I know a big baby that isn't going to be happy about this one :)
replies(16):
> I think it also becomes a real test of in-group loyalty to see who can outcompete in slavishness the other members of the circle, who are also competing to be slavish. That’s why you get these strange [phenomena] like Donald Trump’s physicians claiming that he’s the most physically vigorous president ever.
> Now, even when Donald Trump was younger, he was a big man, but he was never a great athlete. And now, as he approaches his 80th birthday, he’s obviously not physically fit.
> The fact is, you’re not just willing to tell a lie, but tell a lie that abases you, that makes you look foolish, that makes you look like you don’t care about yourself at all, that you only defer to the leader. That’s the real sign of loyalty. It’s flattery that is not meant to be believed but functions as a kind of system of in-group recognition.
To me, this is a perfect mirror to Chairman Mao (supposedly) swimming across the Yangtze River in his 70s at a pace faster than an Olympic champion of today.
There’s no meaning to any of it. It’s just propaganda and self-abasement for the purpose of loyalty competition to the leader. In fact, the more ludicrous, the better, because it means you’re willing to fully destroy any personal credibility you may have as a sacrifice to show loyalty.
[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2025/10/the-dav...