Turn of the Tide...

I’ve shied away from politics, not from lack of interest, but rather to accurately asses and provide a perspective I'd have to spend a lot more of my time reading political news, and that is something I don’t want to do.

That said, I do see others who provide perspectives that turn the gears for me.

This one comes from market analyst Josh Brown:

"The constant lying has been a boon to the President, during his campaign and pretty much throughout his entire life. Supporters of his policies see it as a means to an end, so they’re certainly not going to turn on him. He promised to run the country for the benefit of the one third of America that loves what he’s doing and he keeps that promise every day. There’s never been a betrayal or a compromise or an apology for anything, they feel that they are getting exactly what he said he would give them – if not now, then soon enough.

In the meantime, the bloodless verdict of the market is beginning to call bullsh*t on his economic claims. The economic expansion is good, not great, and starting to slow down thanks to the rising cost of money (spurred on by tax cut stimulus) and the cyclical slowdown around the world. It turns out that tariffs are an impediment to everyone’s economy, not just Mexico’s, China’s or the European Union’s."

https://thereformedbroker.com/2018/10/23/and-now-a-reality-check/

Didn’t we learn this in grade school?

The thing about lying is... you have to keep lying to cover it up.

That suddenly you get caught in such a web you don’t even remember for yourself just what is true or what is false?

To me, the Trump tactic comes from the Scott Adams school of thought, but with a more directionally negative view of the use of this method.

Trump is a manipulator. His manipulation is working and has worked since he started in 2016.

He’s been manipulating you, too, by the way. Funny how everyone thinks that they alone see the world right...

But the problem with manipulation and lying is that even if they do provide short-term results, they are unsustainable on a longer timescale. Which is why his previous businesses tended to go bankrupt, why he tended to simply just not pay for contract work, and why he's been sued hundreds of times.

There’s countless analysis going on about every single move that Trump is making politically.

But sadly I think it can be summed up fairly simply.

Trump lies, and these lies invoke a feeling of confidence which is appreciated by his following, regardless of they believe it is true or not, that’s not the point.

What matters to them is to *feel* a confidence that lulls them away from their problems and daily anxieties and *aligns* them with this trumped up dissipation into a larger movement beyond their lonely selves.

We're lonely in America, and so we go from being lone wolves to seeking group affiliation not to participate in, but rather to lose ourselves in.

It's group affiliation as a type of individual-identity-death in lieu of group-identity-acceptance.

And this is happening on both sides.

The thing is, these lies and manipulations lose their effect over time. And as the effect wanes, you do the only thing you can do: double down on the lies and manipulation, which exacerbates the problem of fading significance.

Trump is better at lying and manipulating than just about anyone. The media is fighting this by playing a different game, which is mostly irrelevant to this hypnosis that is going on because they’re working in a completely different world, one which simply does not care.

At some point, people wake up. Not in a rage, not in a reactionary rejection (not at first) but they simply sort of get sick of it and the manipulation dust that is droning on and on via Twitter runs out.

So it’s hard to reinvent your message without results for a long enough time period. At some point, true results and movement are necessary, whether he achieves that, remains to be seen. I'm not even saying that's impossible.

But Theranos was the darling of the tech industry until it was not.

If you’re outraged at the latest lie, realize that this has been happening for 2 years now and will happen into the future. This is his manipulation on you. The hypnotic focus on it is futile when instead you could be spending your time building a compelling future based on impact, factual impact - that touches people's lives.

Nobody can argue with true change.

GM complains for 5 years about how stupid electric cars are and about how Oil is no problem on the climate, attempting to keep us in the stone age while Elon Musk built the best cars ever and PEOPLE ARE BUYING THEM which cannot be made up.

We buy the better product that is forward thinking and delivering on promises. We need better alternative options for results, not defensive fights in the mud.

How long can someone run with this method of persuasion and keep aloft?

I’m not sure.

But the public always moves on, so don’t be surprised if the tide turns.

Just not in the way you imagine...

xx David