PSYCHOSCAPES: There’s something happening here

Much has been written about the transcendental nature of group experience over the centuries. Unfortunately, most of this accumulated wisdom is ignored in our culture because of our emphasis on individuality and aloneness over community and belonging. But we ignore it at our peril.

Emile Durkheim, the legendary 19th-century French sociologist, studied this question at length, concluding that individuals can only rise above mundane lives by connecting to the collective mind of society.

So what is this collective mind of society? Sometimes, it can be all-consuming. I’ve only seen that happen once in my long life, although I think it’s happening again right now. If so, both are variations of the Camelot myth.

Camelot featured the mythical, 12^th-century exploits of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. This myth has endured because it represents a bedrock part of our community process, an enduring symbol of courage and wisdom in how we conduct our politics.

The first time I saw Camelot emerge was when I was a teenager, trying to recover from the deployable witch hunts of the McCarthy era, alleging that communists were taking over our nation, combined with the muscle-cramping memories of hiding under my school desk for protection from nuclear bombs that, supposedly, could start falling at any moment.

Against this backdrop, the Republicans ran a candidate, Richard Nixon, who hyped this Cold War hysteria. He was devious and cunning, joyless and unsmiling, painting an apocalyptic picture of the world. Does that sound like someone running for president today?

That’s when, suddenly out of the darkness, my first Camelot appeared: a young hero rode onto the stage to rescue me from my adolescent despair: John F. Kennedy. The feeling was electric, a new day was dawning. A vibrant, charismatic knight against old-school Tricky Dick and his 5 -o’clock shadow.

He issued this ultimatum:

“Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage—and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights…^⁠1”

He added this challenge: “ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” He wasn’t a top-down technocrat; in order for this to work, we all had to become involved at the grassroots.

Now, amazingly, more than 50 years later. I get to see it happen again with Kamala Harris.

Once again, she is electrifying a previously zombie presidential race and challenging us to do our part: “Now, at this moment, our nation needs your leadership once again. In this moment, I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation. “One focused on the future, the other focused on the past. With your support, I am fighting for our nation’s future.”

The difference is between night and day. Before Kamala announced, the Democrats were attracting a few hundred volunteers a day, but after her speech, 170,000 folks immediately volunteered; meanwhile, her campaign was flooded with an unheard-of $200 million in the first week.

I haven’t seen such excitement since JFK ran for president although, I realize, most folks would include Obama. Either way, this is truly a Kamelot Moment!

It’s in the air beyond individual control and can’t be stopped. Furthermore, I predict that this “Kamelot Moment” will break the MAGA fever that has held us captive for too long and expose Donald Trump for who he really is: a brittle and delusionary old man.

xxx

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