Hyper-normalized?
Crumbling systems, political chaos, broken governance. Many Americans feel there's something "weirdly off" about the world—but continue their daily lives, as normal. The dissonance is real. What's up?
Political historians call this “hyper-normalization.” It’s the opposite of resilience. “In this state of mind,” says digital anthropologist Rahaf Harfoush, “we’re numb. Our governing systems and institutions are broken, yet for reasons including a lack of effective leadership, many of us support the pretense that we’re a functioning society.”
CHICAGO—A few weeks ago, one of my Columbia University media students shared an Instagram video with me—which since has received 9 million views worldwide—and rising.
When comedian Ashley Bez (@dailybez) tried to describe her feelings on Instagram about why the world feels so deeply “off” to her and many others, digital anthropologist Rahaf Harfoush responded immediately with her own video.
Within 48 hours, Harfoush’s video went viral—viewed by political subreddits, mom groups, chat circles, coupon communities, and even dog-walking groups.
“Welcome to the hyper-normalization club,” Harfoush told Ashley in her response video. “I’m so sorry that you’re here.”
Hyper-normalization
For many reasons, more Americans are starting to notice the big disconnect between what’s happening in the world, and how society is acknowledging those events—or isn’t. “Whether it’s our climate, our current political leadership, or the hollowing out of government institutions, there is, undeniably, a visceral feeling of unease,” says Harfoush.
Psychologists, anthropologists and political historians call it “hyper-normalization” — a term first coined by historian Alexei Yurchak in his 2005 book, Everything Was Forever, Until It was No More: The Last Soviet Generation. In it, Yurchak describes the paradox of living in the Soviet Union before its dissolution in 1991. Back then, everyone knew the governing system was failing but no one could imagine something different, so politicians and citizens, alike, sustained the pretense of a functioning society. [“Sound familiar?” Harfoush asked us. “We’re seeing American society going through some of the same motions now—appearing functional, yet crumbling in some ways beneath the surface.”]
In his 2016 documentary, HyperNormalisation, the British film maker Adam Curtis said Yurchak’s critique of late-Soviet life also applies well to what he calls the West’s decades-long slide into authoritarianism, something more Americans are now confronting head-on since the re-election of Donald Trump to the White House.
Curtis said Donald Trump is an example of a powerful politician who, rather than serve common values, has instead been openly using his position to “achieve retribution” against his political enemies, reward loyalty and hollow out institutions for personal and political gains. Trump’s America, Curtis says, is “similar to Yeltsin in Russia in the 1990s—promising a new kind of democracy, but in reality allowing the oligarchs to loot and distort the society.”
Harfoush said that watching systems unravel in real time can be frightening. She made her video, she says, “to reassure others that they’re not alone” nor misinterpreting the situation “nor simply imagining things.” By understanding that hyper-normalization is a tactic meant to discourage dissent, “we can better understand that we’re not alone in what we’re feeling, nor why,” she says.
Shutting Down
The late journalist Milton Mayer, in his 1955 book, They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45, said many German citizens were pressured with similar hyper-normalization tactics, which had the effect of putting them “in a state of freeze” during the rise of the Nazi party. “You didn’t want to act or even talk, alone,” he wrote. “You didn’t want to ‘go out of your way to make trouble.’”
Says Caroline Hickman, a psychologist and instructor at Bath University: “People don’t shut down because they don’t feel anything,” she told The Guardian. “They shut down because they feel too much.”
How to fight back? Earlier this month, I caught up with Timothy Snyder, an American historian, expert on authoritarianism and the author of “On Freedom.” He was speaking at a Chicago Humanities Festival event, and I asked him what it would take to beat back the creep of hyper-normalization during Trump’s second term.
“It’s patently obvious that there’s been a return of fascism around the world,” he said. “The signs are overwhelming. So why don’t we accept that? Why don’t we use the word ‘fascism’ when talking about all of this? It’s because if you do, then you have to organize, and with people you might not necessarily like,” Snyder told us. “Denying what’s happening now in America, on the other hand, creates a purely academic pursuit. You can sit in your office and edit a volume about how it’s not fascism, and that somehow, things in society will self-correct.” But Snyder added he doesn’t believe fascism and the hyper-normalization wave that is meant to accelerate its spread can be stopped without collective protests that are big, cross party lines and staged frequently. “If only 1% of the population turns out in force, as it has already, it can make a difference,” he said. “It’s time to start making that more than 1%, and now.”
Pushing Back
Snyder and others we interviewed came up with a short list of ways American businesses and ordinary Americans might start to “wake up from the freeze of hyper-normalization” and start getting active:
Listen to foreign leaders to learn about how other countries have dealt with similar slides toward authoritarianism. “There are actually a lot of German businessmen and women today and German foundations which can act on the basis of what they think they learned in the 1930s,” Snyder says. “Maybe this has already happened, but there is much to be said for some kind of summit, to be called between American and German CEOs, to talk about the threat of hyper-normalization and what can be done effectively to build resilience. Gathering people in Poland and other countries, too, would have a lot of insights to share.”
Get active. “It’s easy to feel like you’re in a community already because you’re on TikTok,” says Betsy Harmann, the author of The America Syndrome, which explores the importance of resisting fear and doom-scrolling. “Genuine community is also about getting outside and talking to your neighbor and knowing that there’s someone out there who can help you if something really bad goes down.”
Join an organizing group—now, or form one of your own. Indivisible.org, a nonprofit, has nearly 2,000 active groups registered across the country—and it’s growing. Its millions of members have been working to create the town halls, rallies, educational events and mass protests staged during these past three months, and have been successful. “If you think winning against the authoritarians is impossible, think again. Since Trump won in November, Indivisible has helped to launch or restart more than 1,200 chapters, reigniting a level of activity the organization hasn’t seen since the early days of Trump’s first term,” says Ezra Levin, co-founder. “And we’re just getting started.”
Have you, too, wondered about the state of the world during these times of rapid change and protest? Feel frozen? Share your take on how you think society is weathering the dissonance. As always, we love to share your comments with our growing community!
I think this is happening in companies too. Wow this gives language to a feeling