Blogging Blagojevich

Three days ago few outside of IL knew, or could pronounce, the name of Governor Ron Blagojevich. Now, just before he will have to resign, all America knows about him. The transcript of tapes made by federal investigators that show his desire to sell Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat, coupled with his megalomaniacal and grandiose obscenity-laced tirades, make him such an easy target for criticism that even if Dick Cheney was hunting in a drunken stupor he could hit him with a rifle shot. Blag, as I will call him, is continuing the noted tradition of corruption in IL political life but he is, also, a sort of lesson or even wonder to us in 2008. He illustrates not simply the wisdom of Pascal's observation, "I have discovered that all the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact: that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber" (Pensees II.139), but his situation also makes clear the nature of our particularly modern "disease"--the delusory nature of isolation. This essay will describe the nature of our modern isolation, and especially the way that isolation tends to produce in us an unrealistic thinking pattern--which leads, sometimes rather quickly, to a downfall.

Our Modern "Condition" of Isolation

We are more "linked in" than ever before. Modern technology enables instant conversation, video, communication, feedback, knowledge. Yet, the channels that allow this kind of connection also encourage solitariness. We can do all of these things alone, and we can use endless hours of our time to pursue things superficially interesting but ultimately valueless because of the "entertainments" of technology. Technology really does help us make our lives more efficient, but it has the means to enable life to sink into a black hole, too.

But the isolation of the modern condition isn't simply brought on by technology. It is fueled by the notion, true in most instances, that people don't really understand our condition and, as a result, we are the only ones who are experiencing precisely what we face. No one has the peculiar collection of troubles we have--from work, to family, to ambitions thwarted, to relational breakdowns, to financial threats, to opportunities lost, to habits we would like to hide, etc. I think it is ultimately true that no one really can understand everything about us. I believe, however, that there is enough in common in the human experience that a skillful listener (friends, spouse, counselor) can understand about 95% of it. Yet, the delusory nature of isolation is that it convinces us that only we are facing, and thereby only we can understand, the particular dilemma that stalks us. Such a feeling helps fuel a martyr complex, which some greet with fiendish delight.

In any case, when we feel isolated, we tend to break out into our individual pathologies. Mostly, however, isolation in mind tends to pursue similar paths (about 95% of the time!). It leads us to think as follows: (1) no one really understands what I am going through; (2) I have it really bad; (3) Every time I rehearse in my mind the badness of my situation I feel a little more desperate; (4) I will do some things that help me gain a little power over my life or that will tear me out of this endless cycle of regret, pain and loss. It is here, on number 4, that we must pause, because this is where people act very foolishly. For example, here we meet folks like Blag and, for that matter, Elliott Spitzer, the former Governor of NY. Whereas Spitzer was stalked by feelings of self-righteous overachievement, Blag was overcome by his sense of grandiosity, unreality and failure to assess the true situation of his life.

The particular "modern disease" or modern twist to this tale of woe, however, is that both Spitzer and Blag felt that what they had was "not enough." They were both men around 50 years old, at the height of their powers, governors of one of the largest five or six states in the nation, and still, it wasn't "enough." So, Elliott Spitzer had to have more--and this eventuated in wanting more women. Ron Blag wanted more, and his desire was for more money and power. So predicatable, isn't it? Why can't someone be convicted and go crazy with desire because they want too much knowledge, for example? Can you imagine such a person before a federal judge? Here is a possible interaction:

FBI (or the ATTORNEY GENERAL): "Your Honor, we are alleging that Mr. X, a prominent person, engaged in a concerted effort to acquire all the knowlege he could. To this end, he read books, mastered data, interviewed people, learned languages and generally did everything possible to make sure that as much material as possible entered and stayed in his brain."

FEDERAL JUDGE: "Huh?"

Conclusion

In his case, Blag's isolation (commented on by several of the news stories) led him to think that he must have now even more visibility than he already has. Stung by Obama's victory (which pointed out to him how much more he had to attain), he simply had to vault himself from his "little" or "dead end" job as Governor of IL into something "really big." But a little reality-based thinking from a fourth-grader could probably have helped Blag in this circumstance. The fourth-grader could have said, "You really have made quite a good life for yourself already. You are Governor of a major US state. You are relatively young and attractive. You have a lot of things going for you. Why don't you stop for a minute and listen to Pascal? [well, a fourth grader, admittedly, wouldn't say that!]." As is demonstrated in the life of the Vice-President elect, success comes by "Biden'" your time.

In the 18th and 19th century, Europeans developed a great love for the exotic, both in place and in people. If certain "wonders" of the rest of the world could be brought to Britain, for example, people would pay a lot of money to see them. Wonders such as small-headed people or giants or extremely obese people or conjoined twins were all brought to an eager wonder-seeking crowd. The techical Greek word for these creatures is terata. Blag isn't quite a modern teras, but he is a hemitery (half monster). So, we get to view him, like our 19th century forbears viewed Chang and Eng. Only today, due to the wonders of technology, we don't have to pay admission...

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