I know from my work as a psychotherapist that generally we are tempted to recycle (and even indulge in) the unresolved issues or negativity from our past. Then we cover up our participation in making ourselves unhappy by blaming others, thereby convincing ourselves we're the innocent victims of the malice or ignorance of others.
We have got to see ourselves more objectively in order to manifest our goodness, value, and power. Although it doesn't get much traction these days, classical psychoanalysis did uncover one hidden aspect of our psyche, known as "inner passivity." This deep negativity in us is both the enabler and the victim of our inner critic (superego). This passive part occupies inner territory that we haven't personally explored and claimed in the name of our own self.
People are compelled to experience their unresolved inner passivity, even though it is self-defeating. This accounts for why liberals would be determined unconsciously to continue feeling oppressed by right-wingers. Inner passivity is a key to understanding many variations of dysfunction and self-defeat. Addictive personalities, for instance, are unconsciously willing to recycle feelings of helplessness and submission that go back to childhood. As adults, they find in substance abuse a new battlefield on which to experience inner passivity. Lacking the power of self-regulation, they succumb to the demands of their craving. Their inner passivity makes them easy targets for a vicious superego, producing self-loathing and self-hatred.
I fear that Barack Obama has a streak of inner passivity and doesn't know it. His addiction to cigarettes is one piece of evidence for this. His insistent quest for compromise and bipartisanship could be a consequence and a cover-up of his passivity. It means he's ultimately intimidated by the GOP's primitive tactic of using vehement irrationality to feel and express power. All the while, though, Obama's passivity provokes the GOP to do its worst.
My view is that we can't count on anyone but ourselves. More than ever, "evolve or die" is the twitter of our times.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
3
2
2
