The archetypal heroes and magicians of Latvian politics in the fight against treacherous noses

The "hard" lockdown has finally been launched. We can now take a breather at home and take a look at the political context of this event.

It must first be explained why the word "hard" is enclosed in quotation marks. Because the lockdown proposed by the director of the State Chancellery Jānis Citskovskis (although in English this term is not conceptually the same as it is understood in Latvian) can be called hard only with certain reservations because it actually only affects those sectors that are easiest to close down. Industrial companies, construction, transport, logistics, utilities, the financial sector and even some catering companies continue to work almost as before. On the other hand, schools that were promised to be "the last places that will be closed", theaters, SPA centers have been closed and a curfew has been introduced. But this time, let's not debate about what should and shouldn't have been closed. That is not the purpose of this article.

According to the archetype theory of the well-known German psychiatrist Karl Jung, since the beginning of mankind, there have been two archetypal types of leaders - the conditional hero and magician. According to these ancient but enduring notions, the strongest and most cunning fighter is nominated as the leader/hero from the tribe. He is responsible for fighting enemies. In turn, the magician's responsibilities include communication with the gods and the organization of daily life. Namely, food supply. For primitive peoples, it depended to a large extent on weather conditions - timely rain. The magician's main task was to arrange this thing in cooperation with the gods.

What does this archetype theory say about the current political situation? Humanity can be considered to have changed significantly over the millennia, but serious researchers of the depths of human consciousness acknowledge that the basic principles of human perception and subsequent action remain the same in their deepest essence. These ancient archetypes are more durable than all modern layers, which cover the fundamental basic human motions in a thin layer.

The condition for a successful career as a political hero is the existence of a particular enemy and victory over him. Without the image of the enemy, this type of politician is powerless. Therefore, Hitler "needed" the Jews, Stalin - the enemies of the people, the Trotskyists and the imperialists. In the current coalition, this archetypal niche is occupied by the National Alliance (Nacionālā apvienība) and the New Conservative Party (Jaunā konservatīvā partija), whose political fuel is Russians, migrants and other strangers threatening the foundations of society for the first one, for the other - ZZS and Aivars Lembergs. As soon as these "enemies" lose their relevance, the ratings of these political forces fall. The country's economic situation has little effect on the ratings of this type of politician.

Unity (Vienotība) and its derivatives represent another archetype. They embody magicians and are happy to manipulate with words like wise and smart (smart development, smart economy, etc.). They know how to communicate with the gods (EU, NATO, Davos Forum and other magician Olympians). They know how to approach these gods (40 million to the Jewish organizations) to send the rain. Their rating depends to a large extent on how convincingly they will be able to link the activities of their magical rituals to the sudden rainfall, or vice versa - will be able to find convincing reasons unrelated to them on why this did not happen. That is why the interpreters of these ritual relations - the media - are so important. They are the intermediaries between the magicians and the common people.

After this brief theoretical introduction, we can move on to today's specific situation. At first glance, it may seem that victory over Covid requires distinct hero qualities, but it does not, because the enemy is invisible, cunning, and it is not even clear how real it is. Here's a tweet: “My friend is desperate. He's drinking vodka but can't smell or taste it. Thought he was given water, but he's getting drunk. Probably Covid. Will go get tested." It is unlikely that people would dare to joke similarly about diseases that would be considered truly threatening. It should be made clear here that I do not for a moment question the dangers of Covid, I am only talking about its perception in society. Precisely because Covid is perceived as something unknown, mystical and mysterious, it is not the fighting political forces that have mobilized to combat it, but the magical ones. Those who position themselves as experts in communication with the gods.

It can be observed not only in Latvia. That is why Unity and its derivative ATPAR have put all the emphasis on Covid and talk only about it. Of course, this speech would sound completely different if there were limited financial resources and the former paradigm prevailed - there is only as much money as there is and it does not grow on trees. Now everything is different. Money grows on trees. All you have to do is keep harvesting it.

So, there is now more money than there has ever been before, and there is no other issue on the agenda than just Covid. Already now some people are asking questions - what will happen if, on November 15, when Prime Minister Kariņš promised that life will return to the previous rhythm for the vaccinated, but the unvaccinated will have further restrictions, there will be no major changes in the number of infected people? The answer is quite simple - absolutely nothing will happen.

That's why the magicians are called magicians - because regardless of reality, they always find an opportunity to interpret it in a light that is favorable to them. Even the toughest method of overcoming the economic crisis, which no one has used anywhere since the Great Depression of the last century (it can be compared to tooth extraction without anesthesia), our magicians managed to call a "success story", and many people still believe it. It will be like this now as well.

If the Covid numbers fall, and the probability that it will happen is high, then Kariņš and Pavļuts will claim all the accolades that the rainfall has finally begun. Why is the probability high? Because previous observations in other countries suggest that Covid infection spreads in a wave-like manner, culminating in 2 to 3 months after the cumulative level exceeds 100. After reaching the peak, it begins to decline regardless of the [ritual] activities performed. In Latvia, this indicator was exceeded in mid-August. Thus, the highest morbidity is expected in November, but after that, it should start to decrease, even if the "hard" lockdown had not been introduced. However, if for some reason nothing significantly changes, then in this case, too, there are clear instructions on how to proceed. True, they are found in the wisdom of Islam, but they do not become less valuable and usable because of that.

In the Quran, unlike the Christian Bible, there is a clear link between the performance of various activities pleasing to Allah and the tangible results already in this life on earth. In many poor Islamic countries, this connection distresses mullahs, who have difficulty answering a simple question - I do everything word for word as it is written in the Quran and I can't make ends meet, but the neighbor who follows all precepts only superficially, he's living in the lap of luxury. Why?

The answer is quite simple. Take a closer look. You are probably not doing something, some detail the way you need to. Maybe you are sinning in your thoughts. In our case, it will sound like this: we did not achieve the expected results, because not everyone was responsible enough and did not follow the set limits strictly enough. Many wore masks with their noses poking out. If there is such an irresponsible attitude, then what other result did you expect? It is also clear who is to blame for everything - those with treacherous noses. It's good that not with the crooked, like some other magic lovers have.

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