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How the Frenzy Feeds: Affect and Delusion
The only thing puzzling about the tweet-stream smear-campaign bullying tactics that keep Trump’s popularity going is the inability of mainstream analysts to understand their success. These baffled experts keep bringing reasoned arguments to bear, like people debating the flammability of materials while standing in a house that is burning down. The sheer force of affect seems to escape notice, as if by ignoring the tantrum they might restore order. The frenzy feeds on high volume attention — negative or positive — and generates its own energy fields as a result. The implications of this are profound, and the dynamic systems that support this generative activity are integrated into every aspect of our daily lives through all forms of communication. The orchestrated effect of the spectacle of distraction is of course an essential aspect of the constant unfolding of “events” in news space. But the frenzy has its own momentum — and we are participatory instruments in this phenomenon. Recognizing how this works is crucial.
The Enlightenment philosophers who imagined the American experiment into being had no idea of the forces that would threaten its survival. They believed in the power of Reason to triumph over superstition and of Law to control the baser impulses of individuals through the power of the Social Contract. Reason, they thought, would promote common agreement on many matters, such as basic rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (for a select portion of the population)…
