Dr. Snyder - in my estimation, you are a brilliant historian, the greatest contemporary scholar of our times. Recently, in reading your works and listening to your commentary, I'm coming to believe that your philosophical analysis regarding time, geography, inevitably, and eternity, exceed your historical contributions, which is no small feat. I am grateful that you offer your thoughts in this turbulent era.
As a historian, Dr Snyder is world-leading. In his field of expertise, he is unparalleled. My admiration for his work in this field is huge.
As a metaphysician, however, he tends to commit the Jungian error of reaching arbitrarily for things that do not go together and mixing them up into a confused grab-bag of offerings. His philosophy is not much better.
The crisis we face is truly serious. To analyse its causes and manifestations correctly, we need adequate conceptual tools. Neither history nor philosophy meet a requirement of analytical tools which enable us to get to the roots of the conflict. For this, the language of spirituality and the precise conceptual terminology of metaphysics are required.
Just one example: the Alitos are not shamans. They cannot possibly be shamans. The truth is much worse: they are allied to Trump, and Trump is possessed by the AntiChrist. It is essential to grasp the full dimensions of the crisis and its direct link to the future. Raising shamanism and hereditary revenge cultures diverts our haze to the past and blinds us to the essentially new, modern nature of what has so abruptly come upon us.
See my two long posts here, as I haven't the energy to type it all out for a third time. Sorry!
Prof. Snyder stays in the realm of separation of church and state and historical facts. When you say "Trump is possessed by the Anti-Christ" you step into another place that crosses those boundaries. At least that's how I read this. Snyder sticks with facts and accurate historical analyses and uses terms to highlight those facts. Trump most certainly does see himself as the Chieftain Snyder names. Shamans? Not a word I use much, but I'll accept it. The Alitos, after all, do seem allied with the QAnon Shaman, don't they?
A very fair comment. And thankyou for taking the trouble to reply.
When you say, "Prof. Snyder stays in the realm of separation of church and state and historical facts", I agree, to the extent that that has been the case for his decades-long unparalleled contributions to scholarship so far.
What perturbs me, however, is that lately, from where I stand, I seem to perceive his attempting to cross that boundary in several respects, into the realm of the spiritual.
While I would laud anyone's genuine personal attempts to move into more expanded states of consciousness/conscience, Dr Snyder's current public excursions into these realms give me cause for concern. Why? Because here he is speaking as a this-world leading academic historian, but he is riding on this authority in an attempt to validate his tentative characterisations of other worlds and their relevance/ importance for the crucial conflicts of our this-world here-and-now. Hence my interventions regarding his latest posts.
So, again, I agree that when I say "Trump is possessed by the Anti-Christ", I step into another place that crosses those boundaries. I had hoped I had made that clear. My apologies if it was not clear.
I post contributions here, not to muddy the waters between the secular and the spiritual, but to at least place on the historical record that there exist other points of view which transcend this-world experience, which also claim validity, and which now need to be placed in the public sphere, so that those who may feel some impulse towards embracing this approach may be enabled to do so. This choice is an option in a free-will universe.
So, I must disagree with the second part of your post:
"Trump most certainly does see himself as the Chieftain Snyder names. Shamans? Not a word I use much, but I'll accept it. The Alitos, after all, do seem allied with the QAnon Shaman, don't they?"
The terms "Shaman", "Chieftain" belong just as much in the realm of your "another place" as my "Antichrist". That is the problem! Lack of discrimination, lack of distinction, lack of adequate terminology to describe what is happening.
"Shaman", "Chieftain" are terms denoting precise concepts in esoteric spirituality. To that extent, they relate directly in the same language to the AntiChrist, another precisely defined term.
Against this knowledge background, I would say:
— What Trump "sees himself" as, is beside the point; he is possessed by demonic entities which have driven his human-self out of his body; so what you hear him say is their voice, operating through his body, not his own earthly self
— From this perspective, the QAnonShaman is as misleading as all the other misappropriations of spiritual terminology
— What we need to focus on here is the gravity of the present situation. We need to ensure that the severity of our current crisis is not obfuscated by well meaning but woolly use of esoteric terminology that is imperfectly understood.
I hate to have to be the one to tell you this, but around 81% of the real Germans have long since moved on. I expect you got your "German heritage" from WW2 era B-movies, and ignoramuses like Donald Trump, but in any event your statement reveals the workings of a small mind, one incapable of dealing with the diversity that characterizes every group. It allows you have certainty, without the need to ever reconcile your beliefs with reality. Clearly you and your husband are compatible.
It's a travesty that Alito is apparently irrevocably a justice on our Supreme Court. He does not have a sense of what this country is about, nor the mind nor the character for this position. How do we rectify this?
How do we rectify this? Here's the answer: impeachment...
"If the Judicial Conference finds possible grounds for impeachment, it submits a report to the House of Representatives. Only Congress has the authority to remove an Article III judge. This is done through a vote of impeachment by the House and a trial and conviction by the Senate."
The Democrats need to control the House and the Senate or I fear the MAGA GOP will sabotage as much as they can under a second Biden presidency. They do not accept the concept of not being in control.
It is in deed a remarkable change in mindset from the german people since WW2. Today the nazi history of Germany does not influence most peoples attitude towards the germans in general. However, nazi and facist ideas do not seem to be dead, they move sideways through history and are increasing in strength, even in Germany.
Yes, that is true, particularly in the Bundesländer that were once the DDR (excepting Berlin). But the recent EU elections showed the AfD to have gotten 19% of the vote - and not all AfDers are Nazis. Quite a bit different from the US, where ca 50% apparently approve of the fascist pig Trump.
Philosophically I agree with the Taoist position that there will always be good and evil, as opposed to the Abrahamic notion that evil can be eliminated from the world.
So, too, the wealthy support Trump just as the wealthy supported Hitler in an effort to preserve their wealth and status. The elites thought they could contain Hitler only to learn that Hitler contained (and eliminated) them. I refer you to the following article:
It is truly remarkable and frightening how a convicted felon (i.e. Hitler/Trump) can garner the political support to use the democratic process to dissolve a democratically elected government.
I've been thinking about this for months. The first groups to be rounded up in early 1933 were members of the KPD and SPD, plus anyone like them. The middle class and rich business people were quite happy about this. Then about 1.5 years later, Hitler ordered the assassinations of those who were directly involved in his ascent to power. Opportunity is one of the great drivers of history, and oftentimes insatiable greed.
Good points, all. I’ve been ruminating over the similarities between the Heritage Society’s 2025 plan and Hitler’s 25 point plan for Nazi Germany in 1920.
To me J6 was a melding of the Beer Hall Putsch that happened at the Reichstag. A key difference is that Hitler, Goebbels, other leadership was tried, convicted and sentenced to 5 years in prison. They served 6 months thanks to a conservative judge. We have Judge Cannon of Cuban descent, and no trial, so no conviction, no sentence to serve, thus no accountability, no consequences, nothing has been corrected nor fixed.
Two things come to mind: first, exacting revenge in a premeditated, postponed way is pretty psychopathic. One psychiatrist called it "the talionic impulse," which most healthy adults have learned to control. But psychopaths nurse grudges essentially forever, and they are willing to wait as long as necessary to get revenge. James Fallon, a self-described psychopath, wrote that he used to wait years sometimes to get revenge on people, and sometimes he did it in ways that could not be traced back to him.
The other thing is: now Republicans, notably Russ Vought, are talking about a "post-constitutional" era, wherein the President and all his men will not even have to pretend to be following the original constitution or the rule of law. Of course they blame the degradation of rule of law on Democrats and feel justified in following suit. Vought is the policy director for the Trump campaign. You won't be surprised to learn that he's a Christian nationalist. You can read more scary stuff about him here:
Meanwhile, my neighbor is still shooting his pistols at human-shaped targets every single day, no doubt dreaming of "revenge." I have a get-away plan: to drive to a little town in NC where he can't find me, sometime between Nov 5 and Inauguration Day. No matter who wins.
Two points: 1) Psychiatry professionals who have ventured opinions about Trump's situation--from afar--have easily identified narcissism, but have also mentioned sociopathy as a lesser strain--sort of like major and minor in school; and 2) It amazes me that they don't see a problem with "post-constitutional" being an explicit step backwards in the direction of what the US Constitution was written to protect against. It's as if bituminous coal were being held up as the way forward from gas and oil.
“We have the rule of law so as not to have a culture of revenge.” That hit me as profound. Chieftain and Shamans too.
A culture of revenge is on display in Gaza, where “completely destroying Hamas” is claimed to prevent future attacks on Israel. Cut off electricity, water, food supplies, make it too dangerous for aid agencies to work there. Turn cities to rubble. Tell a million people they have to evacuate to avoid being bombed. Then bomb where you have sent them. Retrieve four hostages and in the process kill and wound hundreds of Palestinians. Revenge was supposed to be limited to an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
And there is Putin, getting his revenge on Ukraine for not wanting to be part of his plan to make Russia bigger.
I like that “Shaman” descriptor of members of the Supreme Court. It is apt because several of them appear to support Trump and his politics of retribution and grievance and they appear to be as transactional as he is.
I also wonder how much of their far right radicalism is wrapped up in their religious persuasions: all but one of the “conservative” justices are radical Catholics. Remember the Catholic Church was responsible for tremendous xenophobia, torture and cruelty, and corruption. Recall the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Bad Popes. We should be very afraid of the power of people who ascribe to such beliefs.
Oh please! Let's not regress into Catholic=bad, Protestant=good. Google Protestant violence. Think Orange, Northern Ireland, and thousands of other horrors.
Nope. I said nothing about Protestants. But radical Catholics make up a fair % of the folks who support Trump and they are as bad or worse than Evangelicals about religious nationalism. Bill Barr is another good example of a radical Catholic: he’s Opus Dei.
Also both Alito and Barr support the unitary executive theory.
Do you know what the unitary executive theory is? Here is a definition: This theory holds that Congress cannot limit the president's control of the executive branch because the Constitution sets up a hierarchical system whereby the president has the most power.
Interesting. Unitary executive theory sounds like 11 syllables equating to plain old authoritarianism.
You may be interested in esoteric analysis of the current conflict:
The natural world works on the basis of bipolarity. The beings exerting one force try to elevate us above ourselves and separate us from our humble earth-grounding. The other beings try to crush our humanity by rendering us automated robots without our own will. Technical terms for these forces are Lucifer and Ahriman respectively. So, these forces try to unbalance us: Lucifer wants to make you into a Great Entrepreneur and Influencer. Ahriman wants you to become an accountant or work on a mass production line.
The human being is supposed to walk the middle way between these two extremes.
The name of the being at work guiding and inspiring us here is Christ—or Love, if you prefer a more secular rendering. Christ may be seen as our Higher Self.
Now, however, a third countervailing force has recently come into play directly in human affairs. The beings behind these forces aim, not just to unbalance the human soul, but to destroy it. They attack the individual ego itself which holds everything together. These beings are called the Asuras.
The Asuras are the literal Anti-Christ.
These are the forces possessing Trump and his cohorts.
In this sense, the danger posed by Trump, Putin, and their ilk must be understood as central and far more serious than conflicts limited to extreme fringes of traditional religion or atavistic tribalism. But the Asuric forces will hide behind various pseudo-religious fronts, and this can make it difficult to untangle things sometimes.
Here I think Dr Snyder is intuitively right on track in pinning down Trump and Putin.
However, his use of spiritual and religious terminology in this post is imprecise and confusing. He is not primarily a metaphysician or student of esotericism and spirituality, but a historian, so his mélange of things that do not belong together is understandable.
But I think he should avoid historically limited terms like "shaman", which applies to ancient tribes found across Finland, Russia, China, Mongolia and the old Americas, because the Alitos are not shamans. Nor are they part of hereditary revenge cultures such as the mafioso. They are much closer to the demonic Asuric forces and belong to the Trump camp.
If you are interested to read more, Google Rudolf Steiner, a leading spiritual teacher who lived from 1864–1925 and brought in a modern Christ-based spiritual path in the Western tradition. The metaphysics outlined here are his. The link to their archive is: RSArchive.org.
The point here with Prof. Snyder is not the technical or correct use of the terms as you, or someone deeply into another metaphysical story would, but to make a communication using a generally understood metaphor, which he does, it seems, for many in order to get the idea across. Shamans are people who are accepted as mystically knowledgeable or connected to some higher realm. Ordinary people defer to them, or are supposed to. In other words members of the court are trying to put themselves or the court (or Trump) above the law, elevating their belief system. That's a big NO-NO.
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Saying that Trump is possessed by the anti-Christ etc. confuses or complicates, bringing in another metaphor. I don't know how that it informs the more simple point made here about revenge culture, a more primitive form that we have tried to emerge from. Still there are those primitive yearnings or elements within us that this apparently appeals to. Some yearn for an authoritarian leader "chieftain" (for SC Chief ) and accept their "shamans" as clergy. This is so patently false and anti-Constitutional.. the Constitution and the laws of the land that the people's representatives make (that can be challenged in court and remade by the people according to the Constitution).
The religious terminology is being invoked by the Alitos ( and Trump et al). Snyder takes this "home" USING Shaman/Chieftain terminology. We should be bringing this back to SECULARITY which is what this country is built upon (the freedom of the human spirit that is within every person). But here this terminology, using historical understanding, the mysticism or religious metaphor is being used by Snyder to make a communication.We need to cut some slack to understand the point. We do not need to be trading it for another. See Joseph Campbell on the "perenniel philosophy" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perennial_philosophy#:~:text=The%20perennial%20philosophy%20(Latin%3A%20philosophia,reality%2C%20humanity%2C%20ethics%2C%20and
… "here this terminology, using historical understanding, the mysticism or religious metaphor is being used by Snyder to make a communication.We need to cut some slack to understand the point. We do not need to be trading it for another. See Joseph Campbell on the "perenniel philosophy" ? …
You are arguing from an empty tool bag.
To be of any use, terminology must aid critical analysis effectively. Imprecise terminology leads to imprecision and confusion.
We do not need to cut some slack here to understand. We need precisely the opposite: we need to hone and tighten up our thinking, add to our knowledge base, expand our consciousness somewhat.
Writers such as Joseph Campbell suffer from the same problem as Jung. Attempts to achieve an overarching conceptual framework using this-world academic, ordinary brain-limited thinking, all fail. There is no such thing as "the" perennial philosophy. There are many different spiritual paths. They are specific and emphatically not mutually interchangeable. Some are better than others. Some are more relevant to today than others. Some offer a path to positive future human evolution. Others do not. There are "white" paths and "black" paths. When high-level black occult operators are behind the conflict, you need high-level spiritual concepts to understand exactly who they are, where they're coming from, what their goals may be and what they're capable of. Without this, you cannot combat them effectively.
But you and I have had this discussion before. So I repeat to you once again: this conflict is not about nice-sounding phrases that are all optionally interchangeable and make people feel good and falsely believe they understand more than they did before. We're not engaged in some soggy mutual group therapy in warm and comforting blankets, blinking to see our surroundings through the sauna steam.
No, we are challenged to rub the scales from our eyes, take an ice-cold dip, to wake up, raise our game and actively try to deepen our knowledge and understanding.
But you want to run a racing car on crude oil. Because there's lots of oil out there, and you can put any sort into your car. And crude is cheaper and easier to come by, after all. And who says your car won't run well on it!
Be clear: by advocating this sort of thing, you are actively contributing to muddying the waters. Which side does that put you on?
Your “tool bag” of certainties and beliefs don’t communicate to me anything I can relate to. I would not insult you by saying your tool bag is empty. No it’s full of stuff. Joseph Campbell does communicate when he talks about the “perennial philosophy” which he did not invent. Timothy Snyder, without getting deeply into what you are asking him to do, as if he should, is trying to get a point across and seems to be doing well here. The shaman chieftain metaphor works to make the point. Bringing in the Antichrist and whatever else you pull out tries to replace his creativity here with your “tools”. You are neither chieftain nor shaman metaphorically speaking, not imo from some higher plane. But I said this before I recall.
You misunderstand the perennial philosophy and are off the deep end in fantasy and metaphor with insults. From your “tool bag” :We do not need to cut some slack here to understand. We need precisely the opposite: we need to hone and tighten up our thinking, add to our knowledge base, expand our consciousness somewhat.“
As a one time graduate in American studies and now 60 years away, I marvel at the use of Greek tragedies and Icelandic sagas helps understand the” rhetoric” of today. Revenge not order thanks again
I personally prefer the term "human learned behavior" to "human nature"... because babies have to be taught to hate. It is not in a child's nature to do so when born. And being taught to hate is as old as human history.
The human being today is a spliced being: there is the divine nature and the so-called fallen nature. The newborn baby is innocent because the soul is still linked to spiritual worlds for the first seven years. Then the various stages of development set in, recapitulating in the child the long evolution of humanity, culminating in development of the individual ego around the age of 21 to 28. Teenage is when sexuality and the passions come into play. We bring karma with us from past lives, and this unfolds as we live our lives. So, external environment teaches love and hate, and we bring with us unfinished karma of love and hate. We are products of both nature and nurture.
One of the problems with fighting back against the misinformation and cult oriented language used by Trump and his MAGA followers and enablers is finding effective terminology. Brian Beutler has pointed out that the continued use of authoritarian and dictator terms has robbed them of power. The beauty of Prof Snyder’s post is framing the struggle in a mythological and atavistic way that slides easily into the modern human brain stem. I hope the those who are fighting to preserve our democracy will use this framing because its suggestive power is so strong.
Dr. Snyder’s framing of revenge politics also makes sense by moving it from an individual character flaw of Donald Trump to a social movement that sucks in followers and jeopardizes millions.
I wish we knew if the leadership in the Biden - Harris campaign (and, for that matter, Biden and Harris themselves) were subscribers to Dr. Snyder's essays. I know there is a well-known historian who advises Biden (can't think of his name at the moment). I wish Dr. Snyder was an advisor too!
Unfortunately, Dr Snyder's framing mixes up quite different things from our spiritual and religious past, and by doing so, makes current confusion worse.
Oh please! 😱 Give up this crusade to wave about your self-perceived superiority on the subject of "our spiritual and religious past" - I read the Prof Snyder piece & perfectly understood what he is trying to convey, using different terminology to freshen up the discourse. I DON'T come here for YOUR discourse on a totally irrelevant side-bar, so will make sure I don't read any more of it - sad because IN THE FUTURE you may say something of interest - just sayin' 🤷
Lane seems so buried into her "thing" that she fails to give Prof Snyder the leeway to be creative in the way he tells the story and history..the insight into our situation. She also fails to be insightful herself but is verging, if not, on the obnoxiously didactic and unevolved revengefulness that entry by Snyder is about. But at the risk of getting into revenge myself, at least aware that I can, I'll end. Thanks for the commiseration.
yes, precisely, a crusader and decidedly not the evolved person that is pretended, "credentials" included, but confusing.... and accusatory when criticized. This is not evolved.... just sayin 🤷
… "Give up this crusade to wave about your self-perceived superiority on the subject of "our spiritual and religious past" " …
* Unacceptable attempt at undermining my credentials, destroying my professional standing. I could accept that I'm on something of a crusade, but only in the sense that others working for positive outcomes for Ukraine, or positive human futures, are crusading, and that includes Dr Snyder.
* I stated at length my reasons for posting. You choose to ignore what I said and justify yourself by trying to undermine my credibility without facts or evidence of any sort, alleging I’m on a power trip. This is the last resort of people who are unwilling/don't know how to engage in impartial, objective discussion.
… "I read the Prof Snyder piece & perfectly understood what he is trying to convey"…
* How do you know you understood what Dr Snyder is trying to say?
* It would have been good if you had told us what you think Dr Snyder is trying to convey. Why aren't you telling us what you understand? Is your understanding to be kept a secret from us? Why?
… "using different terminology to freshen up the discourse" …
* How do you know those are Dr Snyder's reasons for using this terminology? Did you ask him? Are you psychic? Privy to confidential information withheld from the rest of us?
… "I DON'T come here for YOUR discourse on a totally irrelevant side-bar" …
* You are under no compulsion to read my posts, nor my replies to your posts. They are there for those who are interested in reading them. It's a free world.
* How do you know my post is a) irrelevant, and b) a side-bar? That is your judgement. Does your judgement hold for everyone else? Are you the arbiter of what is relevant? Are you the Universal Censor? Do we have here a subconscious 'I Wannabe God myself'? Is there an ongoing conflict between your instinctual lust for power over others and your intellectual brain insistence on everything goes? Have you thought that maybe your nut and gut are not at harmony within yourself?
A small pause in the chaos to appreciate the writing. You took me on a journey this morning and brought me -quickly- to a deeper grasp of themes at play.
Trump while selling dystopia & revenge threatened everyone involved indictments & trials for his crimes: witnesses jurors prosecutors & judges. In contrast to Trump's dangerous behavior the Hunter case involved NO threats no cries of which hunt or efforts to undermine the system.
Tim - excellent post. Among the things I admire in your work is your defense of FREEDOM. I believe we need to reclaim that word from the far-right. I'm promoting a FREEDOM baseball cap (see my profile picture). It would go great with your new book! I'm selling the hats below cost - not trying to make money, just trying to literally spread the word. Here's the link: freedom2024.us/products/cap. They're made in the USA by Unionwear. I'd be happy to send you one if you tell me where to send it (reply to matt@2020unity.us). Or they're $18 at the store. ... Thanks again for all your great and timely work.
Outstanding. I can imagine what you were thinking when Trump said he was "perfectly justified" in seeking revenge for being tried for his actions. Alito et al are only, once again, echoing Trump's thoughts that throwback to darker times. And, parenthetically, are in direct opposition to the Christian teaching of turning the other cheek...Is it possible for the human race to actually exist in a peace that looks forward to community instead of backwards to conflict?
Jesus: “If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn your other cheek to him as well.”
I read something similar, but more along the lines of “equality”…
Two ways to slap someone — “forehand” striking with the palm; “backhand” striking with the back of the hand.
Backhand slap is a sign of authority/superiority. Right hand dominant (left hand reserved for “unclean” activities) would slap someone on the right check using a backhand slap.
Turning the other cheek to them does not allow another backhand slap, but requires an open-hand slap or a punch — a statement of equality.
“Turning the other cheek” is not an invitation to further abuse as is often interpreted, but a “non-violent” statement/challenge of equality.
Current predications are that some will win through, although many will take quite a time to get there. And unfortunately, a small minority will go down with the material dregs at the end of this stage of Earth's evolution.
Thank you, Dr Snyder, for this historical perspective. You provide clarity and calm to a really awful mess we are in. We are living in dangerous times, and I don’t know how to make it stop. We voted Blue in 2020, and Trump and his allies like the Alito are deeper than ever in their authoritarian coup. We are urged to turn out in numbers too many to ignore in 2024 and defeat these anti-Americans once again. I will do it, but this time the elected and appointed officials cannot let this undoing of the future go on because they fear the blowback from people who neither understand nor care for our system of government. I live in Georgia and the Republican old boys are effectively shutting down the Trump trial - the one where he conspired to overturn my vote. Trump removed protected national security documents and his Judge Cannon is making sure he never comes to trial. Trump is a convicted felon and is still running for president - serving as commander in chief when he couldn’t pass a security clearance if he were anyone else. Clearly, our system was organized on an assumption that elected people, even though they would disagree on political things, operated from a commonly understood ethical platform. This assumption is proven false, and serious reform is needed to make the purposeful undermining of the Constitution stop.
Dr. Snyder - in my estimation, you are a brilliant historian, the greatest contemporary scholar of our times. Recently, in reading your works and listening to your commentary, I'm coming to believe that your philosophical analysis regarding time, geography, inevitably, and eternity, exceed your historical contributions, which is no small feat. I am grateful that you offer your thoughts in this turbulent era.
Disagree.
As a historian, Dr Snyder is world-leading. In his field of expertise, he is unparalleled. My admiration for his work in this field is huge.
As a metaphysician, however, he tends to commit the Jungian error of reaching arbitrarily for things that do not go together and mixing them up into a confused grab-bag of offerings. His philosophy is not much better.
The crisis we face is truly serious. To analyse its causes and manifestations correctly, we need adequate conceptual tools. Neither history nor philosophy meet a requirement of analytical tools which enable us to get to the roots of the conflict. For this, the language of spirituality and the precise conceptual terminology of metaphysics are required.
Just one example: the Alitos are not shamans. They cannot possibly be shamans. The truth is much worse: they are allied to Trump, and Trump is possessed by the AntiChrist. It is essential to grasp the full dimensions of the crisis and its direct link to the future. Raising shamanism and hereditary revenge cultures diverts our haze to the past and blinds us to the essentially new, modern nature of what has so abruptly come upon us.
See my two long posts here, as I haven't the energy to type it all out for a third time. Sorry!
Prof. Snyder stays in the realm of separation of church and state and historical facts. When you say "Trump is possessed by the Anti-Christ" you step into another place that crosses those boundaries. At least that's how I read this. Snyder sticks with facts and accurate historical analyses and uses terms to highlight those facts. Trump most certainly does see himself as the Chieftain Snyder names. Shamans? Not a word I use much, but I'll accept it. The Alitos, after all, do seem allied with the QAnon Shaman, don't they?
A very fair comment. And thankyou for taking the trouble to reply.
When you say, "Prof. Snyder stays in the realm of separation of church and state and historical facts", I agree, to the extent that that has been the case for his decades-long unparalleled contributions to scholarship so far.
What perturbs me, however, is that lately, from where I stand, I seem to perceive his attempting to cross that boundary in several respects, into the realm of the spiritual.
While I would laud anyone's genuine personal attempts to move into more expanded states of consciousness/conscience, Dr Snyder's current public excursions into these realms give me cause for concern. Why? Because here he is speaking as a this-world leading academic historian, but he is riding on this authority in an attempt to validate his tentative characterisations of other worlds and their relevance/ importance for the crucial conflicts of our this-world here-and-now. Hence my interventions regarding his latest posts.
So, again, I agree that when I say "Trump is possessed by the Anti-Christ", I step into another place that crosses those boundaries. I had hoped I had made that clear. My apologies if it was not clear.
I post contributions here, not to muddy the waters between the secular and the spiritual, but to at least place on the historical record that there exist other points of view which transcend this-world experience, which also claim validity, and which now need to be placed in the public sphere, so that those who may feel some impulse towards embracing this approach may be enabled to do so. This choice is an option in a free-will universe.
So, I must disagree with the second part of your post:
"Trump most certainly does see himself as the Chieftain Snyder names. Shamans? Not a word I use much, but I'll accept it. The Alitos, after all, do seem allied with the QAnon Shaman, don't they?"
The terms "Shaman", "Chieftain" belong just as much in the realm of your "another place" as my "Antichrist". That is the problem! Lack of discrimination, lack of distinction, lack of adequate terminology to describe what is happening.
"Shaman", "Chieftain" are terms denoting precise concepts in esoteric spirituality. To that extent, they relate directly in the same language to the AntiChrist, another precisely defined term.
Against this knowledge background, I would say:
— What Trump "sees himself" as, is beside the point; he is possessed by demonic entities which have driven his human-self out of his body; so what you hear him say is their voice, operating through his body, not his own earthly self
— From this perspective, the QAnonShaman is as misleading as all the other misappropriations of spiritual terminology
— What we need to focus on here is the gravity of the present situation. We need to ensure that the severity of our current crisis is not obfuscated by well meaning but woolly use of esoteric terminology that is imperfectly understood.
Dear Mrs Alito:
I hate to have to be the one to tell you this, but around 81% of the real Germans have long since moved on. I expect you got your "German heritage" from WW2 era B-movies, and ignoramuses like Donald Trump, but in any event your statement reveals the workings of a small mind, one incapable of dealing with the diversity that characterizes every group. It allows you have certainty, without the need to ever reconcile your beliefs with reality. Clearly you and your husband are compatible.
Yours in service,
Stephen
It's a travesty that Alito is apparently irrevocably a justice on our Supreme Court. He does not have a sense of what this country is about, nor the mind nor the character for this position. How do we rectify this?
How do we rectify this? Here's the answer: impeachment...
"If the Judicial Conference finds possible grounds for impeachment, it submits a report to the House of Representatives. Only Congress has the authority to remove an Article III judge. This is done through a vote of impeachment by the House and a trial and conviction by the Senate."
https://www.uscourts.gov/statistics-reports/judges-and-judicial-administration-journalists-guide#:~:text=If%20the%20Judicial%20Conference%20finds,and%20conviction%20by%20the%20Senate.
We will need a majority in the house.
The Democrats need to control the House and the Senate or I fear the MAGA GOP will sabotage as much as they can under a second Biden presidency. They do not accept the concept of not being in control.
Brilliant, Stephen.
Summed up nicely. Thanks 🙏
It is in deed a remarkable change in mindset from the german people since WW2. Today the nazi history of Germany does not influence most peoples attitude towards the germans in general. However, nazi and facist ideas do not seem to be dead, they move sideways through history and are increasing in strength, even in Germany.
Yes, that is true, particularly in the Bundesländer that were once the DDR (excepting Berlin). But the recent EU elections showed the AfD to have gotten 19% of the vote - and not all AfDers are Nazis. Quite a bit different from the US, where ca 50% apparently approve of the fascist pig Trump.
Philosophically I agree with the Taoist position that there will always be good and evil, as opposed to the Abrahamic notion that evil can be eliminated from the world.
I never would have associated Jan. 6th with The Reichtag fire but you laid it out perfectly.
So, too, the wealthy support Trump just as the wealthy supported Hitler in an effort to preserve their wealth and status. The elites thought they could contain Hitler only to learn that Hitler contained (and eliminated) them. I refer you to the following article:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/hitler-millionaire-backers-how-german-elite-facilitated-rise-nazis-third-reich/
It is truly remarkable and frightening how a convicted felon (i.e. Hitler/Trump) can garner the political support to use the democratic process to dissolve a democratically elected government.
I hope we wake up from this nightmare.
I've been thinking about this for months. The first groups to be rounded up in early 1933 were members of the KPD and SPD, plus anyone like them. The middle class and rich business people were quite happy about this. Then about 1.5 years later, Hitler ordered the assassinations of those who were directly involved in his ascent to power. Opportunity is one of the great drivers of history, and oftentimes insatiable greed.
Good points, all. I’ve been ruminating over the similarities between the Heritage Society’s 2025 plan and Hitler’s 25 point plan for Nazi Germany in 1920.
The Devil never sleeps.
Thank you for the link Andrew.
To me J6 was a melding of the Beer Hall Putsch that happened at the Reichstag. A key difference is that Hitler, Goebbels, other leadership was tried, convicted and sentenced to 5 years in prison. They served 6 months thanks to a conservative judge. We have Judge Cannon of Cuban descent, and no trial, so no conviction, no sentence to serve, thus no accountability, no consequences, nothing has been corrected nor fixed.
Two things come to mind: first, exacting revenge in a premeditated, postponed way is pretty psychopathic. One psychiatrist called it "the talionic impulse," which most healthy adults have learned to control. But psychopaths nurse grudges essentially forever, and they are willing to wait as long as necessary to get revenge. James Fallon, a self-described psychopath, wrote that he used to wait years sometimes to get revenge on people, and sometimes he did it in ways that could not be traced back to him.
The other thing is: now Republicans, notably Russ Vought, are talking about a "post-constitutional" era, wherein the President and all his men will not even have to pretend to be following the original constitution or the rule of law. Of course they blame the degradation of rule of law on Democrats and feel justified in following suit. Vought is the policy director for the Trump campaign. You won't be surprised to learn that he's a Christian nationalist. You can read more scary stuff about him here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/08/russ-vought-trump-second-term-radical-constitutional/
Meanwhile, my neighbor is still shooting his pistols at human-shaped targets every single day, no doubt dreaming of "revenge." I have a get-away plan: to drive to a little town in NC where he can't find me, sometime between Nov 5 and Inauguration Day. No matter who wins.
Two points: 1) Psychiatry professionals who have ventured opinions about Trump's situation--from afar--have easily identified narcissism, but have also mentioned sociopathy as a lesser strain--sort of like major and minor in school; and 2) It amazes me that they don't see a problem with "post-constitutional" being an explicit step backwards in the direction of what the US Constitution was written to protect against. It's as if bituminous coal were being held up as the way forward from gas and oil.
Sociopaths are like magnets. They are pulled towards eachother. Maga magnetics.
And some people still are pushing coal!
Thank you Shannon for the link.
“We have the rule of law so as not to have a culture of revenge.” That hit me as profound. Chieftain and Shamans too.
A culture of revenge is on display in Gaza, where “completely destroying Hamas” is claimed to prevent future attacks on Israel. Cut off electricity, water, food supplies, make it too dangerous for aid agencies to work there. Turn cities to rubble. Tell a million people they have to evacuate to avoid being bombed. Then bomb where you have sent them. Retrieve four hostages and in the process kill and wound hundreds of Palestinians. Revenge was supposed to be limited to an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
And there is Putin, getting his revenge on Ukraine for not wanting to be part of his plan to make Russia bigger.
I like that “Shaman” descriptor of members of the Supreme Court. It is apt because several of them appear to support Trump and his politics of retribution and grievance and they appear to be as transactional as he is.
I also wonder how much of their far right radicalism is wrapped up in their religious persuasions: all but one of the “conservative” justices are radical Catholics. Remember the Catholic Church was responsible for tremendous xenophobia, torture and cruelty, and corruption. Recall the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Bad Popes. We should be very afraid of the power of people who ascribe to such beliefs.
The belief that theirs is the one true church? With a monopoly on morality?
It’s about power and control.
Oh please! Let's not regress into Catholic=bad, Protestant=good. Google Protestant violence. Think Orange, Northern Ireland, and thousands of other horrors.
Nope. I said nothing about Protestants. But radical Catholics make up a fair % of the folks who support Trump and they are as bad or worse than Evangelicals about religious nationalism. Bill Barr is another good example of a radical Catholic: he’s Opus Dei.
Also both Alito and Barr support the unitary executive theory.
Do you know what the unitary executive theory is? Here is a definition: This theory holds that Congress cannot limit the president's control of the executive branch because the Constitution sets up a hierarchical system whereby the president has the most power.
Interesting. Unitary executive theory sounds like 11 syllables equating to plain old authoritarianism.
You may be interested in esoteric analysis of the current conflict:
The natural world works on the basis of bipolarity. The beings exerting one force try to elevate us above ourselves and separate us from our humble earth-grounding. The other beings try to crush our humanity by rendering us automated robots without our own will. Technical terms for these forces are Lucifer and Ahriman respectively. So, these forces try to unbalance us: Lucifer wants to make you into a Great Entrepreneur and Influencer. Ahriman wants you to become an accountant or work on a mass production line.
The human being is supposed to walk the middle way between these two extremes.
The name of the being at work guiding and inspiring us here is Christ—or Love, if you prefer a more secular rendering. Christ may be seen as our Higher Self.
Now, however, a third countervailing force has recently come into play directly in human affairs. The beings behind these forces aim, not just to unbalance the human soul, but to destroy it. They attack the individual ego itself which holds everything together. These beings are called the Asuras.
The Asuras are the literal Anti-Christ.
These are the forces possessing Trump and his cohorts.
In this sense, the danger posed by Trump, Putin, and their ilk must be understood as central and far more serious than conflicts limited to extreme fringes of traditional religion or atavistic tribalism. But the Asuric forces will hide behind various pseudo-religious fronts, and this can make it difficult to untangle things sometimes.
Here I think Dr Snyder is intuitively right on track in pinning down Trump and Putin.
However, his use of spiritual and religious terminology in this post is imprecise and confusing. He is not primarily a metaphysician or student of esotericism and spirituality, but a historian, so his mélange of things that do not belong together is understandable.
But I think he should avoid historically limited terms like "shaman", which applies to ancient tribes found across Finland, Russia, China, Mongolia and the old Americas, because the Alitos are not shamans. Nor are they part of hereditary revenge cultures such as the mafioso. They are much closer to the demonic Asuric forces and belong to the Trump camp.
If you are interested to read more, Google Rudolf Steiner, a leading spiritual teacher who lived from 1864–1925 and brought in a modern Christ-based spiritual path in the Western tradition. The metaphysics outlined here are his. The link to their archive is: RSArchive.org.
The point here with Prof. Snyder is not the technical or correct use of the terms as you, or someone deeply into another metaphysical story would, but to make a communication using a generally understood metaphor, which he does, it seems, for many in order to get the idea across. Shamans are people who are accepted as mystically knowledgeable or connected to some higher realm. Ordinary people defer to them, or are supposed to. In other words members of the court are trying to put themselves or the court (or Trump) above the law, elevating their belief system. That's a big NO-NO.
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Saying that Trump is possessed by the anti-Christ etc. confuses or complicates, bringing in another metaphor. I don't know how that it informs the more simple point made here about revenge culture, a more primitive form that we have tried to emerge from. Still there are those primitive yearnings or elements within us that this apparently appeals to. Some yearn for an authoritarian leader "chieftain" (for SC Chief ) and accept their "shamans" as clergy. This is so patently false and anti-Constitutional.. the Constitution and the laws of the land that the people's representatives make (that can be challenged in court and remade by the people according to the Constitution).
The religious terminology is being invoked by the Alitos ( and Trump et al). Snyder takes this "home" USING Shaman/Chieftain terminology. We should be bringing this back to SECULARITY which is what this country is built upon (the freedom of the human spirit that is within every person). But here this terminology, using historical understanding, the mysticism or religious metaphor is being used by Snyder to make a communication.We need to cut some slack to understand the point. We do not need to be trading it for another. See Joseph Campbell on the "perenniel philosophy" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perennial_philosophy#:~:text=The%20perennial%20philosophy%20(Latin%3A%20philosophia,reality%2C%20humanity%2C%20ethics%2C%20and
… "here this terminology, using historical understanding, the mysticism or religious metaphor is being used by Snyder to make a communication.We need to cut some slack to understand the point. We do not need to be trading it for another. See Joseph Campbell on the "perenniel philosophy" ? …
You are arguing from an empty tool bag.
To be of any use, terminology must aid critical analysis effectively. Imprecise terminology leads to imprecision and confusion.
We do not need to cut some slack here to understand. We need precisely the opposite: we need to hone and tighten up our thinking, add to our knowledge base, expand our consciousness somewhat.
Writers such as Joseph Campbell suffer from the same problem as Jung. Attempts to achieve an overarching conceptual framework using this-world academic, ordinary brain-limited thinking, all fail. There is no such thing as "the" perennial philosophy. There are many different spiritual paths. They are specific and emphatically not mutually interchangeable. Some are better than others. Some are more relevant to today than others. Some offer a path to positive future human evolution. Others do not. There are "white" paths and "black" paths. When high-level black occult operators are behind the conflict, you need high-level spiritual concepts to understand exactly who they are, where they're coming from, what their goals may be and what they're capable of. Without this, you cannot combat them effectively.
But you and I have had this discussion before. So I repeat to you once again: this conflict is not about nice-sounding phrases that are all optionally interchangeable and make people feel good and falsely believe they understand more than they did before. We're not engaged in some soggy mutual group therapy in warm and comforting blankets, blinking to see our surroundings through the sauna steam.
No, we are challenged to rub the scales from our eyes, take an ice-cold dip, to wake up, raise our game and actively try to deepen our knowledge and understanding.
But you want to run a racing car on crude oil. Because there's lots of oil out there, and you can put any sort into your car. And crude is cheaper and easier to come by, after all. And who says your car won't run well on it!
Be clear: by advocating this sort of thing, you are actively contributing to muddying the waters. Which side does that put you on?
Your “tool bag” of certainties and beliefs don’t communicate to me anything I can relate to. I would not insult you by saying your tool bag is empty. No it’s full of stuff. Joseph Campbell does communicate when he talks about the “perennial philosophy” which he did not invent. Timothy Snyder, without getting deeply into what you are asking him to do, as if he should, is trying to get a point across and seems to be doing well here. The shaman chieftain metaphor works to make the point. Bringing in the Antichrist and whatever else you pull out tries to replace his creativity here with your “tools”. You are neither chieftain nor shaman metaphorically speaking, not imo from some higher plane. But I said this before I recall.
You misunderstand the perennial philosophy and are off the deep end in fantasy and metaphor with insults. From your “tool bag” :We do not need to cut some slack here to understand. We need precisely the opposite: we need to hone and tighten up our thinking, add to our knowledge base, expand our consciousness somewhat.“
Such pseudo high mindedness. Useless.
As a one time graduate in American studies and now 60 years away, I marvel at the use of Greek tragedies and Icelandic sagas helps understand the” rhetoric” of today. Revenge not order thanks again
Yes. People’s names and ethnicities change as generations pass, but the underlying themes of human nature are… sadly, human nature.
I personally prefer the term "human learned behavior" to "human nature"... because babies have to be taught to hate. It is not in a child's nature to do so when born. And being taught to hate is as old as human history.
The human being today is a spliced being: there is the divine nature and the so-called fallen nature. The newborn baby is innocent because the soul is still linked to spiritual worlds for the first seven years. Then the various stages of development set in, recapitulating in the child the long evolution of humanity, culminating in development of the individual ego around the age of 21 to 28. Teenage is when sexuality and the passions come into play. We bring karma with us from past lives, and this unfolds as we live our lives. So, external environment teaches love and hate, and we bring with us unfinished karma of love and hate. We are products of both nature and nurture.
One of the problems with fighting back against the misinformation and cult oriented language used by Trump and his MAGA followers and enablers is finding effective terminology. Brian Beutler has pointed out that the continued use of authoritarian and dictator terms has robbed them of power. The beauty of Prof Snyder’s post is framing the struggle in a mythological and atavistic way that slides easily into the modern human brain stem. I hope the those who are fighting to preserve our democracy will use this framing because its suggestive power is so strong.
Dr. Snyder’s framing of revenge politics also makes sense by moving it from an individual character flaw of Donald Trump to a social movement that sucks in followers and jeopardizes millions.
I wish we knew if the leadership in the Biden - Harris campaign (and, for that matter, Biden and Harris themselves) were subscribers to Dr. Snyder's essays. I know there is a well-known historian who advises Biden (can't think of his name at the moment). I wish Dr. Snyder was an advisor too!
Unfortunately, Dr Snyder's framing mixes up quite different things from our spiritual and religious past, and by doing so, makes current confusion worse.
See my long post here.
Oh please! 😱 Give up this crusade to wave about your self-perceived superiority on the subject of "our spiritual and religious past" - I read the Prof Snyder piece & perfectly understood what he is trying to convey, using different terminology to freshen up the discourse. I DON'T come here for YOUR discourse on a totally irrelevant side-bar, so will make sure I don't read any more of it - sad because IN THE FUTURE you may say something of interest - just sayin' 🤷
Lane seems so buried into her "thing" that she fails to give Prof Snyder the leeway to be creative in the way he tells the story and history..the insight into our situation. She also fails to be insightful herself but is verging, if not, on the obnoxiously didactic and unevolved revengefulness that entry by Snyder is about. But at the risk of getting into revenge myself, at least aware that I can, I'll end. Thanks for the commiseration.
yes, precisely, a crusader and decidedly not the evolved person that is pretended, "credentials" included, but confusing.... and accusatory when criticized. This is not evolved.... just sayin 🤷
… "Give up this crusade to wave about your self-perceived superiority on the subject of "our spiritual and religious past" " …
* Unacceptable attempt at undermining my credentials, destroying my professional standing. I could accept that I'm on something of a crusade, but only in the sense that others working for positive outcomes for Ukraine, or positive human futures, are crusading, and that includes Dr Snyder.
* I stated at length my reasons for posting. You choose to ignore what I said and justify yourself by trying to undermine my credibility without facts or evidence of any sort, alleging I’m on a power trip. This is the last resort of people who are unwilling/don't know how to engage in impartial, objective discussion.
… "I read the Prof Snyder piece & perfectly understood what he is trying to convey"…
* How do you know you understood what Dr Snyder is trying to say?
* It would have been good if you had told us what you think Dr Snyder is trying to convey. Why aren't you telling us what you understand? Is your understanding to be kept a secret from us? Why?
… "using different terminology to freshen up the discourse" …
* How do you know those are Dr Snyder's reasons for using this terminology? Did you ask him? Are you psychic? Privy to confidential information withheld from the rest of us?
… "I DON'T come here for YOUR discourse on a totally irrelevant side-bar" …
* You are under no compulsion to read my posts, nor my replies to your posts. They are there for those who are interested in reading them. It's a free world.
* How do you know my post is a) irrelevant, and b) a side-bar? That is your judgement. Does your judgement hold for everyone else? Are you the arbiter of what is relevant? Are you the Universal Censor? Do we have here a subconscious 'I Wannabe God myself'? Is there an ongoing conflict between your instinctual lust for power over others and your intellectual brain insistence on everything goes? Have you thought that maybe your nut and gut are not at harmony within yourself?
Are you at war, not with me, but with yourself???
A small pause in the chaos to appreciate the writing. You took me on a journey this morning and brought me -quickly- to a deeper grasp of themes at play.
As one does.
Bravo!
This is an amazing post. Such a brilliant historical perspective .
Sobering, and, unfortunately, compelling.
Trump while selling dystopia & revenge threatened everyone involved indictments & trials for his crimes: witnesses jurors prosecutors & judges. In contrast to Trump's dangerous behavior the Hunter case involved NO threats no cries of which hunt or efforts to undermine the system.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whNi1Og-8SA
Re: Hunter. I say, "Lock him up"...in the back of the van on the way to performing his one day of community service.
Tim - excellent post. Among the things I admire in your work is your defense of FREEDOM. I believe we need to reclaim that word from the far-right. I'm promoting a FREEDOM baseball cap (see my profile picture). It would go great with your new book! I'm selling the hats below cost - not trying to make money, just trying to literally spread the word. Here's the link: freedom2024.us/products/cap. They're made in the USA by Unionwear. I'd be happy to send you one if you tell me where to send it (reply to matt@2020unity.us). Or they're $18 at the store. ... Thanks again for all your great and timely work.
Outstanding. I can imagine what you were thinking when Trump said he was "perfectly justified" in seeking revenge for being tried for his actions. Alito et al are only, once again, echoing Trump's thoughts that throwback to darker times. And, parenthetically, are in direct opposition to the Christian teaching of turning the other cheek...Is it possible for the human race to actually exist in a peace that looks forward to community instead of backwards to conflict?
Possible if people accept all other people as equals, at least under the law.
Jesus taught that “Vengeance is Mine, saith the Lord God,” if I remember correctly.
I have read that “Turn the other cheek” was followed by a phrase meaning that doing so would mess with your tormentor’s mind, to your advantage.
Re: Turn the other cheek.
Jesus: “If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn your other cheek to him as well.”
I read something similar, but more along the lines of “equality”…
Two ways to slap someone — “forehand” striking with the palm; “backhand” striking with the back of the hand.
Backhand slap is a sign of authority/superiority. Right hand dominant (left hand reserved for “unclean” activities) would slap someone on the right check using a backhand slap.
Turning the other cheek to them does not allow another backhand slap, but requires an open-hand slap or a punch — a statement of equality.
“Turning the other cheek” is not an invitation to further abuse as is often interpreted, but a “non-violent” statement/challenge of equality.
Thank you! Very interesting and significant. I never thought it meant “Be a punching bag.”
Current predications are that some will win through, although many will take quite a time to get there. And unfortunately, a small minority will go down with the material dregs at the end of this stage of Earth's evolution.
Thank you for this intelligent, well considered and especially well written column.
Thank you, Dr Snyder, for this historical perspective. You provide clarity and calm to a really awful mess we are in. We are living in dangerous times, and I don’t know how to make it stop. We voted Blue in 2020, and Trump and his allies like the Alito are deeper than ever in their authoritarian coup. We are urged to turn out in numbers too many to ignore in 2024 and defeat these anti-Americans once again. I will do it, but this time the elected and appointed officials cannot let this undoing of the future go on because they fear the blowback from people who neither understand nor care for our system of government. I live in Georgia and the Republican old boys are effectively shutting down the Trump trial - the one where he conspired to overturn my vote. Trump removed protected national security documents and his Judge Cannon is making sure he never comes to trial. Trump is a convicted felon and is still running for president - serving as commander in chief when he couldn’t pass a security clearance if he were anyone else. Clearly, our system was organized on an assumption that elected people, even though they would disagree on political things, operated from a commonly understood ethical platform. This assumption is proven false, and serious reform is needed to make the purposeful undermining of the Constitution stop.