ABSTRACT
The mental mechanisms which organize the growing mind by way of creating categories may violently cleave it into more simplistic functioning. The more complex aspects of reality, then, such as the creative uncertainties about oneself, as well as the outer world, are more difficult to comprehend than the seeming simplicities offered by certainties concerning self and others. The fear-and hate-based movement and its history may reveal some of the psychological underpinnings that perpetuate such negativity. The diminishment of national borders in the case of Europe, or efforts to attain racial equality in the United States, raise serious questions about the loss of distinctive identities. Close examination suggests that for some, identity seems to pivot on remaining distinct from other groups. In addition, appreciation of how such emotional intensity inundates space for thought may illuminate the contemporary “post-truth” phenomena as based solely on powerful emotion.
