"In the third and final chapter of The Stories We Tell, I want to explore how we can use stories to reconnect with these qualities, and in so doing overcome the despair that Postmodernity has forced upon us."
I think that is great, what you are doing. To my mind the problem is that you will have to eliminate the idea of human rights first, or simultaneously. I say this because it seems the concept of human rights has led, over time, to what I call a sacred-victim, entitled parasite culture. And the engine behind this is the concept, invented by intellectuals, of rights as privilege without obligation. You merely have to be born a acquire "rights."
And humans, being prone to pride, envy, lust, greed, etc., are unable to resist the siren call of this sacred-victim, entitled parasite culture – that myths are competing with – and which has captured pretty much everyone.
The post-WWII myth, our current myth, is in many ways an inversion of the Christian one.
In Christianity, God says X so X = good, therefore bad = whatever is the opposite of God's X.
In post-WWII mythology, Hitler says Y so Y = bad, therefore good = whatever is the opposite of Hitler's Y.
The reason I lay this out is that I think the idea of human rights is a master narrative that became dominant through the ascendence of the post-WWII myth. After the war Western leaders found themselves in a position where they had substantial international influence, so they used this to propagate a particular interpretation of the war, as well as certain anti-Nazi values. These values were encoded into what we now call the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
I think most people would agree with many of the 'rights' laid out in this document, but the concept of human rights is itself an entirely mythical construct. So if we did somehow adopt a new cultural myth, especially on a global scale, it's possible that the idea of human rights would become obsolete, as the UDHR wouldn't represent the dominant values of the age anymore.
Maybe Trumputler is creating a melding or transformation? Maybe Trumputler is moving towards a privilege, obligation, honor and divine order culture. And the sacred-victim, entitled parasite elites are losing their identity.
Ben Davis is an art critic on artnet.com who wrote a few weeks after the 2024 election that it didn’t matter Trump won because the elites control high culture. Now, as of Feb 19, 2025, he’s singing a different tune:
'So, you had Vladimir Putin bringing out decrepit action star Steven Seagal to defend his invasion of Ukraine. You had Israeli government social media doing Harry Potter memes after October 7, and IDF soldiers posting social media stunts and goofs as they rained death on Gaza. “There is something uniquely disturbing about this type of cultural production, which feels like it should be satire but is not,” the editors of n+1 wrote. “It reveals a stunning disregard for life — a perverse, almost gleeful nihilism.”'
The evil Trumputler squares don’t do gay pride, worship blacks and Palestinians or protest apartheid from afar; live in Malibu mansions and Upper Caucasia NW DC condos; send their kids to $55K private schools; use security systems and guards and white doctors and pilots. Let them eat diversity cake.
Davis prissily continues:
'But there is also a kind of feedback loop, because in almost all of these real-world examples [Hulk Hogan at Trump rally], part of what makes them viscerally upsetting is the spectacle of entertainment appearing where it should not. Which somehow makes the horror more horrible.”'
Sorry Alex, just getting around to responding now.
I agree that Trump(utler) is bringing about a transformation. There's still strong resistance to him from many elites and cultural icons, but their power is weakening, and they haven't been a vital, generative force in the culture for quite some time. Trump, on the other hand, is an almost mythic figure - very polarising, but he inspires something akin to worship in many of his supporters.
I hope that the mythic energy being generated by Trump leads to a positive renewal of high culture. Something that looks more like what you've described ("privilege, obligation, honor and divine order") than the irony-poisoned, self-destructive culture we've been living in. But time will tell.
"In the third and final chapter of The Stories We Tell, I want to explore how we can use stories to reconnect with these qualities, and in so doing overcome the despair that Postmodernity has forced upon us."
I think that is great, what you are doing. To my mind the problem is that you will have to eliminate the idea of human rights first, or simultaneously. I say this because it seems the concept of human rights has led, over time, to what I call a sacred-victim, entitled parasite culture. And the engine behind this is the concept, invented by intellectuals, of rights as privilege without obligation. You merely have to be born a acquire "rights."
And humans, being prone to pride, envy, lust, greed, etc., are unable to resist the siren call of this sacred-victim, entitled parasite culture – that myths are competing with – and which has captured pretty much everyone.
Thanks Alex!
The post-WWII myth, our current myth, is in many ways an inversion of the Christian one.
In Christianity, God says X so X = good, therefore bad = whatever is the opposite of God's X.
In post-WWII mythology, Hitler says Y so Y = bad, therefore good = whatever is the opposite of Hitler's Y.
The reason I lay this out is that I think the idea of human rights is a master narrative that became dominant through the ascendence of the post-WWII myth. After the war Western leaders found themselves in a position where they had substantial international influence, so they used this to propagate a particular interpretation of the war, as well as certain anti-Nazi values. These values were encoded into what we now call the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
I think most people would agree with many of the 'rights' laid out in this document, but the concept of human rights is itself an entirely mythical construct. So if we did somehow adopt a new cultural myth, especially on a global scale, it's possible that the idea of human rights would become obsolete, as the UDHR wouldn't represent the dominant values of the age anymore.
Maybe Trumputler is creating a melding or transformation? Maybe Trumputler is moving towards a privilege, obligation, honor and divine order culture. And the sacred-victim, entitled parasite elites are losing their identity.
Ben Davis is an art critic on artnet.com who wrote a few weeks after the 2024 election that it didn’t matter Trump won because the elites control high culture. Now, as of Feb 19, 2025, he’s singing a different tune:
https://news.artnet.com/art-world-archives/marshmallow-horror-2509289
'So, you had Vladimir Putin bringing out decrepit action star Steven Seagal to defend his invasion of Ukraine. You had Israeli government social media doing Harry Potter memes after October 7, and IDF soldiers posting social media stunts and goofs as they rained death on Gaza. “There is something uniquely disturbing about this type of cultural production, which feels like it should be satire but is not,” the editors of n+1 wrote. “It reveals a stunning disregard for life — a perverse, almost gleeful nihilism.”'
The evil Trumputler squares don’t do gay pride, worship blacks and Palestinians or protest apartheid from afar; live in Malibu mansions and Upper Caucasia NW DC condos; send their kids to $55K private schools; use security systems and guards and white doctors and pilots. Let them eat diversity cake.
Davis prissily continues:
'But there is also a kind of feedback loop, because in almost all of these real-world examples [Hulk Hogan at Trump rally], part of what makes them viscerally upsetting is the spectacle of entertainment appearing where it should not. Which somehow makes the horror more horrible.”'
Sorry Alex, just getting around to responding now.
I agree that Trump(utler) is bringing about a transformation. There's still strong resistance to him from many elites and cultural icons, but their power is weakening, and they haven't been a vital, generative force in the culture for quite some time. Trump, on the other hand, is an almost mythic figure - very polarising, but he inspires something akin to worship in many of his supporters.
I hope that the mythic energy being generated by Trump leads to a positive renewal of high culture. Something that looks more like what you've described ("privilege, obligation, honor and divine order") than the irony-poisoned, self-destructive culture we've been living in. But time will tell.