On Psychopathy, Power, U.S. Empire And Ego

On Psychopathy, Power, U.S. Empire And Ego

May 5, 2022

U.S. IMPERIALISM - FOLLOW THE MONEY

Caitlin Johnstone

I've been watching The John Wayne Gacy Tapes on Netflix, which features previously unheard recordings of the serial killer known as "The Killer Clown" who murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men in the 1970s.

I wasn't able to finish it because I don't have that kind of stomach, but what jumped out at me listening to him was the way he talked about how much he loved power and what an easy time he had manipulating his way up the ladders of political influence.

Really makes you think about how many psychopaths who are just a little bit more functional must be in politics today, on all levels. Psychopaths who are deeply messed up inside but not quite so messed up that they enjoy strangling teenage boys to death after raping and torturing them.

Or if they are that messed up they're clever enough to avoid getting caught. Or if they are that messed up and not clever enough to avoid getting caught, but their fetish for murder and suffering is satiated by something that's considered politically acceptable in our society, like war.

If humanity is to survive into the future and move out of its psychopathy-enabling competition-based models into a collaborative relationship with all of humankind and with its entire ecosystem, that future will necessarily come with an abandonment of our ancient impulse to control. Our impulse to control nations, to control each other, to control life itself. It will come with an abandonment of empire, an abandonment of power agendas, and an abandonment of the human ego.

Every species eventually hits a point where it must adapt to changing conditions or else go extinct. It is clear now, as we face existential threats on multiple fronts due to our destructive attempts to control each other and our ecosystem, that our own species is at such a point right now.

If there is a humanity on the other side of the existential hurdles we now face, it is a humanity that has let go of its impulse to control and has instead learned to move in harmony with what is. It's hard to imagine from where we're at right now, but that's only because we've never seen it before. We've also never seen anything like our current situation, though. There's a first time for everything. We'll either pass this test or we won't.

Reading by Tim Foley

Article with supporting links: https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/on-psychopathy-power-empire-and-ego

Original: https://youtu.be/yjT33Rjzp5I

Thanks for watching! Subscribe to https://www.caitlinjohnst.one for email updates on all my new stuff.

Thanks for watching! Subscribe to https://caitlinjohnstone.com for email updates on all my new stuff.

=

https://www.youtube.com/@CaitlinJohnstone

I write about the end of illusions. 100% reader-funded writer. All works co-authored with my American husband Tim Foley.

Patreon: http://bit.ly/3Lb4SOe
Paypal: http://bit.ly/3LcUSnx

Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)