When some people enter a room, the whole mood can shift and everyone can light up with laughter and joy. Such a feeling can elicit positive feelings around certain figures without any of those people even being particularly close to them. However, behind closed doors, those same charismatic individuals could be wreaking havoc in the lives of those around them, and forcing everyone else to fix their mistakes with their abundant lack of self awareness. As the empire collapses, it becomes more critical than ever to consider whether someone is genuinely a good person, or simply an individual with too much confidence and very little impulse control.
The largest barrier to a civil society is power’s refusal to understand that “No” means “No,” and the tacit understanding that coercion is an expected part of dialogue, rather than an having an expectation of consent. Rather than backing off and potentially finding another solution, the dominant narrative wears others down by demanding explanation for refusal. For example, if developers want to build in environmentally sensitive areas, they ignore communities, scientists, and even their own financial status to do what they want to do, pretending to be oblivious when faced with consequences.
Moreover, there is a nasty habit within the dominant narrative of continuing to act without respecting the discomfort with the decision, and dismissing the discomfort with talk of “progress,” even though it comes at the expense of other human beings. After refusing to adhere to the response of individuals, there is a general air of surprise when things go badly, and hesitation with accepting consequences. A growing number of people in power maintain steadfast refusals to take responsibility for their behavior, instead seeking endless scapegoats and expecting reputational restoration. These same individuals demand empathy that was not initially extended when they bulldozed their agenda upon others.
Finally, with a lot of these overconfident people, there is a blinding expectation that people will wait patiently until they correct their impulse control problem. Imagine the audacity it must take for these folks to fail to realize that others will not wait for them to get their closeted bullying and outer harassment under control. These people are often surprised when others choose to leave them alone, causing them to face “abandonment.” Only then are such people forced to confront a lack of self awareness and how their behavior has generally driven everyone around them away, never to return to check on “progress.”
There is only one solution for beneficiaries and sycophants within the dominant narrative who maintain this behavior: stop asking for patience after offering none. In general, such parties should stop demanding that everyone share a viewpoint that favors them and keeps them in positions of power at the expense of everyone else. Dominant classes should also stop hoarding resources and opportunities while demanding that people pour those into their “growth,” draining the rest of the population while we endlessly wait.
Imperial residents need to learn a basic understanding: being relentlessly “positive” without acknowledging reality is a rigid ideology as well. Everything is not “happy,” everyone is not “safe” and/or “good,” and refusing to adapt to circumstances that are presented is emotionally insecure. No one owes patience to overly confident people, and the longer people present such attitudes, the less inclined everyone else will be to tolerate it.
Chasing A Dying Empire 