There is an impressive connection between the horror of plot and the dream of American greatness. The grandeur of the country seems to require hidden enemies to confirm. This Messianic logic shapes American politics and remains at the heart of conservative evangelical Christianity. Ukraine wants peace. Russia wants an empire. We just want to be great.
It was published in 1952 by Norman Vincent Peel. The power of positive thinkingsold more copies in the United States than non-fiction titles except for the Bible. This is a precious gift from my Presbyterian father. Another Presbyterian father, Fred Trump, became a member of the Marble College Church in Peel in New York City. His son, Donald, later praised Peel’s influence. “My father was friends with Dr. Peel. I was reading his famous books, which helped me. I am a cautious optimist, but I firmly believe in the power of being positive.
There is no place in negativity. The exaggeration becomes true. Trump calls it “an exaggeration of truth… my brand.” (1987) Everything is “major”, “best”, “major”, “smart”, “richest”, “richest”.
This idea, rooted in the 19th century “new thinking” movement, not only ignores the issue, but also suggests that climate change, inequality, racism, nationalism – is the problem that many people are “losers” to Trump.
Democracy is troublesome. The authoritarian regime promises to clean things up. Positive thinking can become a form of perfectionism. It often hides aggression and forces them to remake adversity as a narrow ideal that thrives, personal failure. Burnout is a badge of honor, a proof of merciless “growth.” Fatigue is rebranded as a virtue. Despair, lack of will. “Before dawn is always the darkest.” Encouragement is forced when the only acceptable response is a hilarious slogan. Even the collapse must be smiled.
This logic finds natural homes in the wellness industry where self-care is now a market for compliance. You need to manage your mood. The suspicion was reconstructed as a motive. LinkedIn celebrates “breaking the pain.” Speakers monetize failures. Instagram is full of yoga poses and magazines of gratitude. Healing is a fuss.
You are the CEO of your happiness and you are responsible for optimizing your emotional portfolio. Corporate thinking permeates the private corner. Emotions are indicators and opportunities for relationships.
Get inequality. Instead of dealing with stagnant wages and housing costs, they are told to focus on resilience. The unemployed must “network.” Thank you for overworking. That’s not a mistake. It’s a tactic. It distracts reforms and condemns patients. And why stop to blame the victim? Gravity can be assigned every autumn.
This is domination through performance. Control comes not through constraints, but through demands of improvement, enjoyment and production. Self-improvement is an obligation. Forcing becomes pressure. People pursue productivity and monitor themselves.
As a result, society appears free, but suffers from fatigue, anxiety and isolation. New tyranny rules through the promise of fulfillment. It’s hard to resist, it sounds like freedom, it’s hard to name because it sounds like care.
Coercion is shown in our language. We are not tired – we are “optimizing our energy.” We are not sad – we “work through things.” Pain must be ambitious. “Failure is not an option!”Apollo 13– “Successful Disaster”). The ironic joke was, “Go harder. You’ll fail well.” WC Field was probably the right thing to do.
The Nobel poet Whiswawa Symbolska has lived through Nazi occupation and communist rule, but he understood another kind of hope. She found courage, not just meetings or slogans, but grass blades, bad jokes, and the fact that people still fall in love.
For Szymborska, the courage of hope quietly declares the value of life, especially when questioned. It is durable and destructive. Watch without turning away, acknowledge pain without being productive, find the meaning of gestures rather than stories. “We can find the whole universe lurking in the most remarkable object.” We need to be stubborn to see what’s just before us again.
Another poet, who praised the Symbolska in the same spirit, said, “We can do without joy, but not joy. We must have the stubbornness to accept the joy of this world in the ruthless furnace. To praise the devil as the only measure of our attention.
Perhaps this goes beyond burnout. It is not the gospel of performance, but the modern heresy of being human.
Notes and reading
New ideasthe 19th century American spiritual movement was Peel’s predecessor of “positive thinking.” Folk healer and mesmerist Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802–1866), is often recognized as its founder. Mary Baker Eddie, who discovered Christian science, was once close to him, but she denied the connection.
“Positive thinking has entered the mainstream of American life and shaped how the nation understands itself. The people behind it wrote a backstory of modern America. ” (Emboss added)
– from One simple idea: How lessons of positive thinking can change your life (2016) by Mitch Horowitz, historian of alternative spirituality. “One of the most literate voices of today: mysticism and the occult.” Washington Post.
Bright side: How is America aggressively damaged? Barbara Ehrenreich (2010). Ehrenreich was an award-winning columnist and essayist on American Dream Mythology, Labor Market, Healthcare, Poverty, Women’s Rights and more.
The power of positive thinking – Norman Vincent Peel (1952). – “You gave me great strength at the most difficult time in my life.” – in a personal letter to Peel after Richard Nixon, Watergate. “Dr. Peel shows that great spiritual truths are simple, not complicated.” – Ronald Reagan during the free ritual of the Presidential Medal honoring Peel.
Respect: Norman Vincent Peel and the reworking of American religious life – Christopher Lane (2016). Lane is a member of the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities at the Feinberg School of Medicine in Northwestern. author Age of doubt: trace the roots of our religious uncertainty.
Donald Trump – The art of trading (1987) – #1 On New York Times A list of bestsellers of the year. Tony Schwartz, American journalist and ghostwriter. “But they are my ideas.” – Playing cards. (“Why did you ask the house a million dollars? I know it’s not that worth it.” “I should have asked for 2 million.” – not from words from The art of tradingBut that could be the case too. )
wislawa szymborska – Nobel Lecture 1996, “The Poet and the World.” – “You can find the whole universe…” Publishers every week Interview, “wislawa szymborska: The Enchantment of Everyday Objects” (Academia.edu- April 7, 1997).
“The Whiswawa Symbol Ska of Novelist, “Working as a Single Traditional Adventure”” – Cynthia Haven, Book heaven (Blog – October 24, 2014). Haven is a literary scholar, author, critic, slaver and journalist, and is best known for her biographies. The evolution of desire: The life of Rene Girard (2018).
“We can make it less joy, but not joy…” – From Jack Gilbert’s poem “The Briefs for Defense” (Rejecting heaven2005). Gilbert, a hidden American poet known for his emotionally direct poetry, respected Symphony Ska for her wit, irony, and deceptive simplicity.
Tip #207 – Not a beast, but a spreadsheet
Coming Soon #209 – Ancient Discussions with Authors
Approx. 2 + 2 = 5
Source: 2 + 2 = 5 – williamgreen.substack.com
