Succinct thoughts about why people support narcissistic leaders. Note is made that narcissism afflicts more men than women and that there are differences when women attain leadership.
What I'd like to see as a follow-up is an analysis of MAGA women who rise to power and whether there's a difference between MAGA narcissistic women leaders and pro-Democracy women leaders.
I encourage you to read my Thinking Deeply Substack post today about the need to elevate women to leadership positions in the resistance movement and why that makes a difference:
Women have always been the backbone of resistance in social justice movements, yet they are seldom accorded the recognition they have earned. They often adopt a different, more effective leadership style appropriate for this point in time. Men should take lessons and adopt a similar leadership style to be more effective.
I make it a practice and an essential part of my daily routine to begin each day to arise and set a goal for myself that day about what I will do that day to make a difference. I often write about that in that day’s Thinking Deeply Substack’s call to action urging others to take a similar action. Those actions need not be “grand gestures,” they may be small but I hope impactful. What is most essential is the follow through. I do not let myself lose focus with whatever is happening that day. Those events may determine tomorrow’s choice of engagement. What is most critical is my retaining control of my choices and not allowing Trump or MAGA Republicans to make choices for me. My life’s path is to make my choices as wisely as possible by Thinking Deeply about my choices and then engaging by action. Thinking Deeply is important but nothing changes unless we act on our choices.
I take time each evening before bed to reflect on my day in a diary I keep. Did I keep faith with the choice I made for what I would do that day? Did I retain my focus? Is the action I took likely to be impactful? What could I have done differently to be more effective? Any lessons learned?
I always remember to think about at least one good thing I did for someone else that might make a positive difference for them.
This is lovely, Bruce, and in the age of MAGA, increasingly a chore because we have to push back on how they've made real strides in changing so many of us. I've had trouble carrying around the darkness, the anger, the frustration, the intolerance (mainly because I don't believe the front-facing language people use anymore, always looking below the text to figure out what they REALLY mean, and that is exhausting).
On goodness: I tend to cling to the good things that others have done for me. I find that as I get older, I remember those more than I recall what I have done for them.
Instead of thinking of each day being like Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the hill. Try thinking of rolling it downhill. What can YOU do today to make even just a slight difference with a challenge? Remember to find at least one opportunity to do something truly kind for someone else and find joy in that. When you retire each night, ask yourself whether you maintained your focus and whether your actions reflected it. If you do those things, you will find happiness even in the midst of chaos.
Ha! I just realized that, because I'm in social work, my default is to do for others constantly, which is why, I guess, the gifts, large and small, given to me hold pride of place. All that I do for others goes completely under my radar until someone points it out.
Civic activism is almost entirely selfish in my eyes: it's all about the country I wish to live in!
I like the idea of keeping a journal with these daily intentions/ follow through as the guiding principle. It is a discipline worth pursuing! And, the bit about not letting them “live rent free” in our heads, as it were, is spot on. That too is a daily practice, much like a Zen mentality. Thank you for offering these ideas! I love the people in the Hopium chat—you all keep me grounded and sane and persevering ❤️
always a 2 hour ph call with putin BEFORE meeting with zelensky. so satan can get his marching orders. still dont understand why satan is involved in negotiations except for security guarantee? latest $$ making scheme by jared & witkoff is a free trade zone in disputed areas. just more grifting for the "families". we must focus on the corruption of this pres. he doesnt run the country. he just looks for grift opportunities from his high perch in the WH. who is going to get the $100M oil he took from venezuela? where is that tanker?
Look forward to reading, thank you, Simon. As I've noted a few times, responding to Simon's advice to contribute where we consider we can best, I do mostly on the local level. kind of overwhelming to see this end of year how much reconciliation and bridge building is possible despite enormous strains most are experiencing in their lives. I am convinced that most people do not center their lives on greed, hate and domination of others and many look forward to the rebuilding that we discuss here
I can't recommend highly enough the new Netflix doc "CoverUp," profiling the career of journalist, Seymour Hersh and as a reminder of the role JOURNALISTS have played amidst the complicities both federal government and legacy media. CBS NEWS under Bari Weiss, in withdrawing its reporting on CECOT, has become a "news influencer" rather than a "news service" well on its way to compete with FOX NEWS as both are controlled by the WH.
I have brought this documentary up twice to Hopiates.
It can be hard to watch, because Hersh is a journalist of hard things; he tells unsavory stories about America.
But knowing that journalists like him exist gives me hope that one way or another -- these stories, no matter how they get suppressed for the moment -- will always rise. Because these kinds of journalists are not made, they are born.
Yesterday I read one of the most incredible stories I've come across about a 2025 downballot race. The article, published in Cascadia Daily News, which covers Whatcom and Skagit Counties, is unfortunately behind the paywall.
The article reports on the campaign of 19-year-old Sammy Solano Rivera, who in a Mt. Vernon school board race defeated a two-term incumbent. Born of Mexican parents, Solano Rivera won with nearly sixty percent of the vote. His campaign manager, Sayer Theiss, is 17 years old.
How did they do it?
“'Here’s what we care about: advocating for students, teachers and paraeducators,' Theiss said. 'We stuck to that and just went out there, talked to people, talked to community organizations, talked to people at their houses, went to forums, etcetera.'
"They reached out to Indivisible Skagit and the Skagit County Democrats. Solano Rivera got their endorsements, but Theiss said it was also invaluable in building relationships with other candidates and community groups.
"They also got into the community, Theiss said. That included canvassing, door knocking, phone banks and texting. They got friends from high school to knock on doors, too, and had committed volunteers who spent hours door knocking.
“'If you just actually go out, talk to people, engage in the community, people appreciate that, and people actually respond to that positively, which I think is represented in the result,' Theiss said.
"Theiss said he thinks the national political environment may have helped.
“'Many people feel as if the ways of doing things in many regards have not necessarily provided the optimal outcomes for certain groups,' he said. 'We’re running the campaign at a time that I think is helpful to potentially not even be the incumbent.'
“'Is he young?' Theiss continued. 'Yeah. But I think that people were willing to vote for someone young, because I think we’re in an environment where people want something to happen.'”
Note that Indivisible Skagit and the Skagit County Democrats both supported this campaign. But the campaign also pulled together a lot of hard-working young people who went out, knocked on doors, reached voters in a myriad of ways, and got their message out.
Thanks David. Hugely inspiring, partly from imagining how many young people were engaged in that campaign! I'm reminded of the election day NJ phone bank I participated in (from CA) that turned out to be partially led by a 17-year-old young woman. The energy and enthusiasm from that generation is so needed and welcome.
And lest we forget. . .another special election tomorrow for a vacant state senate seat in Iowa where the Democratic incumbent tragically died in October. It's generally considered a D district, but important to win, nonetheless, since losing would cede supermajority status to the Rs in the state senate. Let's have another D blow out to continue our momentum into 2026! Go, Iowa Democratic Party!
As we are talking about year round organizing for State Democratic parties, the Vice Chair of our party in CT just released a book regarding organizing from the bottom up, all year round.
Jimmy Tickey was named to Connecticut’s Top 40 under 40 at the age of 27. He formed the LGBTQ Caucus of the Connecticut Democratic Party in 2020. He started a training center to teach candidates and now wrote a book about how to do it.
Organizing to Win - The Art and Science of Running for Office
I am a fan of Stuart Stevens. I am sufficiently impressed by him that I bought his book, which I recommend highly, called “It was all a Lie,” a lie which he admits to having bought into for many years.
To me, the evolution of conservatism is an arc where many of the worst impulses were always there. I grew up predominantly around Republicans, and much of what is in the open now was there but kept quiet. Hidden but still there. Their leaders then wanted to leverage the worst impulses, but also control them. Now they can't control what's there, and no one really seems to even try.
Bush was a major part of this, for sure. He so thoroughly fucked everything up that even his own voters turned on the Republican Party. With the Cold War over and the War on Terror a decades-long disaster, what we are left with is inward-looking racism and xenophobia.
YES. The work of resistance begins with that news cycle, as you say, and refusing to go into the latest and brightest and loudest form of domination-of-thought. In essence, it is "spiritual" work or work done at the level of the human spirit. In order to think clearly, we need ways and times to think our OWN thoughts, not those of the current regime. Thank you for this.
You definitely showed your vision and depth of knowledge in these two essays, Simon. We must hope that the world is more forgiving than you feared in writing that “we only get one shot” at repairing the damage Trump 1.0 inflicted on us and democracy-seekers everywhere. We the People must have faith that we can continue to beat back this authoritarian push and then demonstrate our constancy over time.
I'm not reading any reviews of 2025 (except Jeff Tiedrich's mockery), because I don't want to immerse myself in the toxic waste of the first year of the second term. At least not yet.
The positive events were pushbacks by the public, or judicial victories over some of the worst illegal actions.
I am hopeful about the future of our democracy, and I will continue making donations and actively advocating for good governance.
Thank you for the work that you are doing in support of our constitutional democracy.
Wrote 250 postcards for Taylor Rehmet who in a Jan31 Runoff to flip a Red Texas State Senate seat to Blue. The distrct is in Fort Worth which is slowly moving towards purple.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/opinion/why-we-fall-for-narcissistic-leaders-starting-in-grade-school.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AVA.7i5q.AeC_nrWziVoU&smid=url-share
Succinct thoughts about why people support narcissistic leaders. Note is made that narcissism afflicts more men than women and that there are differences when women attain leadership.
What I'd like to see as a follow-up is an analysis of MAGA women who rise to power and whether there's a difference between MAGA narcissistic women leaders and pro-Democracy women leaders.
I encourage you to read my Thinking Deeply Substack post today about the need to elevate women to leadership positions in the resistance movement and why that makes a difference:
https://open.substack.com/pub/brucecarpenter1/p/women-as-the-backbone-of-the-resistance?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Women have always been the backbone of resistance in social justice movements, yet they are seldom accorded the recognition they have earned. They often adopt a different, more effective leadership style appropriate for this point in time. Men should take lessons and adopt a similar leadership style to be more effective.
I make it a practice and an essential part of my daily routine to begin each day to arise and set a goal for myself that day about what I will do that day to make a difference. I often write about that in that day’s Thinking Deeply Substack’s call to action urging others to take a similar action. Those actions need not be “grand gestures,” they may be small but I hope impactful. What is most essential is the follow through. I do not let myself lose focus with whatever is happening that day. Those events may determine tomorrow’s choice of engagement. What is most critical is my retaining control of my choices and not allowing Trump or MAGA Republicans to make choices for me. My life’s path is to make my choices as wisely as possible by Thinking Deeply about my choices and then engaging by action. Thinking Deeply is important but nothing changes unless we act on our choices.
I take time each evening before bed to reflect on my day in a diary I keep. Did I keep faith with the choice I made for what I would do that day? Did I retain my focus? Is the action I took likely to be impactful? What could I have done differently to be more effective? Any lessons learned?
I always remember to think about at least one good thing I did for someone else that might make a positive difference for them.
very beautiful, thank you for posting.
This is lovely, Bruce, and in the age of MAGA, increasingly a chore because we have to push back on how they've made real strides in changing so many of us. I've had trouble carrying around the darkness, the anger, the frustration, the intolerance (mainly because I don't believe the front-facing language people use anymore, always looking below the text to figure out what they REALLY mean, and that is exhausting).
On goodness: I tend to cling to the good things that others have done for me. I find that as I get older, I remember those more than I recall what I have done for them.
Instead of thinking of each day being like Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the hill. Try thinking of rolling it downhill. What can YOU do today to make even just a slight difference with a challenge? Remember to find at least one opportunity to do something truly kind for someone else and find joy in that. When you retire each night, ask yourself whether you maintained your focus and whether your actions reflected it. If you do those things, you will find happiness even in the midst of chaos.
Ha! I just realized that, because I'm in social work, my default is to do for others constantly, which is why, I guess, the gifts, large and small, given to me hold pride of place. All that I do for others goes completely under my radar until someone points it out.
Civic activism is almost entirely selfish in my eyes: it's all about the country I wish to live in!
Here's to a tectonically shifted 2026!
yeah, I was going to say that I think you are making people's lives better every dang day
Coming from you, Anne Bear, and what you've shared about your life, your words mean more than I can express here.
Bruce,
I like the idea of keeping a journal with these daily intentions/ follow through as the guiding principle. It is a discipline worth pursuing! And, the bit about not letting them “live rent free” in our heads, as it were, is spot on. That too is a daily practice, much like a Zen mentality. Thank you for offering these ideas! I love the people in the Hopium chat—you all keep me grounded and sane and persevering ❤️
always a 2 hour ph call with putin BEFORE meeting with zelensky. so satan can get his marching orders. still dont understand why satan is involved in negotiations except for security guarantee? latest $$ making scheme by jared & witkoff is a free trade zone in disputed areas. just more grifting for the "families". we must focus on the corruption of this pres. he doesnt run the country. he just looks for grift opportunities from his high perch in the WH. who is going to get the $100M oil he took from venezuela? where is that tanker?
I'm sorry, Simon, that you aren't getting the time off that you want/need, but I'm grateful to see your insights each day.
It’s amazing how the issues left from 2012 (Republican Party) have never been resolved.
Simon, thanks for sending the still relevant goals that need addressing even more than ever!
Look forward to reading, thank you, Simon. As I've noted a few times, responding to Simon's advice to contribute where we consider we can best, I do mostly on the local level. kind of overwhelming to see this end of year how much reconciliation and bridge building is possible despite enormous strains most are experiencing in their lives. I am convinced that most people do not center their lives on greed, hate and domination of others and many look forward to the rebuilding that we discuss here
I can't recommend highly enough the new Netflix doc "CoverUp," profiling the career of journalist, Seymour Hersh and as a reminder of the role JOURNALISTS have played amidst the complicities both federal government and legacy media. CBS NEWS under Bari Weiss, in withdrawing its reporting on CECOT, has become a "news influencer" rather than a "news service" well on its way to compete with FOX NEWS as both are controlled by the WH.
Just added it to my saved list. Look forward to watching it.
I have brought this documentary up twice to Hopiates.
It can be hard to watch, because Hersh is a journalist of hard things; he tells unsavory stories about America.
But knowing that journalists like him exist gives me hope that one way or another -- these stories, no matter how they get suppressed for the moment -- will always rise. Because these kinds of journalists are not made, they are born.
Yesterday I read one of the most incredible stories I've come across about a 2025 downballot race. The article, published in Cascadia Daily News, which covers Whatcom and Skagit Counties, is unfortunately behind the paywall.
The article reports on the campaign of 19-year-old Sammy Solano Rivera, who in a Mt. Vernon school board race defeated a two-term incumbent. Born of Mexican parents, Solano Rivera won with nearly sixty percent of the vote. His campaign manager, Sayer Theiss, is 17 years old.
How did they do it?
“'Here’s what we care about: advocating for students, teachers and paraeducators,' Theiss said. 'We stuck to that and just went out there, talked to people, talked to community organizations, talked to people at their houses, went to forums, etcetera.'
"They reached out to Indivisible Skagit and the Skagit County Democrats. Solano Rivera got their endorsements, but Theiss said it was also invaluable in building relationships with other candidates and community groups.
"They also got into the community, Theiss said. That included canvassing, door knocking, phone banks and texting. They got friends from high school to knock on doors, too, and had committed volunteers who spent hours door knocking.
“'If you just actually go out, talk to people, engage in the community, people appreciate that, and people actually respond to that positively, which I think is represented in the result,' Theiss said.
"Theiss said he thinks the national political environment may have helped.
“'Many people feel as if the ways of doing things in many regards have not necessarily provided the optimal outcomes for certain groups,' he said. 'We’re running the campaign at a time that I think is helpful to potentially not even be the incumbent.'
“'Is he young?' Theiss continued. 'Yeah. But I think that people were willing to vote for someone young, because I think we’re in an environment where people want something to happen.'”
Note that Indivisible Skagit and the Skagit County Democrats both supported this campaign. But the campaign also pulled together a lot of hard-working young people who went out, knocked on doors, reached voters in a myriad of ways, and got their message out.
Thank you for this
Thanks David. Hugely inspiring, partly from imagining how many young people were engaged in that campaign! I'm reminded of the election day NJ phone bank I participated in (from CA) that turned out to be partially led by a 17-year-old young woman. The energy and enthusiasm from that generation is so needed and welcome.
And lest we forget. . .another special election tomorrow for a vacant state senate seat in Iowa where the Democratic incumbent tragically died in October. It's generally considered a D district, but important to win, nonetheless, since losing would cede supermajority status to the Rs in the state senate. Let's have another D blow out to continue our momentum into 2026! Go, Iowa Democratic Party!
As we are talking about year round organizing for State Democratic parties, the Vice Chair of our party in CT just released a book regarding organizing from the bottom up, all year round.
Jimmy Tickey was named to Connecticut’s Top 40 under 40 at the age of 27. He formed the LGBTQ Caucus of the Connecticut Democratic Party in 2020. He started a training center to teach candidates and now wrote a book about how to do it.
Organizing to Win - The Art and Science of Running for Office
https://www.organizingtowin.com/
Bookmarked, thank you
I am a fan of Stuart Stevens. I am sufficiently impressed by him that I bought his book, which I recommend highly, called “It was all a Lie,” a lie which he admits to having bought into for many years.
Very interesting essays and insights.
To me, the evolution of conservatism is an arc where many of the worst impulses were always there. I grew up predominantly around Republicans, and much of what is in the open now was there but kept quiet. Hidden but still there. Their leaders then wanted to leverage the worst impulses, but also control them. Now they can't control what's there, and no one really seems to even try.
Bush was a major part of this, for sure. He so thoroughly fucked everything up that even his own voters turned on the Republican Party. With the Cold War over and the War on Terror a decades-long disaster, what we are left with is inward-looking racism and xenophobia.
YES. The work of resistance begins with that news cycle, as you say, and refusing to go into the latest and brightest and loudest form of domination-of-thought. In essence, it is "spiritual" work or work done at the level of the human spirit. In order to think clearly, we need ways and times to think our OWN thoughts, not those of the current regime. Thank you for this.
You definitely showed your vision and depth of knowledge in these two essays, Simon. We must hope that the world is more forgiving than you feared in writing that “we only get one shot” at repairing the damage Trump 1.0 inflicted on us and democracy-seekers everywhere. We the People must have faith that we can continue to beat back this authoritarian push and then demonstrate our constancy over time.
I'm not reading any reviews of 2025 (except Jeff Tiedrich's mockery), because I don't want to immerse myself in the toxic waste of the first year of the second term. At least not yet.
The positive events were pushbacks by the public, or judicial victories over some of the worst illegal actions.
I am hopeful about the future of our democracy, and I will continue making donations and actively advocating for good governance.
Thank you for the work that you are doing in support of our constitutional democracy.
Wrote 250 postcards for Taylor Rehmet who in a Jan31 Runoff to flip a Red Texas State Senate seat to Blue. The distrct is in Fort Worth which is slowly moving towards purple.