Many of the trolley problems use the term “madman,” and there have been many throughout history. They disrupt peaceful society and take lives of the good and the bad. It matters not to them until they are cornered by special forces and turn to jello.
In my lifetime there have been many—Chairman Mao, Pol Pot, Sadam, Ho Chi Minh, the list goes on, with Hitler typically topping the list of evil (before my lifetime) It is natural to feel anger at such individuals—men of pure, egotistical power without regard for any other points of view, especially “lesser” ways of being.
There are those that consider this in an evolutionary pattern, such as the recipients of indigenous genocide are failed ways of being human, that they had their time. Now we must live in the “real world” of technology and embrace its conformity, whether you like it or not, you are. —”Societies have ended and their members died in droves because they didn’t have the knowledge we know today,” ie; they were not as intelligent or advanced as we are. Looking at some of the structures they left behind, there’s a good chance many of them died off because they were smarter than we are. We seem to be headed that way too.
As for nature and the madman, Hitler and his ilk are every bit a natural phenomenon—as is a tsunami. And the followers of such are just as much a problem
TheCommonAtheist 
If you elect me to be your supreme leader… I will be the bestest supreme leader ever.
Except I might make it illegal to own those creepy hairless cats.
But otherwise… totally beneveloent. Benivalent. Benevolent!!!
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A freely elected supreme leader… sounds hard to get rid of.
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Understanding – Terry Pratchett quote
10/26/20170 Comments
‘Things that are back to front are often easier to comprehend if they are upside down as well, said Lord Vetinari, tapping his chin with the silver knob of his can in an absent-minded way. ‘In life as in politics.’ (TT)
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Freedom – Terry Pratchett quote
10/24/20160 Comments
He’d said to the people: you’re free. And they said hooray, and then he showed them what freedom costs and they called him a tyrant …. (FC)
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Democracy – Terry Pratchett quote
1/11/20130 Comments
‘… you can’t start with a democracy. You have to work up through stuff like tyranny and monarchy first. That way people are so relieved when they get to democracy that they hang on to it’
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This reminds me of this excellent post by Ron
https://napthaman.wordpress.com/2020/02/06/the-love-of-stalin/
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Damn, you won me over with the ban on hairless cats. Those critters are just *wrong* (shudder)
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The followers *are* the biggest problem.
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I’ll have to paraphrase from Hoffer’s “True Believer”. For any mass movement to endure the doctrine must be vague. If not vague it must be unintelligible. If neither vague nor unintelligible, it must be unverifiable. It is beliefs as such that allow the men of words to manipulate the masses. Goehring swore in the entire Nazi party to follow Hitler not with their intellect, but with their hearts. Sound familiar?
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Glittering Generalities: vague words and phrases with high emotional appeal conveying little information that mean different things to different people.
They are the basis of almost every ad and political slogan:
“New and Improved”
“Things Go Better With Coke”
“Pepsi — The Choice of a New Generation”
“Gillette –The Best a Man Can Get”
“”Apple — Think Different!”
“Gatorade Always Wins”
“Just Do It!”
“You deserve a break today”
“Built Tough!”
“Eat Fresh”
“I’m lovin’ it”
“Be All You Can Be”
“Want Action? Join U.S. Marine Corps!”
“For the common good”
“For love of country”
“Fight for our democracy”
“Prosperity and Progress”
“Reform. Prosperity. Peace”
“Believe in America”
“A Stronger America”
“Buy American”
“Change We Can Believe In”
“Hope and Change”
“Yes, We Can!”
“Feel the Burn”
“I’m With Her”
“Make America Great Again”
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“It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, change has come to America”? Or from our beloved governor here in Washington, “Our Moment”
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Yep. In fact, the most effective call to “patriotic” action employs a flag, sombre music and a shout-out to God.
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I sit here staring at the stack of books I plan to read and thinking of several e-books I have queued up on my iPad to read or re-read. I can tell that I must soon add The True Believer to my re-read list. It’s been 50 years! I just listened to a YouTube video lecture about it. Perhaps an audio book?
Before I push the fat man off the bridge, I whisper into his ear, “Sorry old chap. It is for the greater good that you must die.” 🙂
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Your list of madmen excludes some American presidents who have rained bombs on cities around the world.
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The list could be too long for this, but I agree.
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You Asked — “Is The Madman a Natural Phenomenon?”
My Answer — Yes. They are a type of human being.
I would add that they are not the problem within society. From my observation, the issue is with another type of human being known as “Sheep”. They are the ones that do the killing and ultimately blame the madman for all that they do.
You need a type that herd the sheep away from stampeding the children.
Just a thought
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Sheep people come by way of beliefs. Until humanity can surpass belief mode we will live with its divisive limitations
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You Stated — “Sheep people come by way of beliefs”
My Response — I disagree. Sheep people come in all flavors.
Some seek security
Some are lazy
Some love chaos
Some have an agenda
The list goes on 😉
Sheep come in many flavors, never think you are safe from them simply in the absence of a belief system.
No matter who or where you are, if you have a room full of people 100% onboard with whatever you are doing or talking about then beware. Someone with charisma is around the corner ready to steer that bus over a crowd on the other side of the street.
Just saying
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For me, the word “madman” always conjures up images of the cartoon character Snidely Whiplash.
But on a more serious note: If Adolf had won the war and conquered eastern Europe, would he still be considered a madman? Or a hero?
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Reblogged this on Nelsapy.
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