pace yourself, and do not obey in advance

A narcissist will make everything about them. A fascist will make everything about their power over you. Don't concede your power by responding immediately to every insanity that you encounter. Remember Brandolini's law that states it takes longer to refute lies than it does to utter them, and also Do Not Obey In Advance (and a followup version, with things that you can do).

Remember that scene from Fifth Element, where the proverbial "bad guy" breaks something just to get the ego power boost of being responsible for what happens around him. That's where we're at now (again) in the USA.

Watch on YouTube

I have a lot more to say. The recent kerfuffle with Colombia is the perfect example of what I want to describe more fully about the era in which we now live. Be aware of what information you are not hearing in any narrative. I need to do a lot more editing, though, to reduce it to a more concise form. Maybe next week.