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The State Of Denmark
Why Marcellus’ comment in Hamlet (Act I, Scene IV) is pertinent today
There’s an interesting fact about the human brain: we have an unusually large frontal cortex. This enlarged part of our brain is what we use when we attempt, albeit usually somewhat clumsily, to reason. Unfortunately for our modern-day world, when we’re in a state of fearfulness, our frontal cortex largely shuts down in order that our fight-or-flight response can predominate. After all, for most of our evolutionary history it would have been highly disadvantageous for us to have stood around pondering the meaning of the leopard that was about to eat us.
What this means is that when we’re induced into a state of fear, we mostly stop being able to reason. This makes us very easy to manipulate.
Those with a knowledge of history will recall how many times Europe experienced pogroms against the Jews; each event was the result of inculcating unreasoning fear in the general population. Jews performed blood rituals using gentile virgins; Jews were plotting to undermine society; Jews were an infection that threatened racial purity, and so on. Ultimately the Nazi Party was able to use such fears in order to promote its “final solution.”
Fears were likewise stoked to ensure that old women were burned as witches and heretics were tortured. Trump used fear to garner votes…
