*updatemag

Issue #1
Who let my fish loose?
centre of as many endless discussions
as possible.
Ignorance is a bliss
The sight of people amassing at
airports to protest the executive
order, many waving placards
bearing Trump’s name, is paradoxically
exactly what a narcissist
craves. Worse still, the dissent
emanating from leading Democrats
and celebrities robs these
protests of some of their grassroots
edge, turning them into
what Lasch presciently called the
“revolt of the elites”.
It all flatters Trump’s message
that the protesters care not a
bit for the hardships of ordinary
Americans. It also makes him a
model for thousands of his fans;
as he himself chases the spotlight,
they compete with each
other for public attention. His extreme
egocentricity poisons the
public sphere; norms of common
decency and sense are replaced
by a mob mentality of mutual
recriminations and insults. This
atmosphere not only safeguards
Trump’s power, but more importantly,
may contribute to the
emergence of a similarly toxic
demagogue in the future.
So the narcissist’s trap is set, and
those campaigning against Trump
need to get out of it. So long as
they make their ultimate goal the
downfall of Trump’s presidency,
they will never break his hold
on the public imagination. What the US and the
rest of the world need is an open public dialogue
aimed at solving any number of critical problems,
such as migration, unemployment, and mass
“uprootedness” – the sense of disconnection that
writer Simone Weil identified as an incubator of
authoritarianism and demagoguery.
Without facing these problems head on for what
they are, critics will end up trapped in a close orbit
around Trump himself – mired in toxic discussions
that feed political phobias and cultural antipathies.
The narcissist’s trap is set, and those
campaigning against Trump need to
get out of it. So long as they make their
ultimate goal the downfall of Trump’s
presidency, they will never break his hold
on the public imagination.
dr. Michail Theodosiadis
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