“It’s a Good Life” — the left is narcissism in action

A Democrat victory in November will soon find us all living in the ultimate narcissistic world in that famous Twilight Zone episode, It’s a Good Life.

I’ve spent time in the company of narcissists, so I know how they operate. One of the things that’s most irritating about them is that, in their own minds, they never bear any responsibility for anything negative. No matter what it is, it’s the other person’s fault. The perfect example is something a long-ago boyfriend told me regarding our fights over things both inconsequential or serious: “They’re always your fault.”

When I demanded an explanation, he said that the problem was that I disagreed with him and, worse, that I voiced disagreement. There would not be any fights, he said, if I just kept my mouth shut.

Think about that: In the narcissist’s world, any disharmony is the other person’s failure to conform to his facts and his outlook. Every narcissist is Anthony Freemont, the little boy in the famous Twilight Zone episode, It’s a Good Life. That’s the one in which Anthony (played by Bill Mumy) has the powers of a god, for he can read minds, as well as create, transform, and destroy anything. In the village over which he holds sway, the people may only give voice to happy thoughts or he will horribly alter or destroy them. They live an existence of horrific fear, one made worse by the silence imposed upon them even in interactions with each other.

The notion of a narcissism that, if unfettered, can quickly turn into Anthony Fremont’s physical and mental dictatorship struck me with particular force today. The reason? I read about why Mary Trump, Donald’s niece, is “heartbroken” by Trump’s nomination speech:

Mary Trump, whose scorched-earth book about her uncle and his troublesome ascent to the presidency remains high on best-seller lists, said she struggled to make sense of the president’s “bizarrely convoluted messaging,” but highlighted his blaming of political opponents for his own failures, negligence on coronavirus, disregard for ethics and his divisive rhetoric.

“It’s as if he thinks Joe Biden is president now and we have to save the country from Joe Biden,” she said. “If the country is a place of division and decadence as he describes it, then I would think that’s down to him, as he’s currently in the Oval Office.” (Emphasis mine.)

[snip]

She also said the address was a kick in the teeth for anyone wanting to make the country better. She noted, in particular, her uncle’s portrayal of peaceful anti-racism demonstrators. He sought to cast them as violent mobs while declaring himself the “law and order” president. An apparent white vigilante who was photographed at a Trump rally in January was charged with shooting three protesters, killing two, but president nevertheless pointed to protesters as the problem.

That emphasized language is the essence of narcissism. In their own minds, leftists like Mary have no agency when it comes to disputes. They are always innocent. To the extent there’s discord, it’s because the other side refuses to abide by their facts, their values, and their rules. Having caused discord (unhappy thoughts) they must be punished. Also note that, in Mary’s case (and in the case of the Yahoo! News “journalist” who wrote the linked article), one of the specific reasons Trump is causing that specific discord by even mentioning violence in connection with those peaceful protests:

Because we don’t live in the leftist bubble, we know that those “peaceful anti-racism demonstrators” have been anything but peaceful. We’ve watched the violence spread unabated since the beginning of June. Downtown Kenosha was turned into a war zone in just three nights. Portland has been the site of warfare, including rockets, arson, lasers intended to blind, heavy projectiles, and germ warfare (for that’s what fecal-filled balloons are — bags of germs). Seattle’s CHAZ/CHOP (aka the home of “the summer of love”) was the site of three murders, one of which is the basis for a $3 billion lawsuit. Minneapolis may take decades to recover from the more than 1,500 buildings, most of them once functional businesses and many of them black-owned, that are now piles of ash.

As for the claim that a “white vigilante” killed two peaceful protesters, even the prosecution’s charging documents set out facts for a perfect case of self-defense. It’s doubtful any criminal defense lawyer has ever seen that kind of thing in the charging documents. There are several theories for this, one of which is that the prosecutors are preemptively protecting themselves against the inevitable outrage when the case is dismissed. Another of which is that the reason the prosecution instantly charged Rittenhouse wasn’t cowardice but was to position him in such a way as to protect the mob from going vigilante on him.

As for the claim that Kyle Rittenhouse is a “vigilante” or “white supremacist,” Lin Woods, who has effectively represented Nick Sandmann, is licking his chops at the thought of taking on the politicians and media figures making that charge. It’s high time that private citizens stop being martyrs to leftist defamation and Lin Woods seems to be the general leading this counterattack.

When the left is in charge, we are all living the dystopian It’s a Good Life that narcissists with unlimited power impose on those unlucky enough to be in their orbit. Keep in mind, too, that It’s a Good Life is an allegory. Back in 1961, everyone understood that the episode was really about socialism in the 20th century, from Hitler’s National Socialism to the Soviet Union’s communism.

I’m so frightened of that future that I now conclude just about everything I write by urging people to vote for Trump. He is a brash, bold, often crude, sometimes vindictive person, but he is not a narcissist. Instead, he’s a visionary genius.

Trump’s the man who disagrees with the press in public but does nothing to them. Obama, as you may remember, spied on the press, whether the press he attacked (Fox news) or just any media (AP). That’s narcissism. Trump is just BIG. Big is not a clinical defect.

If Biden wins and, worse, the left takes Congress, there will be nothing between you and an Anthony Fremont/It’s a Good Life world, one in which anything you say or two can be tracked and punished through the alliance of government and Big Tech. And remember, no matter what goes wrong, it’s all your fault. The narcissists in power are never wrong. They are always right and all fights, divisions, disagreements, and mistakes are on you.