going around lately (though the phenomenon has been observed in crowd behavior for a very long time). But that’s a post I don’t have ready to go just yet, so it will have to wait.
If you do go over to Spandrell’s blog, spend a little time and have a look around. Smart guy. (And don’t miss the post that gave the site its domain-name.)
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With every passing day, that scene from Zoolander where Mugato laments he feels like he’s taking crazy pills keeps playing in my head.
Yep. Scott Adams, Elon Musk et alia think we’re living in a simulation. If so, it is simulating a madhouse.
And of course the Chinese deer/horse story reminded me of the familiar but somehow apropos tale: (just for fun)
Once upon a time in China, there lived an Emperor who owned a majestic white stallion, the finest beast in all his Kingdom. One night, a thief tried to slip in and steal the horse, but was captured by the palace guards and thrown into the dungeon.
The next morning, he was dragged before the Emperor’s court. “How dare you,” bellowed the Emperor, “lay hand on my royal steed! Jailor, put this thief to death!”
Immediately, the thief bowed deeply. “Your judgement is peerless and wise, O Emperor,” he calmly replied, “but my life is of little value. I should offer you a gift before I depart. Your mount is quite a fine one, but if your eminence would spare my life for just a year and a day, I swear to you I can teach that horse to sing hymns!”
The court burst in to laughter at that, but the Emperor was intrigued. After all, you didn’t get to his high position by turning down freely offered gifts, no matter how far-fetched they seem. To the surprise of all, the Emperor quickly accepted the offer.
As they were leaving the chambers, the jailor whispered to the thief, “You are a fool!”
“I am a fool?” replied the thief, smiling broadly. “Much can happen in a year and a day. The King may die. The horse may die. I may die… and maybe the horse will learn how to sing.”
I actually heard it first as told about Nasruddin.
These crazy people and their desire to purify everyone and everything not in step with their deformed Marxist world view should all be encouraged to visit Guyana, South America. Lot’s of good land and fine weather. Just right for another cult of ‘the anointed’. A one way visit. No return.
Insurrection so they say … So.
“What’re the charges” one may ask?
https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/capitol-breach-cases
Seems to me what all these *injured people need is a real come to Jesus moment. I mean if they’re gonna keep on with this nonsense get ’em all airplane tickets (first class of course) and fly ’em to
https://turcopolier.com/widespread-protests-in-kazakhstan-ttg/
Now that there is some real ‘Gimme that ol’ time religion’!
Professor Jacobson has been on this as well:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/01/mass-formation-psychosis-the-madness-of-crowds-and-the-end-of-the-progressive-march-through-institutions/