Loss Of Status & Cult Of Personality

"It's not a matter of maintaining the status quo. We have to create a dynamic state, oriented towards expansion." ~ David Ben-Gurion

"Stalinism is linked with a cult of personality and massive violations of the law, with repression and camps. There is nothing like that in Russia and, I hope, will never again be..." ~ Vladimir Putin

"Within a capitalist consumer society, the cult of personality has the power to subsume ideas, to make the person, the personality into the product and not the work itself." ~ Bell Hooks

You were raised in a world where the cultural norms mostly revolved around your identity, where being a Traditional Christian White Male placed you at the center of society.

But with time, as marginalized communities have been given rights, exposure, and a voice, you've felt the centrality escaping you. It's not merely about work or political power, it's more personal, deeper.

The societal changes are wounds to your ego, a narcissistic injury stemming from lost historical power. In response, you might be homesick for an idealized past, blaming others for society's ills, or turning to charismatic leaders who promise to restore the familiar order and traditional values you didn't used to question.

These leaders are often notably imperfect, insecure, volatile, even openly narcissistic.

And yet, you're drawn to them. Why? They articulate the anger, the fear, and the resentment you've been taught you're not allowed to voice aloud. They become your dark self, uttering the words you won't, or can't, utter in public.

When they debate, it's like you're debating.

When they're attacked, it's like you're under siege.

And oddly, the more they're criticized by the so-called elites or institutions, the more loyal you are. It's a strange bond, one that's created not from perfection, but from mutual defiance and a hunger to reclaim what's felt to be lost.