We tend to believe we are intellectually brilliant, superior to all the rest of the animal world, and possess god-like abilities. However, the ancient Greeks called this mindset ὕβρις. We translate the word as hubris, which means false pride. Hubris was the cardinal sin, the fatal flaw of all the ancient Greek tragedies. Some Greek characters that suffered from hubris are Achilles, Odysseus, Bellerophon, Phaethon, Arachne, Icarus, and Agamemnon.

All Greek tragedies were written 2500 years ago, and each of them warns us against hubris. However, that assumes that we read those books.

We also tend to believe in science. For example, the Earth is flat, the Sun is the center of the universe, and it revolves around the Earth. It rains when a floodgate breaks in the firmaments, holding the waters above them back.

A scientific picture of the universe

Anyone who believes differently isn’t thinking correctly. That mindset has been around for over three millennia and has dissed all the other mindless theories about the Earth and the universe.

When Galileo realized that what was deemed to be science was a mistake, he was the object of an inquisition. Galileo affirmed Copernicus’ idea of the heliocentric universe rather than the geocentric one.

Inquisition of Galileo in 1633.

The Catholic Church’s mistake about its geocentric mindset wasn’t officially rescinded until Pope John Paul II. On October 31, 1992, he apologized for the Galileo Case, another way of saying the Inquisition of Galileo. It took 350 years before any pope dealt with the Catholic Church’s scientific mistake.

In the late 17^th century, the Protestant church had its turn with the Salem Witch Trials. Nearly two dozen women were hanged for being witches during trials in Salem, MA. This is Martha Corey pleading her case before being taken to the gallows.

Martha Corey

Giles Corey, Martha’s husband, was the only man found guilty of being a witch. He was crushed to death as people dropped large rocks on him. It took a couple of days before he died.

Giles Corey

A century ago, John Thomas Scopes was arrested and tried in the Scopes Monkey Trial. It was a battle between creationism vs. evolution. William Jennings Bryan represented the creationists, and Clarence Darrow supported evolution.

This cartoon is of Willian Jennings Bryan.

In the 21^st century, hardly anyone in the world still disses Galileo and the witches of Salem. However, many Americans still don’t buy the biblical story of creation even though there are two stories of creation in Genesis. Also, both creation narratives are incorrect.

However, our twice impeached and four-time indicted former president maintains he did nothing wrong. In the civil suit, E. Jean Carrol accused Trump of rape. In a video deposition, Trump is shown a photo of Trump and his wife at the time chatting with E. Jean Carroll. He identified Carroll as his ex-wife but assumed that the other person was Carroll.

Which one is a whack job?

This video is Trump’s deposition when he confused the two women.

(The deposition is after the report on a refinery fire.)

Trump still maintains that Carroll is a “whack job” even though the jury found him guilty. He still defames her after the verdict, and another trial is set for January 2024. The judge told Carroll that she could amend her lawsuit against Trump.

Trump still maintains the insurrection on January 6^th was nothing more than a “beautiful day.” Additionally, Trump has promised, if elected, he would pardon those arrested on the beautiful January day.

As for Smith’s Mar-a-Lago case, Trump claims he had the right to all the top secret documents. That seems confusing since he initially said he didn’t have any documents. Trump maintained counterintuitive statements. Nonetheless, the Christian evangelicals seem to see no sin in their leader. It is an example of how defense mechanisms function for his followers. Trump’s bad behavior allows many followers to write off their sins by not seeing their leader’s sins.

Trump also plays the card that everyone is out to get him. He sees himself as the victim of persecution. Regardless, the liberals, Biden, and all the other witch-hunters are persecuting Trump.

Finally, America is going to hell in a handbasket, but Trump is the heroic knight who will save the day. Trump believes he is the best president America has ever had. The contrary is true. Trump makes Nixon look like a high school bully. Nixon didn’t face four indictments containing nearly a hundred charges.

Interestingly, Hitler came up with the notion of the big lie in Mein Kampf. His title means my struggle. Both Hitler and Trump struggled to save the world. Trump’s mantra is “What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening,”

A scene from the film The Book Thief

Hitler and Trump’s mindsets have warned us. Before we burn books, we need to read them.