How dangerous is Republican manic-depressive disease? Both bipolar phases are destructive, but the manic ones kill.

== A weaponized narrative ==

Joel Garreau writes about how our latest strategic worry – “weaponized narrative” -- seeks to undermine an opponent’s civilization, identity, and will by generating complexity, confusion, and political and social schisms. It can be used tactically, as part of explicit military or geopolitical conflict; or strategically, as a way to reduce, neutralize, and defeat a civilization, state, or organization. Done well, it limits or even eliminates the need for armed force to achieve political and military aims.

“Far from being simply a U.S. or U.K. phenomenon, shifts to “post-factualism” can be seen in Poland, Hungary, Turkey, France, and the Philippines, among other democracies. Russia, whose own political culture is deeply post-factual and indeed post-modern, is now ably constructing ironic, highly cynical, weaponized narratives that were effective in the Ukrainian invasion, and are now destabilizing the Baltic states and the U.S. election process.”

Let me add the obvious. Moscow has been building an anti-western alliance that now stretches from Ankara, Damascus and (arguably) the mullah faction of Iran, all the way to Manilla. Geographically vaster than the old Soviet Empire -- especially if you include sympathetic cooperation in Beijing -- it is no longer based on communist ideology but on bald-faced oligarchy and hatred of all aspects of Western Enlightenment, especially democracy.

Garreau continues: “By offering cheap passage through a complex world, weaponized narrative furnishes emotional certainty at the cost of rational understanding. The emotionally satisfying decision to accept a weaponized narrative — to believe, to have faith — inoculates cultures, institutions, and individuals against counterarguments and inconvenient facts.”

I've talked about weaponized narrative for decades. A couple of months ago I gave an extended, three hour mini-course on "Threat Perspectives" at one of the military/intel colleges, and drew gasps from the audience, when I showed 1998 slides describing methods that might be used against us in the future.  These included "imposition of disinformation upon the U.S. populace" and "subornation of elements of U.S. leadership castes." 

And yes, those slides were from presentations to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and other groups, way back in the last century. 

And no, since you ask. Nobody listened then. They assumed I was talking implausible sci fi, even though these have been standard methodologies used by hostile empires ever since Sun Tzu.

As the train conductor chided, in the movie Top Secret: "I warned you... (a lot more than) TWICE!"

== War as a symptom of political bipolar disease ==

Under the Bushes we had “neoconservatives” or “neocons” like Wolfowitz, Nitze, Perle, Adelman, who concocted rationalizations for both Iraq Wars and the quagmire in Afghanistan. These followers of a bizarre emigre philosopher named Leo Strauss openly admitted that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with terror attacks against the U.S. or its interests, or ever had Weapons of Mass Destruction. 

When pressed, the neocons proclaimed that their goal was for America to assert its imperial power, not in the wimpy, mostly-peaceful ways established by Marshall, Truman, and Eisenhower, but by imposing our will directly upon the world.  That word — “will” — was used with such frequency and romantic passion that many of us were reminded of Leni Reifenstahl.

What surface frosting was supposed to make this palatable? The notion that our forceful will would impose, teach, and justify democracy around the world, finishing the job that began with the fall of the USSR. The neocons’ favorite catechism was taken straight from Leo Strauss, “we’re an empire; we should act like one.” (Never mind that this was the very mode of thinking that had torched Strauss’s European homeland, wreaking hell on Earth and turning him into an ingrate-refugee.)

Ah, but the neocons’ time in the sun was brief. As pain from the bungled Iraq and Afghanistan wars set in, George W. Bush and the GOP turned on the Straussians with stunning speed, tossing overboard fellows like Wolfowitz, Perle, Adelman, Nitze, when their stock of rationalization incantations were no longer useful. 

That briefly-manic, sick-but-utopian era swung to the other side of U.S. conservatism’s bipolar disease, a more typical grumpy cynicism, in which the GOP’s sole purpose became to prevent action of any sort, especially if it might benefit the nation with Obama getting credit. Hence, except for Supply Side vampire guzzles for the top 5000 families, almost  no negotiation or legislation was allowed. Especially not infrastructure repair, which would have released high velocity cash into the lower middle class.

Oh, but pendulums swing. Now the Republican Party is back in power and signs of a fresh manic phase are abundant. Senior military officers can read these tea leaves and are deeply worried, as men like Steve Bannon make grand, new, “philosophical” declarations in favor of violent, imperial over-reach -- above all yearning for war with Iran.

The newest, manic rationalizations no longer speak of “spreading democracy.” That neocon patina of democratic proselytism is gone. Now, Bannon and his alt-right buddies foam with their own brew of teleology, racism, confederatism and apocalyptic yearnings.  

There are layers to this bitter new cake. Underlying it all is yet more supply-side-vampiric craving, the will of the party's masters. Next, the dominionist-endtimes thing is very real, and would take priority under any President Pence (take note, you "impeach now" fools).  Another layer is the "deep state" meme of hatred toward fact-centered public servants, now including military and intel officers. And finally, there is "cyclical history" -- the utterly disproved insanity pushed by yet another Strauss (&Howe) in a cult incantation called "The Fourth Turning." Bosh and twaddle that makes Marxist teleology look positively scientific.

These Crazy Years were cogently predicted in the 1950s by Robert A. Heinlein.

== Do I exaggerate the manic-depressive Republican syndrome? ==

In this article,  Flemming Rose describes a meeting with Bannon that sounds strikingly similar to press interviews with neocons, back in early, pre-911 days of the G.W. Bush White House, frothing with justifications for a coming rampage of American imperial power. Specifically, Bannon rages that we are “at war with Islam," despite the fact that we so vastly overshadow that world, in power, wealth, science, technology culture and numbers that comparisons are ludicrous. Oh, and our  parents endured more pain and casualties during any one week of World War Two than we wimps have, across the entire War on Terror.  And those parents never panicked, screeching as these neo-neocons do.

To be clear, Rose knows about Islamic Terror:  “I was the target of Islamist ire for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper. But a war against all Muslims is not the solution.”

Rose soon discovered that War against Muslims — very likely a trumped-up assault against Iran — is only a means to mobilize the nation and take firm hold of our military, not the end in itself: “Bannon is angry. The object of his anger is the “globalized elite.” He argued that Trump is just the beginning of a rebellion that will grow increasingly aggressive in the coming years. In a way, he told me, Trump is not the real thing ― only a premonition of what will ultimately come. “Just wait and see,” he said.”

Oh, please read those Heinlein quotations, again and again.

Another passage makes clearer the passionate — manic phase - the spirit of ordination and transcendentalism that has returned to the halls of the White House: 

“Ronald Radosh, a social historian affiliated with the conservative Hudson Institute, wrote recently about talking to Bannon at a book party in November 2013. According to Radosh, the guy who is now Trump’s chief strategist proclaimed himself a “Leninist.” According to Radosh, Bannon explained his Leninist tactics this way: “Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.”

Further: “What disturbed me the most in our conversation was Bannon’s apparent belief that violence and war can have a cleansing effect, that we may need to tear down things and rebuild them from scratch.”

The thing about transcendentalist mystics is that they make such declarations without being able to cite even a single example! All of our progress, across the years since 1776, has come from the positive-sum efforts of mature, calm, negotiating adults and builders. Yes, we have had to fight, at times.  But always against the guys who want to ‘tear-down and cleanse.’

In fact, the specific target chosen by the Bannononites is not the point! He is very clear about his ultimate goal. And -- washed free of all disguises and trappings -- it is to be Nathan Holn.