The Perfect Authoritarian Citizen. He Wants You to Conform to His Image.

April 05, 2020

"Intolerance of Ambiguity is the mark of an authoritarian personality."
Theodor Adorno

This is a hypothetical interview with a person who has an authoritarian personality, that is, he wants more rules imposed so the world will be, well, a more orderly place. The Corona virus has really shown us that many regular people want themselves, and you, controlled. So let's explore the minds of such people with a guy named Fred. Oh, and feel free to check out my web page links at the end of the article. Now for the interview:

Interviewer: Hello, Fred. It seems you just called the police three times on your neighbors for being outside too much. Why did you do that?

Fred: This epidemic might kill us all. I heard that on the TV news.

Interviewer: So did the police respond?

Fred: No. They said I should mind my own business. Probably Trump supporters. I'll tell you, if I were in charge things would be different. We need rules, we need order, we need leaders not afraid to get control of society...for its own good.

Interviewer: Sounds like you support authoritarianism. Why is that?

Fred: Look, we need to trust authority. The people in charge know more than us and it is up to them to create an orderly society.

Interviewer: Yet a moment ago you seemed to not like your president.

Fred: Trump is a jerk. Don't you watch TV news? He wants old people to die, my congressperson said so.

Interviewer: Okay, whatever. So what makes some people more qualified to tell us how to live our lives? The Founding Fathers wanted a society that ensured liberty.

Fred: That was way back then. My history professors noted they were all evil men anyway. Times have changed. We need to ban guns. Only the military and police should have them. We need to curb the internet. I mean, why should people who promote hate or porn have a platform?

Interviewer: Interesting. Just wondering, can I see your history folder?

Fred: No. I have my privacy.

Interviewer: But the government knows what porn sites you go to. Is that right?

Fred: They do? I mean, I don't do that sort of thing. I mean...well, maybe they have the right to make sure who is doing what. I'd support laws to give them that power.

Interviewer: It sounds like you do a lot of projecting. I mean, and I say this in all due respect, you are afraid of what you would do if you were not being controlled. You see in others a reflection of yourself. You are afraid of that and want those around you in chains, so to speak. And you want someone else to make sure hey, and you, don't make bad decisions.

Fred: Look, I learned early on never to question authority. My mom would have smacked me into the next county if I questioned her. The one thing I hated in school was how my class mates would always do things they were not supposed to. I enjoyed telling the teachers who was doing what. They loved me. And when I went to college I never questioned the professors. They would not have had their jobs if they were not smarter than the rest of us. And we do, absolutely, need rules to keep people from doing things that are wrong.

Interviewer: So ultimately, you want a society that everyone conforms, nobody gets out of line, and people obey the politicians you like? Oh, and even tells you how to live, what job choices you have and even how many kids people should have? What if they ask you to get a microchip or else you could not buy, or sell, or get a job; and you could be tracked no matter where you go?

Fred: Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could have access to our accounts on an implantable chip? How convenient. And then if the authorities know where we are at then the crime rates would be immediately cut. And look, if nobody has anything to hide, they have nothing to fear. As for kids, it takes a village to raise a child and the village should have the right to determine how many children are brought into the world. If we don't do that, climate change will destroy us all.

Interviewer: Well, uh, okay. Its been nice talking to you. I am sure you need to get back to reporting on your neighbors.

Fred: Oh I will. Thanks.

My YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3XJz3ZkzIW5sjpaaX3pp2Q

Like deep science fiction? The Destiny of Our Past: https://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Our-Past-Michael-Cross-ebook/dp/B01MY4WASN