- 23 Nov 2016 00:51
#14741172
I know this sounds silly, but as well as observing Trump politically I've been binge watching his former TV show The Apprentice and I think I've hit upon what makes Trump different and what one of the secrets of his success is.
There is a problem in the west, sometimes called "virtue signaling" but even that I think may only be part of a larger problem. This greater problem might be named "incremental lying." Incremental lying is when someone tells a small white lie, counting on you to be polite and let them save face by not calling them on it. Then they add another small white lie, and another one, then once they think they have you, they try to force you to argue with them from a position that is based upon an aggregation of their misrepresentations.
What I've noticed about Trump is that the second someone misrepresents something or tells a lie of any kind, he calls them on it, usually immediately and reflexively. This means that he often does it mid-sentence. He doesn't allow anyone to build up a false narrative. In doing this he comes across as a total jerk but he also keeps things centered upon the reality of a situation (as he understands it) and not upon whatever aggregate fantasy the person he was talking to may have been trying to build.
There are lots of good reasons for being polite, particularly in traditional societies, but I think the exceptions have been eating the rule for some time now. We are essentially "post-fact" because people get away with building up fake dialogues, bit by bit, until they expect to proceed under the pretenses or conditions of their constructed dialogue. Trump is successful because he doesn't allow this to happen. Notably, he usually remembers to preface his disagreement with a statement that it's his opinion or perception. If done properly, I think Trump's approach is a very appropriate way to handle many things in life and his success can be taken as evidence of that.
There is a problem in the west, sometimes called "virtue signaling" but even that I think may only be part of a larger problem. This greater problem might be named "incremental lying." Incremental lying is when someone tells a small white lie, counting on you to be polite and let them save face by not calling them on it. Then they add another small white lie, and another one, then once they think they have you, they try to force you to argue with them from a position that is based upon an aggregation of their misrepresentations.
What I've noticed about Trump is that the second someone misrepresents something or tells a lie of any kind, he calls them on it, usually immediately and reflexively. This means that he often does it mid-sentence. He doesn't allow anyone to build up a false narrative. In doing this he comes across as a total jerk but he also keeps things centered upon the reality of a situation (as he understands it) and not upon whatever aggregate fantasy the person he was talking to may have been trying to build.
There are lots of good reasons for being polite, particularly in traditional societies, but I think the exceptions have been eating the rule for some time now. We are essentially "post-fact" because people get away with building up fake dialogues, bit by bit, until they expect to proceed under the pretenses or conditions of their constructed dialogue. Trump is successful because he doesn't allow this to happen. Notably, he usually remembers to preface his disagreement with a statement that it's his opinion or perception. If done properly, I think Trump's approach is a very appropriate way to handle many things in life and his success can be taken as evidence of that.
Orb Team Re-Assemble!
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