rant · moment 11 of 13
Good, Evil, and Trump as a Prophet of God
from How Did We Lose This Country · #104
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
8 minTim and Ray discuss why people crave simple good-vs-evil narratives to cope with their own failed lives, comparing conspiracy believers to religious converts and mocking the idea that Trump was divinely chosen despite his history with Clinton and casinos.
- 45:18Tim on how belief in a higher purpose lets people avoid confronting their own failures and emotional abuse of family.
- 45:47Humans are obsessed with categorizing themselves and others on a spectrum of good and evil.
- 46:08People focus on identifying evil rather than actually stopping it—they just want others to know they've spotted the darkness.
- 46:35The most successful people contain both extreme good and extreme bad, and that contradiction is what makes them interesting.
- 47:14Trump treated as a prophet sent by God to defeat Hillary, despite being friends at her wedding three years prior and having three wives, casinos, and a beauty pageant.
- 48:21Nobody sees the irony that the man ordained by God for a mission was hanging out with Clinton until sometime between 2015 and 2016.
- 49:49Tim on his suspicion of Hollywood activism: the people seeking the spotlight aren't the ones who'll do the unglamorous work of legislative politics.
- 50:23Americans overwhelmingly oppose corporate lobbying and money in politics, but attitudes don't change systems.
- 51:08Most people agree the political system is hopelessly corrupt but have no idea how to fix it.
- 52:23Viewing the world in draconian terms of good versus evil makes it impossible to understand or solve anything.
- 52:38Conspiracy theorists constantly worship some version of Bahamut, replacing one demon with another.
Hillary ClintonDonald Trumpgood and evilRoger StoneJordan PetersonReaganNeil deGrasse TysonBrett PittGeorge Clooney