Beyond Good and Evil: Master Morality In An Age That Cannot Afford Political Indifference

Since July 4th, 2020 DHS troops have been brutally occupying the city of of Portland on Trump’s order in response to the BLM protests. He has declared that he will follow suit in other major cities such as Seattle, New York, Philadelphia, and Detroit. All of which are controlled by Democrats. In an effort to appeal to right-wing media, he is showing aggressive commitment to enforcing “law and order” by instituting Martial Law, which means that the civil rights of U.S. citizens are being suspended. Trump’s unwieldy gang is teargassing, beating and disappearing our people in order for him to gain some ill-conceived foothold on his presidency. This is of no coincidence that the next presidential election is now less than 100 days away, making this a desperate grab for power.

With Joe Biden roughly 8 points ahead in the polls, there is still an undecided 16%. While only 34% of that undecided group is leaning towards Trump, Biden’s win is not certain. We were foolhardy last time around and we cannot leave this November’s election up to a last minute undecided group. What are the factors that tip this undecided voter one way or another? And can we shed enough light on the perilous reality to convince them to vote Trump out of the White House for good?

And so enters Friedrich Nietzche. Now read closely and please do not misunderstand what is about to come. Nietzche was a 19th century philosopher who introduced the übermensch in 1883 with Thus Spoke Zarathustra and he further expands on his ideas in his next work Beyond Good and Evil in 1886. While having died 30 years before the Nazi party formed, Nietzche’s übermensch was famously misinterpreted and used to shape the party’s foundation. While it is temping to go down the path of comparing Trump to early Hitler, I am here to offer another take on the übermensch, or ‘higher human’ as I would translate it. If we can carefully borrow ideas and build on them, as any philosopher would do, we can find insight into how to shift our mentality in order to affect positive change for our future as a nation.

Nietzche, along with many of his constituents, believed that life is inherit suffering. But what set him apart was his belief in finding meaning through that suffering. If one could recognize that life is meaningless suffering but still choose to live and find one’s own meaning, then they would in fact be a “higher human” or an übermensch. The idea is not that these übermensch are physically stronger or smarter, but that they are independent thinkers or psychologically stronger than most. Rather than blindly following institutions and looking to others to tell them what is right or wrong, the übermensch searches to understand and form their own path to their own perceived morality.

He makes a distinction between Master Morality and Slave Morality, the first valuing power and pride within one’s self and the latter valuing kindness, empathy and sympathy for the greater community. Here’s where I choose to take bits and pieces and form my own theory, as I do not appreciate this dichotomy. I am all for the greater good of the community, however we need leaders who can possess that kindness and still have the independent mind to think beyond the status quo. Though Nietzche believed very few people could truly be an übermensch, I believe there are more people than we see who have the ability to think beyond the crazy of today in order to find a sensible solution for tomorrow. Those who understand that equality is not enough, but equality combined with a raised bar of living standards for everyone.

Over the last months I have heard an unwarranted amount of conspiracy theories related to COVID-19, BLM, and the Trump administration. Rumors certainly take the mic in times of crisis. I get the appeal of there being higher forces in the world that control everything, giving meaning to our “meaningless suffering” however these theories don’t have stonge enough legs to stand on. If you’re reading this blog then we most likely share a few things in common. So I would bet that you know someone who is indulging as a QAnon for light activity during isolated times…those are the votes that we can perhaps solidify away from Trump’s campaign. This mysterious Q is priming their followers to believe that Trump is not all that bad, even perhaps that he is quite smart and has a greater plan that we cannot understand. Hogwash!

Over 150,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 due to his lack of response which contradicted the advice of basically the rest of the world and all health specialists. While the unemployment rates had been the lowest we’d seen since before the Great Depression for 19 consecutive months under his administration, they then also hit a record high of 14.7 percent in April. Our international relationships have diminished due to his comments about immigration, like “Why do we let all these people from shithole countries come here?” He’s caught on camera saying and proudly tweeting sexist and racist comments, and he refused to wear a mask until nearly 5 months of devastating outbreaks had passed by. Any way you slice it, he’s bad news. Amoral to say the least.

So how does Nietzche’s übermensch apply here? Well this is an open call to all those who sit back and watch these monstrosities on the news and say, “someone should do something” but have an inkling that they could at the very least do more than they are currently doing. Perhaps we are not all übermensch types but I know that people who affect change weren’t born that way, they grew into those shoes. We need more outspoken people who can passionately but also rationally state the facts and guide the people in a moral direction. And on a smaller scale, we can all go beyond ourselves to rise to an internal challenge of being our own besserer Mensch or “better human”. Think outside the box, gather information and then make informed decisions. Develop a nose for half-truths, then you can form an opinion and a way to deliver that opinion so that someone might care to listen. Think socratic method and not an episode of the Housewives of wherever. In my eyes, the true übermensch would not only dare to think outside the box but then invite others to join. Lifting others around them up instead of hoarding that new found information.

With so many philosophers and thinkers over the span of humanity, it would only make sense to not only study their contributions but then also seek to apply them to the current times, making adjustments or needed updates. In my effort to go beyond myself and begin to understand and apply these ideas, I am writing this blog. I learn best by doing and publishing political opinion articles can certainly put some fire under your back-side!

I have linked some pieces of information above to different articles or resources so that you can read further. Please always feel welcome to comment with an additional thought or helpful critique. This is a learning process for me and I hope to grow with each one. Thank you for indulging me in these thoughts. Stay safe and healthy out there!