Patterns of a Facade of Power

Authoritarians and authoritarian systems and arrangements of power all share one thing in common – the appearance based on a fantasy.  What I mean by that is that on the surface and how they portray themselves, they put on an unavoidable show of power, strength, control, wealth, etc.  They need you to pay attention to it and believe it, like it’s some kind of magic trick.  

You can see examples of this in nation states like Russia and North Korea.  You can see it people like Donald Trump and Viktor Orban.  The parades are designed to intimidate and show how powerful they supposedly are.  You can see the same type of public displays in other countries that have strong men in charge.  It’s always some charade that makes them appear in control, puffed up, important, etc. They rarely smile because they believe it is a sign of weakness.   

These men always use language and threats that imply that if their desires are not followed, they will severely punish and destroy anyone who gets in their way.  They are willing to burn the whole thing down supposedly, if they don’t get their way on their timeframe, in the way they want it.  

Why?  Because at their core, they have the emotional capacity of a toddler.  And that’s important to keep in mind.   Because beneath the façade of the projection of strength and power is a weak and insecure small little boy.  Toddlers pitch fits in public places because they are betting that your embarrassment at the spectacle will cause you to cave in to their demands.  You are the responsible one after all and how will people judge you if you can’t control your toddler in public.  But it you don’t give in, they are the ones who look like fools – because they are.  When you just let them pitch their fit and tell them no and impose consequences, you are doing them a service.  You are setting boundaries.  You are teaching them how to function in society – mostly for their own good and future safety.   You are stopping them from future threats and trauma and anxiety and tantrums.  You are being responsible.  

These men and the systems they occupy – whether in government, business, religion, sports, or anywhere else – are prevalent.  We see these men in the manosphere, in masculinity podcasts, political commentators, abusive pastors and those in authority in churches, abusive businesspeople, and abusive men in relationships, and elsewhere.  

This isn’t about beating up on men.  I’m a man after all.  It’s about naming abuse for what it is.  Being a man doesn’t mean being abusive and controlling.  It means having self-control.  It means understanding your limitations.  It means being confident in who you are – flaws and strengths and all.  

And here’s the key take away from all of this – You can tell when the façade is being put on.  There is a predictable pattern.  You can tell when something is just unnatural.  You can see it on the surface.  Maybe it’s too perfect, too orderly, too shiny, too mechanical.  You know when something isn’t right.  Your mind might not be able to pinpoint exactly what it is, but it knows and it lets you know that something is off.  It’s how you can tell when something is AI generated without being able to point to a specific thing.  It’s too perfect.  Life isn’t perfect.  It’s messy.  It’s unclean.  It’s got wrinkles.  It has wounds.  Things aren’t perfectly in step all the time.  

You can tell when something is unnatural by listening to it.  I think one of the best examples of this is in the new series “The Testaments” which follow “The Handmaid’s Tale.”  It’s the story of a dystopian society under authoritarian religious control.  The public conversations all have these unnatural greetings and sayings that everyone is forced to use – “By his hand,” “Blessed be the fruit,” “May the Lord open,” etc.  This is not how normal people talk.  It’s an unnatural, forced communication to make the façade appear to be reality.  But everyone knows it isn’t real.  The words are just empty of meaning.  

Real power, real self-control, real wealth, real strength doesn’t require a façade.  They don’t require imposing themselves on others.  They don’t require compliance.  They don’t require these things because they are secure in their own existence.  They don’t need to be the center of attention.  They are content to just be.  

We should pay attention to appearance and be asking ourselves this key question – is what I am seeing and hearing natural or is it forced?  If it’s forced, then the follow up question is – what is this façade hiding that does not want to be revealed?  And lastly, what is the best way to proceed – it is to confront the façade?  Is it to bypass it?   It is to play along and figure out a way to make the façade collapse?  Is it something else?  

And as a Christian, I have one additional action that should be the first – stopping and listening.  What does God have to say about what is going on?  What is the way of Jesus during this?  How should I pray for this person/institution?  Who am I called to be in this moment?  And how am I to be congruent between what I claim to believe and how I act?  

We can’t force others to change.  We can’t necessarily stop these authoritarians and their ways on our own.  We are called to be faithful and to be invitational.  And that requires being secure in who you are and what you are about.  We don’t do these things because they work.  We do them because it is congruent with what we claim we are about.  We do it so we don’t become the very things and people we are opposed to.  

Jimmy Carr, the comedian, had an incredible line of insight that he shared with someone in one of this shows.  He said “You can either have an easy life, or good character.  You can’t have both.”  

I think that wisdom applies here as well.  You can have the appearance of perfection, or you can be congruent in your faith.  You can’t have both.