On the bell curve of human life, beginning with a rising
side which reflects childhood … to reaching a relatively flat apogee which
reflects adulthood … to sliding down a falling side which reflects old age,
there are two inflection points. One represents the adolescent rising years;
the other the falling midlife years. What the two points have in common,
however, is that they trigger a hormonal change in the human body, a phenomenon
that affects both the mood and the outlook on life.
Unable to comprehend the physical significance of the rising
hormonal levels – which he feels are taking place in his body – the adolescent
interprets the sensations as being a sign that he is more capable of doing
things physically and mentally than he is given credit for. Motivated to claim
what he sees as his rightful place under the sun, he does not wait to develop
the knowledge or the skill that will take him there, but tries to force his way
to the top of the heap by stepping on the toes of others, and climbing on the
backs of those who let him.
On the other hand, fully cognizant of the physical
significance of the falling hormonal levels he feels are taking place in his
body, a human being that is going through the midlife years interprets the
sensations for what they are: his body is telling him he is less capable of
doing the physical things he used to do, and will eventually start losing it
mentally as well. Eager to maintain his current status for as long as he can …
the part in his brain which regulates the secretion of hormones goes on
overdrive. It triggers a hormonal fury that results in a virulent behavior
whose aim is to show a physical potency that is simply not there.
Whereas all of that is true to the life of human beings, it
is also true to institutions which are, after all, populated by humans and run
by them. And because nations are made of institutions, they too have the
tendency to display the same kind of behavior. Moreover, whether a nation is
fully on the democratic side of the political spectrum or fully on the
autocratic side or somewhere in-between, it can only reflect the mood of the
people who run it. That is, an autocracy which is run by benevolent figures
will adhere to human values more readily than an abstract democracy run by
ideologues holding on to borrowed ideas they have no clue what they mean.
To take a specific example, what is bubbling to the surface
at this time in America
is the image of a nation that is behaving like a specimen going through a
midlife crisis. While most people in the land want to maintain the status quo,
hoping it will last as long as possible, a faction of the population is unhappy
with that, and tries to convince the others that America is still potent
because it can become virulent if only they will allow it to be that.
That faction is known as the “Right” of the American
political spectrum. It stands against the “Left” which opposes it at every
level on the domestic and foreign policy issues. While the Left, which is headed
by President Obama, is trying to level the playing field for all Americans on
the home front while intervening in foreign affairs in matters that only
involve American interests, the Right which has no apparent leader, has several
operators who are united by the idea that America is the target of an evil
world trying to destroy it. Thus, in their view, the country must starve its
people to the extent that it can be done, go on a war footing, mobilize its
resources, and charge in all the places of the world where evil people are
plotting to undermine America .
To make their theory sound plausible, they begin by saying
that the current administration does not know what it is doing both
domestically and internationally. They go from there to spin everything which
happens locally and internationally, and make it sound like an existential
threat is crossing at the gate on its way to annihilate America and
everyone in it. Thus, the people of the Right want their members to be elected
to office so that they save the Republic from a destruction which is sure to
come if they are left out.
You can see an expression of all this in two articles that
have appeared on October 27, 2014 in the online edition of the right wing
publication, The Weekly Standard. One article came under the title: “The
Protocols of the Elders of Liberalism” and was written by William Kristol. The
other came under the title: “Obama's Synthesis” and the subtitle: “McGovern
plus Kissinger.” It was written by Ray Takeyh.