Delusional Man, Delusional Country, Delusional Species
We like to think we’re special, despite contrary evidence
So people in the United States have elected Donald Trump as their President again. Despite all the evidence, including testimony from people who worked for him in his first term, that he is unfit for office and dangerous, his supporters apparently consider him a paragon of white male supremacist strength, best suited to lead them again.
Trump, despite all of his serious character flaws and ignorance about many things, believes that his success is due to his brilliant mind rather than his lucky inheritance from a wealthy father and his exceptional skill as a deceptive salesman.
People in the United States have long believed in U.S. exceptionalism — that the United States is somehow, by destiny, better than other countries and that its success and power were determined by some inherent worth rather than geographical luck.
Similarly, most of us have believed that we are special creations of a God who favors us over all other living things, both individually and as a species, and who may reward us with eternal life after we die.
We prefer to ignore evidence that we are just clever social animals on a tiny planet in a vast, indifferent universe, and that our…
