Von Trier’s terrifying rumination on the triad of “pain,” “grief,” and “despair” reminds us that, in contrast to the pronouncements of politicians on what is natural and normal, in nature eating one’s young is not too far out of the ordinary—especially in times of stress.
The president reminds Glenn Beck, and those who identify with his neo-white nationalism, of the lie of their own professed superiority. The pride with which this segment of society has rallied the troops around its shared sense of whiteness reveals that their skin color is the one true object of pledged allegiance and determinant of professed patriotism.
18th-century visionary financier John Law and 21st-century crook Bernie Madoff both had compatriots with a ravenous desire for free money—the vice that drove the systems in which these kindred spirits operated.
It’s easy to demonize Rick Warren for his Nazi modeling comments—and he has taken some abominable stances—but the culture of blind assent is the real culprit.
