'Manichaean paranoia'
Paranoia Will Destroy Ya
Saturday, March 17th, 2007
On a recent episode of The Daily Show, Stewart’s guest, Zbigniew Brzezinski used the phrase “Manichaean paranoia” to describe the actions of the Bush Administration, arguing that Bush et. al. see the world through a pair of “you’re either with us or against us” glasses, and are convinced that their actions alone are sanctioned by a higher power.

Note to blowhard pundits: a really smart guy can sum up the essence of this administration in just two words…

The term originated from Manichaeism, a Persian religion from 3rd century Babylon that stressed dualism, or the idea that the world is divided into light (the soul) and dark (the body).

Republican Manichaean paranoia can be neatly summed up by recent specious claims that any criticism of the War on Terror, the war in Iraq, or indeed, the Bush Administration is tantamount to giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

As of just a few days after Brzezinski’s appearance, if one googles Manichaean paranoia, there are only 13 hits for the phrase. I’ll be interested to see if this critique of Bush’s policies gains traction, or simply disappears from public conciousness.

To do my part, I’ve added a “Manichaean paranoia” tag to Greymatters, which may be worn and tattered beyond repair by 2008.

comment to Greymatters: Thanks for the post on Zbigniew's two word, characterization of the Bush/Neocon administration... It was perfect for my recent post. "2nd Chance" THANK GOODNESS FOR THE LAUGHTER on http://thinkingblue.blogspot.com/2007/03/2nd-chance-jon-stewart-interview-with.html Carolyn
 

Zbigniew Brzezinski on Youtube

Brzeainski interview on Charlie Rose

Laughter is good medicine for reducing stress, enhancing brain chemistry (We sure need it...)

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