What if I were to tell you that many successful people in this world spend most of their time, most days, pretending to be things they definitely are not, not at home or at least not in their heart of hearts—and they carry on such deception quite deliberately, for reasons they would never publicly admit, and some of them achieve great honor and power as a result—and that this deception brings them no end of pleasure, and they have very few compunctions about it? For them, life is a serious role-playing game, and the satisfaction of winning is all that matters. But about the realities underlying this game, they mostly have profoundly dark, cynical contempt. This can be seen in the sort of films and other cultural work they prefer to consume.

Not a few such people have infiltrated our churches. And government (all major parties). And academe. And the corporate, financial, and nonprofit worlds. Etc. (cont’d)