January 6: the outbreak of Republican mass psychosis
The ancient Greeks, going back at least to Plato and Aristotle, thought of the inner life of humans as a composite of three distinguishable parts—reason, spirit (the drive to fight and protect), and appetite.
In the Republic, Plato pictures these three parts inside us as a little human (reason), a lion (spirit), and a many-headed hydra (appetite).
Plato says that we are healthy when the three parts operate together in the proper hierarchy, when the parts that are not designed to govern allow themselves to be ruled by the part that is designed to govern.
The appetite is not designed to govern. It simply goes after whatever excites it.
The spirit is not designed to govern. It will fight for anything that strikes it as needing protection, regardless of whether that thing deserves protection.
Reason is the part of us that is designed to rule. It alone can distinguish what is true from what is false, what is good from what is bad, what deserves to be fought for and protected from what should be ignored and allowed to vanish.
The proper ordering of our inner life, therefore, is for reason to decide what is true and good, for spirit to listen to reason and defend the true and the good, and for appetite to be squashed by spirit when what it wants is wrong and encouraged by spirit when what it wants is right.
If we apply this analysis to contemporary Republicans, it could not be more obvious that their inner world is utterly deranged.
One fact above all shows this—their intransigent refusal to recognize the truth about the 2020 election.
They insist on believing that Trump won the election and that he was defrauded of a second term.
They insist on believing this despite a total lack of evidence of fraud, despite the fact that Republicans on the same ballots with Trump did very well, despite the fact that every claim about fraud brought by Trump’s shill lawyers was laughed out of court by judges appointed both by Republicans and by Democrats, and despite the fact that a year of Republican-financed “recounts” have turned up no fraud anywhere.
Rejecting evidence of the truth is the infallible sign of a deranged inner life. It is proof that appetite has convinced spirit to fight for and protect what it wants instead of what reason determines is true and good. The two parts that are not designed to rule have usurped control from the part that is designed to rule.
Republicans want what they want, which is power and control. They have deranged their inner lives to serve their appetites. They have done it so much that their reason has atrophied. And what it worse, it has been corrupted into a slave of their appetites. When appetite rules spirit and turns on reason, reason becomes wicked. It turns into a kind of shrewdness that devises sham rationales for the tyranny of appetite.
In ancient Greek, the word for the inner life was psyche, which is usually translated as “soul.” In the nineteenth century, the medical profession coined a term for a deranged inner life from Greek roots—psychosis, meaning “soul disease.”
The deranged inner life of Republicans is certainly a psychosis. Because nearly 70 million people fall into this category, it qualifies as a mass psychosis.
When so many people have a soul disease that puts what they want above what is true and what is good, society is in trouble.
They reinforce one another’s illness. They convince one another that their appetite is good when it is bad. They convince one another that their spirit is right to fight for and protect appetite instead of listening to reason.
There is nothing that such people will not do. Since their reason is vestigial and corrupt, they will “rationalize” any desire they have.
Is it all right to install flunkies whose sole purpose is to delegitimize Democratic votes in the next election? Sure it is, after all Democrats stole the 2020 election—even though that belief is utterly false.
Is it all right to storm the Capitol trying to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election for Biden? Sure its, after all Democrats stole the 2020 election—even though that belief is utterly false.
Is it all right to use violence if an election goes against a Republican? Sure it is, according to about 40% of Republicans. After all, Democrats have been stealing elections from Republicans forever—even though that belief is utterly false.
Many people have become concerned about the mental health of individuals, who seem to be suffering at an increasing rate in these times of pandemic and political upheaval.
What seems to have been overlooked is that the increase in mental-health problems may just be a result of the mass psychosis of Republicans. With so many people denying reality, is it any wonder that more people are confused and beset by serious doubts about what is true and what is false?
On this anniversary of the Republican assault on American democracy, we must see clearly what is right before us.
The Republican party is not just threatening to destroy our politics, it is threatening to destroy our very souls.