246 - Suburban Transpondency

Campfire blatherskite on themes and ideas related to The
Joker, The Rise of Jordan Peterson, and Carl Jung. 


 


The change of character brought about by the uprush of collective
forces is amazing. A gentle and reasonable being can be
transformed into a maniac or a savage beast. One is always
inclined to lay the blame on external circumstances, but nothing
could explode in us if it had not been there. As a matter of
fact, we are constantly living on the edge of a volcano, and
there is, so far as we know, no way of protecting ourselves from
a possible outburst that will destroy everybody within reach. It
is certainly a good thing to preach reason and common sense, but
what if you have a lunatic asylum for an audience or a crowd in a
collective frenzy? There is not much difference between them
because the madman and the mob are both moved by impersonal,
overwhelming forces.


Carl Jung; Psychology and Religion” (1938).