The Assault on Reason, Part Two: A Deeper Analysis

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the same set of arguments that were presented in Chap. 1 but from a very different perspective. Namely, we’re dealing with forces that lie much deeper in the human Psyche. They are fundamentally the products of Disturbed and Distorted Thinking. For instance, the assertion that “I and I alone know what’s best for me and my body” is the quintessence of Narcissism. For another, the contention that the Government has surreptitiously placed microchips in the vaccines so that it can track our every whereabouts and thoughts, and thereby control them, is a clear-cut case of outright Paranoia.

If these weren’t bad enough, we’re dealing with Demented Thinking on nothing less than on a collective basis. Thus, Conservative Talk-Radio Host Dennis Prager declared that he deliberately caught Covid 19 because he believes that Natural Immunity is better than that which is conferred by the vaccines. Crazy Making is thereby the major order of the day!

The point is that combatting such arguments is not merely a case of correcting faulty Logic and thinking, but of dealing with Widespread Mental Disturbance. Indeed, they constitute threats of the highest order to the Collective Mental Health of the nation and the world as a whole.

Given that those who are most in need of Psychotherapy are often the most reluctant to get it, and even if they weren’t, there’re not enough qualified Psychotherapists to go around, what then can we do? Among the only remaining alternatives is Healthy Leadership at the highest levels to address our deepest fears and do everything they can to calm and reassure us.

But worst of all, we have to confront the fact that some people are so damaged by whatever traumas they’ve experienced in the past such that they are unable to trust anyone, let alone authority figures urging them to get vaccinated. They’ve been betrayed so often and so deeply such that they are impervious to rational appeals. Never again will they allow themselves to be misled by anyone.

Chapter 1 presented an analysis of the validity of the “arguments”—if they are even deserving of the term—that have been bandied about in favor of NOT getting vaccinated for Covid 19. In a word, it exposed the serious defects in reasoning behind each of the major arguments/claims. Unfortunately, as necessary as this is, it doesn’t get to the real roots of the problem, the underlying states of mind that are responsible for them in the first place. A deeper, Psychological analysis is called for if we are to understand why they arise in the first place, and secondly, exert such a hold on their proponents.

However, while absolutely necessary, such an analysis is not without its own problems. Many find it extremely disturbing to leave the reassuring realms of Logic and Reason where supposedly matters are subject to clear-cut rules and procedures, and thus can be determined and settled with complete confidence. To enter into the realm of Psychology often raises as much anxiety as the original issues themselves. Nonetheless, as distressing as it is—indeed, precisely because it is—it’s all the more necessary.

To reiterate, the following are the major arguments/claims for not getting vaccinated. Indeed, they cannot be emphasized enough:

• 1. “By virtue of my age, health, lifestyle, and special circumstance, I’m totally immune to the Virus.”

• 2. “My body, my choice! The government has no right to tell me what I can and cannot do with my body. It’s an infringement on my Basic Freedoms and Liberties! It’s nothing less than Tyranny. Besides, I and I alone know best when it comes to my own body.”

• 3. “The Bible tells us that we are made in the Image of God. Wearing masks is nothing less than a desecration of His Image. It’s a Sin of the Gravest Order!”

• 4. “The vaccine is responsible for causing the Virus.”

• 5. “The authorities have reversed themselves so many times that they’re not to be trusted.”

• 6. “The Virus is not a big deal.”

• 7. “The wearing of masks is foolish.”

• 8. “We cannot allow science and scientists to rule our lives. Who gave Anthony Fauci the power to make decisions over us?”

• 9. “It’s time to stop worrying about others.”

• 10. “The Virus is part of Nature. Thus, in harmony with all things, it’s morally and universally appropriate to let Nature run its course.”

• 11. “The vaccines are an insidious plot to put microchips in us not just to track our whereabouts, but even worse, to read and thereby control our minds.”

To reiterate as well, the first claim is that by virtue of a person’s special circumstances, and/or basic characteristics, he, she or they are totally exempt from the disease, therefore requiring no intervention or treatment whatsoever. If ever there were, it’s not only a clear-cut, but a classic case of Omnipotent Thinking, if not Grandiosity. It’s direct compensation for the fact that the Virus has instilled a deep sense of powerlessness and outright dread in far too many of us. Unfortunately, dismissing the need for protection is not only a direct threat to one’s own health and well-being, but to countless others as well.

The second is not only a complete misunderstanding of Freedom, but is a classic example of Narcissism writ large. It cannot be said enough. Freedom does not mean that one has the absolute right to do whatever he, she, or they pleases without any consideration of how others will be affected. Society is not possible without a serious concern for others. The nasty truth is that when one is under the grip of Narcisstic Thinking, only the Self and the Self Alone matters. Indeed, the situation is so awful and terrifying that it borders on Pathological Narcissism.

Even more basic, one is not always the best judge when it comes to one’s body. It’s impossible for anyone to possess all of the relevant knowledge that experts have acquired though years of arduous and specialized training. To believe otherwise is a further expression of Grandiosity, a highly inflated and thereby unwarranted sense of one’s self worth.

Once again, it’s also an expression of the deep distrust of and hostility towards authority of any kind.

The third claim suffers similarly in the sense that one is supposedly the best interpreter of the Word of God. Thus, while debasing others in authority, one is a supreme authority onto oneself.

The claim that the vaccine is responsible for the Virus is not only completely bogus, but a total misunderstanding and complete reversal of the correct order of things. The “correct sequence” is that the Virus is responsible for promoting the rapid, but safe, creation of the vaccines and the protection they offer from the disease, not the reverse. To think otherwise is nothing less than a primary case of a major Thought Disorder. In different words, it’s a major example of Demented and Delusional Thinking. Given that it flows directly from the false belief that the Government has deliberately placed the Virus in the vaccines in order to destroy White people, it’s a clear-cut case of Paranoia as well. It’s certainly a reflection of the low trust in Government. Indeed, as such, it’s been steadily declining for decades.

The fifth claim is a direct expression of the obsessive need for Certainty. Again, it’s true that authorities such as the CDC and Dr. Fauci have reversed themselves. But they have not done so arbitrarily. Rather, they have changed their recommendations as the underlying conditions themselves have changed. Indeed, one of the prime features of Science is that it’s generally self-correcting. Again, those who disprove earlier ideas are generally rewarded, although often not without considerable pushback and resistance from their originators and defenders. Unfortunately, change itself is a major threat to far too many.

The Virus is a big deal, Period! It’s one of the worst calamities to strike in modern times. It’s responsible for over 5 million deaths worldwide and counting. Reducing its magnitude is the only way in which many can cope with a disaster that once again one feels powerless to control. It’s as pure a case of Denial and Disavowal as one could ever hope to find.

So is the attitude that wearing masks is foolish.

Demeaning Dr. Fauci is but another form of asserting one’s significance, and thereby an inflated sense of one’s self-worth and importance. In addition, it cannot be said enough that it’s fundamentally a case of the deep distrust of authority of any kind.

Lack of concern about others is another instance of Primary Narcissism. Aren’t we all in this together? Do we really want no one to be concerned about anyone other than him, herself, or they? Society itself cannot exist without a basic concern for others.

To reiterate, the Virus is not the result of “Nature acting alone” for there is no such thing anymore. It’s the case of humans not taking appropriate precautions to prevent animals from all-too-easily transmitting a deadly disease from one species to another. In today’s world, there’s little humans do that does not affect all of Nature. To believe otherwise is another case of Denial. It’s also a classic case of Compartmentalization, namely the false belief that causes and effects can be strictly confined and separated so that they do not affect one another, let alone a system as a whole.

The last would be laughable if it were not a clear-cut example of Paranoia.

To reiterate a key point, the individual arguments/claims are bad enough by themselves, but they’re made even worse by the fact that they all-too-readily group together in distinct clusters thereby reinforcing one another even more.

First and foremost is the Hoax Cluster, namely that Virus is not real, and as a result, not deserving of any, let alone serious, attention. It’s supported by the false assertion that the numbers of people affected are too small for us to worry about. It’s reinforced by the Conspiracy/Paranoia Cluster. Namely, the Virus has been fomented by the Government so that not only can it track our whereabouts and thoughts at all times, but control them and thereby take away our God-given freedoms and rights. The I Know Best Cluster is more of the same. Another is the Invulnerability Cluster, namely that “If in the highly improbable case that the Virus is real, I’m immune to it.” The Product Defect Cluster is the unfounded claim that the Vaccines, not the Virus, are the true danger since they’re responsible for causing the Virus in the first place. In addition, the Vaccines have not been tested sufficiently to ensure their absolute safety.

And as we said earlier, the notion of Freedom is deserving of a Cluster of its own. Indeed, it’s one of the primary forces motivating the entire resistance to the taking of the vaccines. But then Freedom is also closely allied with the Distrust of Authorities, which is thereby deserving of its own distinct Cluster as well.

But the absolute worst of all is equating the Holocaust to mandates for the vaccines. How can anyone equate one of the most evil episodes in human history with the taking of vaccines for protection against a deadly disease?

All of the above and more are testimony to the fact that far more than we’d like to believe, we are the prisoners of deep Psychological forces which seriously impede our abilities to reason and think critically. Indeed, just the list itself is overwhelming: Demented and Omnipotent Thinking, Grandiosity, Thought Disorders, Compartmentalization, the Obsessive Need for Certainty, Denial, Disavowal, Paranoia, and Narcissism.

Unfortunately, countering them is not just a matter of accurately identifying the states of mind responsible for each of the so-called arguments/claims. Rather, it’s a case of dealing with the pernicious forces that keep us from treating the momentous issues facing us with the clarity of thought and strength of mind they require.

While each of the various arguments/claims are due to over exaggerating fears with regard to forces over which we have little control, it’s not an exaggeration to say that as a society we are suffering from serious bouts of Collective Mental Illness, at the very least Serious Mental Distress. Sadly, even if enough were willing to see a Psychotherapist in order to deal with the serious issues from which they are suffering, there are not enough qualified Therapists to fulfill the need.

Who then but our national leaders are available to soothe what ails us? It calls for those who are adept at addressing the unmitigated fears and anxieties we are experiencing without using off-putting labels and talking down to us.

It means frankly acknowledging the Fears that the Virus has unleashed and then providing as realistic an assessment of them as possible. But even more, it means not overwhelming us with mountains of cold-hearted facts, but treating us with empathy. The balance between the two is so important such that we visit the matter repeatedly.

Reflections

As you read an analysis of the arguments from a very different perspective, what were your personal feelings and thoughts? Did they affect you in any way? Does the discussion help you? Do you know anyone personally that is suffering from any one of the maladies described in the chapter? Are they in need of serious help? Has it made it difficult to talk with others who deny their vulnerabilities?