Obama and The Palin Effect

      Sometimes politics has the uncanny effect of mirroring the 
national psyche even when nobody intended to do that. This is perfectly
illustrated by the rousing effect that Gov. Sarah Palin had on the
Republican convention in Minneapolis this week. On the surface, she
outdoes former Vice President Dan Quayle as an unlikely choice, given
her negligent parochial expertise in the complex affairs of governing.
Her state of Alaska has less than 700,000 residents, which reduces the
job of governor to the scale of running one-tenth of New York City. By
comparison, Rudy Giuliani is a towering international figure. Palin's
pl uck has been admired, and her forthrightness, but her real appeal
goes deeper.
    She is the reverse of Barack Obama, in essence his shadow, deriding
his idealism and exhorting people to obey their worst impulses. In
psychological terms the shadow is that part of the psyche that hides
out of sight, countering our aspirations, virtue, and vision with
qualities we are ashamed to face: anger, fear, revenge, violence,
selfishness, and suspicion of 'the other.' For millions of Americans,
Obama triggers those feelings, but they don't want to express them. He
is calling for us to reach for our higher selves, and frankly, that
stirs up hidden reactions of an unsavory kind. (Just to be perfectly
clear, I am not making a verbal play out of the fact that Sen. Obama
is black. The shadow is a metaphor widely in use before his arrival on
the scene.)
    I recognize that psychological analysis of politics is usually not
welcome by the public, but I believe such a perspective can be helpful
here to understand Palin's message. In her acceptance speech Gov.
Palin sent a rousing call to those who want to celebrate their
resistance to change and a higher vision.
    Look at what she stands for:
    --Small town values -- a denial of America's global role, a return
to petty, small-minded parochialism.
    --Ignorance of world affairs -- a repudiation of the need to repair
America's image abroad.
    --Family values -- a code for walling out anybody who makes a claim
for social justice. Such strangers, being outside the family, don't
need to be heeded.
    --Rigid stands on guns and abortion -- a scornful repudiation that
these issues can be negotiated with those who disagree.
    --Patriotism -- the usual fallback in a failed war.
    --'Reform' -- an italicized term, since in addition to cleaning out
corruption and excessive spending, one also throws out anyone who
doesn't fit your ideology.
    Palin reinforces the overall message of the reactionary right, which
has been in play since 1980, that social justice is liberal-radical,
that minorities and immigrants, being different from 'us' pure
American types, can be ignored, that progressivism takes too much
effort and globalism is a foreign threat. The radical right marches
under the banners of 'I'm all right, Jack,' and 'Why change?
Everything's OK as it is.' The irony, of course, is that Gov. Palin is
a woman and a reactionary at the same time. She can add mom to apple
pie on her resume, while blithely reversing forty years of feminist
progress. The irony is superficial; there are millions of women who
stand on the side of conservatism, however obviously they are voting
against their own good. The Republicans have won multiple national
elections by raising shadow issues based on fear, rejection, hostility
to change, and narrow-mindedness.
    Obama's call for higher ideals in politics can't be seen in a
vacuum. The shadow is real; it was bound to respond. Not just
conservatives possess a shadow -- we all do. So what comes next is a
contest between the two forces of progress and inertia. Will the
shadow win again, or has its furtive appeal become exhausted? No one
can predict. The best thing about Gov. Palin is that she brought this
conflict to light, which makes the upcoming debate honest. It would be
a shame to elect another Reagan, whose smiling persona was a stalking
horse for the reactionary forces that have brought us to the
demoralized state we are in. We deserve to see what we are getting,
without disguise.

From: Deepak Chopra | Posted: Friday, September 5th, 2008

"She is... exhorting people to obey their worst impulses."

Is she exhorting people to obey their worst impulses?  Is it all about

"idealism,aspirations, virtue, and vision "

without the

 "anger, fear, revenge, violence,
selfishness, and suspicion of 'the other."

Or does fear and suspicion have a healthy purpose in a first tier world?

For example, you can rid yourself from fear and suspicion of the street gang following you down the street, but when they mug you, you might have wished you followed that impulse of suspicion instead of some idealsitic notion.  Telling the muggers that their violence is due to their "dualistic mind" I don't think will help you much either. 

Is it wise to have the higher impulses without the lower or the lower without the higher? I think each has a place and purpose.

Palin seems to have Amber Values. 

Amber clashes with Green, Green clashes with Amber.  Is this really a shadow issue? Possibly Chopra's own disowned Amber?  I don't know, to tell you the truth.

 

"So what comes next is a contest between the two forces of progress and inertia."

This seems to be true. Obama-Biden is a higher level.  But is higher neccessarily better(in choosing between first-tier candidates)?  It seems to me that the difference between first- tier and integral is that first-tier(whatever level) will vote it' s altitude. Amber for Amber, Orange for Orange, Green for Green.  In absence of an Integral candidate, Integral will try to determine which of the first tier candidates will best address the problems we are facing.  A type of Spiral management.

 

 Anyway,  this article comes off as a bit of a witch hunt.  Evil Palin!

 

Dear Depak:  Great thanks for sharing your wisdom and insights here.  I have a Jungian background and have done a lot of work on the shadow so I was feeling right at home with your  Post.  Here we are now two days after the election and I am wondering how your thinking and feeling now that we/she/they are all in another place.   All day this has been on my mind and watching her closely in the beginning and then checking back often and watching her, wanting to name this phenomana sp.

It seems so big and being a woman, and after hearing what Gloria  Stienam had to say on Oprah today,  I was thinking there has got to be a book on this thing.  Gloria was into the thing about Sarah being used and I think that is a huge part of this also.

We now have the buying spree that one insider said was more than they thought since they haven't gotten the bills.  They are getting nastier about anything and she truly looked defeated (in more ways than one) and very vulnerable as they waited for a plane, I think and some man was rubbing her back as his wife or lady friend sat and consoled Sarah.  As ususal, she was carrying on with the same spin or blah blah blah that she uses for everything and at the same time looking to me like the mask of inauthenticity was just going to blow any minute.  As a Psychotherapist,  I wanted to be there for her, and tell the guy to get his hands off her.  She seemed to be trying to find comfort anywhere she could.  It wasn't her father but could have been her husbands father or an uncle. I just know I suddenly felt protective.  And I did love her children and watching the family .She was a trooper in so many ways but the influence from some of the "spiritual" stuff has molded her.  Still her search sounded authentic. She is too smart to not get sick of her own message and crave something Better,  unless she gets overwhelmed with taking on too much or not setting priorities..   I had five children and now have ten grandchildren and of course since I have struggled to grow with the same thing she is going through (on a much smaller scale but with the same hell that goes along with growing up through falling apart.  I think there was a book by that name.}    I am not going to be able to get down everything with this first Post but wanted to touch base and hopefully keep this going as I want to learn as much as I can and offer what I find valuable to share.

With this election, there have been so many opportunities like this just popping up with transparancy everywhere.  I have never been so annoyed with the Lies that are told and are called by everyother name.  "They" seem to say anything and John McCain would not call a halt to the person yelling,  "Kill Him" but completely looked and seemed to have a split personality when telling the old woman that Barrack was a decent man.  He seemed a little crazed at times and since I have never observed him that much, seeing many of his actions seemed so "erratic" and "lurching".  I preferred the word lurching as it had the right feel to it.  He was lurching all over the place at times and then got up and gave this perfect acceptance speech.

This old way of doing politics from way back in the beginning and revived by Atwater and Rove and company and  put out there  (lies) as if it all belongs, just throws me for a loop.  I have a son that has completely bought into this "disease" and has been since Bill Buckly.   I keep telling him this is not Bill Buckly, as he  already knows.   It has been balanced by Kieth Oberman, but Chris Matthews is a double agent for himself to try and pick the next Pres.   And John McCaine is a double agent for himself and it is just the biggest show in the land . I see a book or movie by a combo like Spike Lee and KW and Gloria and  a mom like me  and Depak Chopra put together for the good of the collective. The doors have been opened wide and my feeling is that it is not just the this Great Collective Shift that is so thrilling for so many and so healing for us all that has brought it all together.   I think that people have lots of questions about so many things.   I watched an interview with Spike Lee that was also so very transparent with stupid statements and questions that he handled so perfectly because he is a genius and also someone who has had to learn all the psychology on the streets.  It was a great scene to watch.     Thanks again.   I want to bring up so much.   I hope to hear from you.  I am sure others do also.   I am in the middle of therapy and a second operation so I havent't written for awhile and I will be a bit sporadic.   Of course I have so enjoyed your books and contributions to what we are all hungry for. I have been reading Keagen's book, "In Over Our Heads" and it has helped me understand how slowly this all has to move from one perspective and given me hope to keep on trying, keep on paying attention and I do find that we can spread the Good News in very small ways and someday I hope to record that for those of us who are with everyday people doing everyday things.    And all of a sudden in the middle of all the plodding, here comes this Holy Shift that we are all being touched with.  And I love to see Barrack with his girls almost skipping down the stairs like a big kid.  And his sister seems so healthy compared- a sweet beautiful girl.  And Barrack is very curious and brilliant so I think he will read and explore.  And his wife seems a good balance.  And he dances and plays basketball and klutzed up the bowling he did.   I feel he will have a lot for us and maybe we can help hold him up with our goodwill along with his own for a few years.   Black and White and from all over the world. And his name.  And it Happened.  It must have been meant to be.   Thanks Again.   Warmly,  Pattye Gilligan

PS If someone would tell me what is going on.   Are we keeping the Multiplex and the new site.   I really do not have the energy yet to go exploring.  Thanks for any help PTG          PS  I am not correcting this!  Sorry.  Tired

Well here's a perspective from a BIG TIME BOOMER in the BIBLE BELT! We don't know nuthin' 'bout all that shadow stuff, but we know good ol' reggler folks when we see 'em...and Sarah is regglar folks! That Obama feller is the shadow- heck, we're pretty shore 'round here he's the ANTI-CHRIST! My 15 year old daughter was lucky enough to have recieved a timely word from the REAL GOD, via text message, put out by the one of the local youth groups with some very helpful information from revalations concerning BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA'S true indentity on election eve!PRAISE the LORD, we almost voted for that guy!He can spin a yarn, smooth talker'll get ever-time! That's why we like ol' Sarah and OUR HERO JOHN McCAIN...and even though they lost this time, don't y'all worry- we here in Dixie are organizin' faster'n ants on a sugar spill, and trust me, integral better get integrated cause our amber-red behinds are not wastin' no time musin' on whether MRS. PALIN blocks out the sun or not...we'll be shadowin' that Tall feller and his yankee friend.( I have honestly heard and been a party to a "conversation" that is transcribed here almost verbatim...I was 11 in '68 when I felt the world slide wrong...I felt the other night, during Mr. Obama's acceptance speech, a bit of "balance" returning...however, let me say, shadows have no substance...be aware, Sarah Palin does...I believe we must examine closely lest our compassion for her, or our disgust, become the pity of our own musing and unwarrented tolerance.

                                                                           BE WELL Y'all!

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I'm gonna quit chasing my dreams.I'm just gonna ask them where they're goin' and hook up with 'em later.
Mitch Hedberg