Pakistan: Our Narcissistic Legacy
By Mir Adnan Aziz
08 December, 2007
Countercurrents.orgNarcissism is defined as a pattern of traits and behaviours which signify infatuation and obsession with one's self. This to the exclusion of all others and the egotistic ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition. There is, as the British novelist Elizabeth Bowen put it, just one 'redeeming' factor: Nobody can be kinder than the narcissist if you react to life but on his own terms.
This trait is the scourge of Pakistan, tragically afflicted by it since birth. Set upon, mauled and torn apart, not by invading marauders but by our very own ilk. This class heralds it's arrival as a savior, only to leave us mortally battered than ever before. Since independence we have been bestowed with these 'saviors' - in reality narcissists.
They invent and project for the world and us, fictitious selves, to fear or admire. To start with, a tenuous grasp on reality is maintained, the trappings of power further exacerbate this. Servile sycophants who support their grandiose self-delusions and fantasies of omnipotence and omniscience invariably surround them.
These rulers have personalities so precariously balanced that they cannot tolerate even a hint of criticism and disagreement. Like most narcissists they are paranoid and suffer from ideas of reference - the delusion that they are being mocked or discussed, when they are not. Thus, they often regard themselves as victims of persecution.
Invariably proffered are symbols of violence, corruption and evil, carefully orchestrated and artificial - though their 'subjects' do not perceive it as such. It is all about facades, the manipulation of symbols - not the truth. In short this ruler ship is about theatre, not life. To enjoy the 'saga', these rulers demand the suspension of judgment and realization. Catharsis is tantamount, in this narcissistic melodrama, to self-annulment.
Narcissism is nihilistic (rejection of established laws and institutions) operationally and ideologically. The rulers present themselves as role models, annihilating in the process the dreams of the ruled. They disappear from the horizon only to re-appear yet again as pre-ordained irresistible forces of nature.
Narcissistic ruler ship often poses as a rebellion against the "old ways" - against certain cultures deemed and seen as if from the Dark Ages, the backward classes or the aware, outspoken bold ones. These movements are puerile, and usually a reaction to bruised egos.
A group or groups, often arbitrarily selected, constitute a perfect identifiable embodiment of all that is 'wrong'. They are accused of being eerily disembodied, overtly outspoken on political, religious or socio-economic grounds. This makes the persecuted perfect hate figures. Narcissists thrive on hatred and pathological envy.
This is precisely the source of fascination of some with perpetrators of genocide and the annihilators of millions. These were inverted humans. Their unconscious was their conscious. They acted out our most repressed drives and fantasies. These people provided us with a glimpse of the horrors that lie beneath the veneer of humanity, the barbarians at our personal gates.
Hitler, for example, forced us all through a time warp and many did not emerge from it. He was not the devil. He was one of us. He was what the great political theorist Hannah Arendt called 'the banality of evil'. He was a mentally disturbed failure; a member of a mentally disturbed and failing nation, who lived through disturbed and failing times. He was a mirror, a channel, a voice; the very depth of those souls propelling him on in the earlier years with resounding 'heils'.
Narcissists prefer the sparkle and glamour of well-orchestrated illusions to the tedium and method of real accomplishments. Their reign is all smoke and mirrors, devoid of substance, consisting of mere appearances and mass delusions. In the aftermath of their regimes, having been deposed or done away with - it all unravels.
The tireless and constant prestidigitation ceases and the entire edifice crumbles. What looked like an economic miracle turns out to have been a fraud-laced illusion, a bubble. Loosely held fiefdoms disintegrate. Laboriously assembled political conglomerates go to pieces. Fiscal and political turn-around theories are discredited. Social experiments end in mayhem.
It is important to understand that the iron fist must be ego-synchronic. It must accord with the self-image of our 'saviors'. It must abet and sustain their grandiose fantasies and feed their sense of entitlement. Thus, the rulers, who regard themselves as benefactors of the poor, members of the common folk, representatives of the disenfranchised, champions of the dispossessed - are highly unlikely to use force at first.
The charade though crumbles when convinced that the very people they purported to speak for, their constituency, the 'grass-root fans' and the prime source of their narcissistic supply - have turned against them. At first, in a desperate effort to maintain the fiction underlying their chaotic personalities they strive to explain away the sudden reversal of sentiment. When flimsy attempts to patch a tattered personal mythology fail, frail egos are hurt and they become enraged. Narcissistic injury inevitably leads to narcissistic rage and a terrifying display of unbridled aggression designed to leave the victims in shock and awe.
The pent-up frustration and hurt translate into devaluation. That which was previously idealized, the freedom bestowed on the chained - is discarded with contempt and hatred. This is only a primitive defense mechanism. To them, things and people are either entirely bad, bordering on the evil or entirely good. They, unfortunately, are the self-proclaimed barometers who make these classifications. Invariably their deeds are justified by claiming that the masses intended to undo the 'revolution', devastate the economy or the country. In the process the nation pays the price.
The resulting disillusionment and disenchantment are agonizing. The reconstruction process, of rising from the ashes, of overcoming the trauma of being deceived, exploited and manipulated is drawn-out. It is difficult to trust again, to have faith, to be led, to cooperate. Feelings of shame, remorse and guilt engulf the erstwhile followers. A nation, throbbing with fervor and eyeing the sky at the time of it's creation - a nation made into serfs and subjects today to grovel sans rights sans dignity. This has been our sole tragic legacy.
(miradnanaziz@gmail.com)
Leave A Comment
&
Share Your Insights
Digg it! And spread the word!
Here is a unique chance to help this article to be read by thousands of people more. You just Digg it, and it will appear in the home page of Digg.com and thousands more will read it. Digg is nothing but an vote, the article with most votes will go to the top of the page. So, as you read just give a digg and help thousands more to read this article.
Syndicate CC Headlines On Your Blog
