Let’s give credit where credit’s due. I was tipped off to this insight-stuffed piece in New York Magazine thanks to a recent note in my inbox from Robert Reich. (Say what you want about the man’s politics—he’s got a nose for social rot.)

In the article, Washington Correspondent Ben Terris captures a new normal in D.C.:

“Lobbying used to be Congress-focused, but they’re not driving the show anymore. They’re all now taking orders from the administration.”

Welcome to the Age of Competitive Sycophancy​
​
Enter: Theda Skocpol, a Harvard sociologist who coined the phrase “competitive sycophancy”—which is a fancy way of saying people fighting to see who can suck up the hardest. Think of it like the carnival contest game where you're spraying water at a target inside a clown's mouth and it overfills a balloon with hot air. It pops. And there's your winner. The most volume and best aim (supposedly) wins. Now imagine the balloon is a so-called leader's ego. 

Real-life Analogy: A boss walks into the breakroom and says, “I’m thinking about replacing all chairs with exercise balls.” A normal, functioning team would offer pros and cons. But a team infected with competitive sycophancy?

- “Brilliant, sir.”
- “My core’s already tightening just thinking about it.”
- “Honestly, I’ve always hated chairs.”

From D.C. to Your Daily Life
This isn’t just a Trump problem. It’s a human pattern. Trump’s just the full-volume, gold-plated, Vegas residency version of it.

What Happens to Communities When Sycophancy is Normalized?
Sycophancy alters the norms of how we behave in community. And community isn’t just your zip code. It’s your startup, your friend group, your volunteer org, your social media following. Once a group tips toward flattery, honest feedback dies. Once honest feedback dies, so does progress.

Learn to Spot It: Life Literacy means recognizing when the system around you is rewarding obedience over intelligence.

Bonus: Boston American Analogies for spotting Sycophants:
- If it feels like you're watching people play Simon Says... except no one is saying "Simon Says" - they're probably sycophants.
- If your coworker high-fives the CEO for finding the extra cups for the water cooler, they're a sycophant. 
- In a sitcom when the assistant says “great idea, boss” after the boss suggests team rock climbing—without ropes. They're a sycophant.
  
Final Thought: The louder the applause, the more you should ask who’s holding the mic. Especially if the only people clapping are the ones paid to be there.

_________________
 
LERN Module: “Sycophancy and Social Rot”
Designed for:
- Teachers (middle school to college)
- Parents and guardians
- Homeschool curriculum builders
- Youth group facilitators
- Media literacy and civics programs
- After-school clubs or enrichment programs

Suggested Learning Objectives:
- Understand the terms "sycophant", "sycophancy", and "social rot" in both academic and cultural contexts
- Analyze how power dynamics shape group behavior across politics, work, school, and community life
- Recognize the psychological and sociological roots of flattery-based leadership
- Build critical thinking muscles by asking: “Who benefits when we stay silent?”

Creative Teaching Ideas: 
1. Group creation of clear, side-by-side definitions: Webster vs. Classroom agreed upon definitions. 
(sycophant, sycophancy, social rot, obsequiously)

2. Case Study Discussion: “Competitive Sycophancy in D.C.”
An annotated excerpt from the New York Magazine article by Ben Terris, with guiding questions like:
- What happens when leaders only surround themselves with flatterers?
- Can this happen in your own school, team, or workplace? Examples?

3. Discussion Prompts
Age-adjusted questions for:
- Middle school (e.g., “Why do people sometimes agree with a group even when they don’t want to?”)
- High school / College (e.g., “Where do we see sycophancy in pop culture, politics, or our communities?”)
- Adults/Facilitators (e.g., “When does praise become manipulation?”)

4. Roleplay Scenarios
Simple scripts or improv scenes to help lerners practice:
- Speaking up when everyone else is “yes-ing”
- Identifying groupthink in peer dynamics
- Reflecting on what kind of community they want to be part of

5. Creative Assignments
- Write your own “Boston American” style glossary entry for a political or pop culture term
- Create a cartoon, meme, or one-act play about sycophancy gone wrong
- Interview a parent or elder about when they witnessed “social rot” in a workplace or institution

6. Educator’s Notes + Adaptations
- Introduce serious topics with humor
- Balance ideological neutrality with moral clarity
- Encourage curiosity over cynicism

Teaching Philosophy Behind this LERN Module:
We believe real civic and emotional intelligence starts with language. When students and communities can name the behavior, they can challenge it and learn from it.

These LERN life literacy modules are not just about politics—they're about building braver, smarter communities at every level—and for all walks of life.

LERN Resources and Further Reading...

Glossary of Life Literacy: “Sycophant”
Webster:
A person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage.
Boston American Translation:
A spineless suck-up. The kind of person who breaks a sweat clapping at a joke that wasn’t funny—just because the boss told it.
Obsequiously:
A word that means way too eager to please someone in power, often with an energy that says “I’ll shine your shoes with my face if it gets me promoted.”

Glossary Add-On: “Sycophancy”
Webster:
Obsequious behavior toward someone important in order to gain advantage.
Boston American Translation:
The art of sucking up like it’s an Olympic event. When flattery becomes a survival skill, and the loudest applause comes from the people paid to clap.

Glossary Add-On: “Social Rot”
Webster:
The decline of societal values and institutions due to systemic corruption or moral decay.
Boston American Translation:
It’s what happens when people stop calling out BS because the BS has become normal. When cheating, lying, or sucking up becomes just “how things work.”

Want to get even sharper at spotting groupthink? Check out these super smart people:
- Theda Skocpol, Harvard
- Robert Reich
- Robert Jay Lifton
- “Escape from Freedom”, Erich Fromm
- Adam Grant

​Final, Final Thought: Life Literacy...Teach it. Share it. Use it to fireproof your community, your team, and your own damn brain.

For a generation of Americans—especially younger ones—who’ve grown up with Donald Trump constantly on their screens, it’s time for a quick reality check. This isn’t normal. It never was. And if you’re having trouble picking up on the tells, don’t worry, we got you. It only takes the soundbites around a relationship with one other foreign leader to spot emotional immaturity, manipulation tactics, and the kind of language that reveals a person’s insecurities. Call it the ‘Vlump Effect’—when bravado, flattery, and grievance replace wisdom, humility, and teamwork.

Let's warm up by exploring this in terms anyone can understand:

Imagine your high school is holding an election for senior class president and one of the candidates gets up wearing a T-shirt with his face on it and says:

• “I’m the most awesomest candidate in school history.”
• “I alone can fix everything.”
• “That mold problem in the gym? Done. I’ll fix it in an hour.”
• “No one loves this school more than I do, maybe ever.”
• “They’re lying about my bad grades. It’s all rigged.”
• “You don’t even need a student council. Just me.”

Wouldn’t your brain say:
“Hey, um... yeah, this kid’s clearly not right in the head.”

Now, imagine that same kid not only wins—but starts selling hats with his own number in the sequence of school presidents on them. And he uses the money to buy new rims for his Escalade.

TV and movies know this storyline by heart. It’s the classic “wrong guy in charge” plot. Writers have played it for laughs for decades:

• Michael Scott in The Office – The regional manager with no filter, no self-awareness, and way too much confidence.
• Leslie Nielsen’s President Harris in Scary Movie 3 – Says dumb things with confidence, surrounded by smarter people quietly panicking.
• Zapp Brannigan in Futurama – Bold, clueless, convinced of his own greatness while everyone else tries to clean up his mess.
• Idiocracy – A dystopian world where a wrestler-turned-TV-star becomes president. (Check this one out >  )

The joke is always the same: The guy who thinks he’s the solution is actually the main problem.
But here’s the thing—it’s supposed to be a joke. We’re not supposed to actually hand the nuclear codes to the guy who speaks in awkward, self-inflating observations, and rages on his own social media site. 

Like this:

“I can end that war in 24 hours.”

“He’s a strong guy. He’s got control.”

“He said he didn’t interfere… I believe him.”

“Vladimir, STOP!” (Truth Social post)

“He’s gone crazy.”

“We’re taking a lot of bullshit from Putin.”

“He’s tapping me along.

“I thought we had a deal.”

“Don’t ask me a question like that.”

“We’re sending 17 Patriot batteries.”

“It’s not my war.”

“I’m disappointed in President Putin.”

“We don’t need the sanctions bill.”

“The talk doesn’t mean anything.”

“I speak to him a lot… then the missiles come.”


The Takeaway: For the Kids Who Grew Up With This
If this is what you’ve seen for most of your life, let's be clear:

This is not normal. This is not maturity. This is not strength.

• It’s not strong to brag constantly.
• It’s not honest to deflect blame 24/7.
• It’s not patriotic to sell hats with your number on them while American soldiers are bleeding out in a war zone you don’t understand.

This is what happens when people confuse celebrity for character, noise for leadership, and attention for substance. So if you’ve felt something was off—you're beginning to get it. 

Now, let's see if you can spot the psychological “tell” behind the soundbite. Like a CIA profiler watching body language. Like a poker player watching someone bluff. It’s not just what they say—it’s why they say it, and what it reveals.

Here's how the soundbites above translate:

"I can end that war in 24 hours."
Psychological tell: Grandiosity masking helplessness.
This is what it sounds like when someone sells confidence because they lack competence.

"He’s a strong guy. He’s got control."
Psychological tell: Idolizing dominance instead of understanding diplomacy.
When someone sees strength and skips right over cruelty, they’re not discerning—they’re impressed by force.

"He said he didn’t interfere... I believe him."
Psychological tell: Ego responding to flattery, not evidence.
If someone trusts a liar because the lie makes them feel important, they’re showing you their weakness in real time.

"Vladimir, STOP!"
Psychological tell: Mistaking attention for influence.
They think yelling into the void = being heard. It’s not strength. It’s self-soothing.

"He’s gone crazy."
Psychological tell: Projection.
When someone calls you crazy for setting a boundary, it’s usually because they can’t tolerate not being in control.

"We’re taking a lot of bullshit from Putin."
Psychological tell: Personal humiliation dressed up as moral outrage.
If they care more about being disrespected than lives being lost, their compass is ego—not ethics.

"He’s tapping me along."
Psychological tell: Victimhood disguised as insight.
They realize they’re being played, but won’t stop playing the game. That’s not wisdom. That’s addiction to approval.

"I thought we had a deal."
Psychological tell: Narcissistic entitlement.
Assumes the world should work like a private transaction—with them at the center.

"Don’t ask me a question like that."
Psychological tell: Fragile ego under pressure.
When someone can’t handle a basic question, it’s not because you’re rude—it’s because they’re unprepared.

"It’s not my war."
Psychological tell: Disassociation from responsibility for horrific events.
When someone shrugs at suffering because they didn’t cause it, they’re telling you: 'I don’t lead—I react.'

"I’m disappointed in President Putin."
Psychological tell: Infantilizing evil.
When someone calls atrocities a “disappointment,” they’re emotionally buffering to protect themselves from reality.

"I speak to him a lot… then the missiles come."
Psychological tell: Magical thinking meets powerlessness.
The belief that talking = control is a hallmark of someone who confuses access with influence.

"We’re sending 17 Patriot batteries."
Psychological tell: Performance over policy.
Grand declarations without logistics are how insecure leaders simulate action to look decisive.

"We don’t need the sanctions bill."
Psychological tell: Avoidance of real consequences.
They don’t want to act because action might disrupt their deals, their ratings, or their fragile alliances.

"The talk doesn’t mean anything."
Psychological tell: Jaded disillusionment without accountability.
If they finally admit it’s not working but change nothing, it’s not wisdom—it’s cynicism that protects the ego.

To be very clear, this observation isn’t about left or right. It’s about the human wiring behind bad leadership. What we normalize now is what future generations will inherit as “just how leaders talk.”

But you can fix it. You can learn the tells. Because real leadership isn’t loud. It’s not merch. It’s not all about “me.” It’s what shows up when the talking stops and the decisions actually begin.
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PART 2: Signs the BS is infecting everyone around him, too.
 
You'll know it's all gone completely sideways when the supporting cast (like his cabinet) starts delivering more and more lines that sound less like policy and more like hyperbole, too. Here are a few telltale phrases to watch for from the supporting cast:

“He’s the strongest negotiator the world has ever seen.”
→ Translation: I haven’t read a briefing, but I memorized the fan club slogans.

“Nobody could have done what he did.”
→ Classic cult-of-personality line. Often deployed in response to… nothing measurable.

“The media just hates how much he’s winning.”
→ That’s not analysis. That’s a grievance echo—usually said right before dodging a real question.

“He’s playing 4D chess.”
→ Always said by someone who’s playing checkers… poorly.

“He’s just saying what we’re all thinking.”
→ More often, he's saying what angry uncles say at Thanksgiving before being told to go outside.

​What you'll notice is that these soundbites will rarely be policy points. They’ll be performances that indicate a psychological environment where loyalty is measured in praise, not action, and where truth is whatever keeps the base clapping.