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Light and Shadow Across the Nation
September 12, 2008
Photo illustration by Susan J. Preston – See note bottom of this post.
My friend, Angela, forwarded this article explaining the psychology behind the so-called Palin Effect. It's an interesting read and may help those of us who have been scratching our heads since McCain's announcement.
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 pluck 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.
Note: Like the Book of Revelations, this photo illustration is meant to be interpreted symbolically.
Posted by susan at September 12, 2008 03:00 PM
Comments
Thank you for sharing this! The shadow archetype is one of my favorites to explore, and I am thrilled to see someone of Chopra's status applying it to Palin. It really helps me understand why so many otherwise bright people in our country seem enthralled with this person -- it was kind of depressing to think there were that many really dumb, ignorant folks. Fear, deep psychological fear, makes more sense.
Posted by: Stace at September 12, 2008 05:18 PM
Wow Susan. Thanks so much for sharing this. I agree with Stace in that in some ways, it is at least more understandable to think that people are operating from a place of fear. I was beginning to feel like we were in an alternative universe.
Posted by: jayne at September 12, 2008 07:38 PM
The explanation doesn't fix the problem: the American voters are a tad stupid. Well, more than a tad. Mostly, they are wrong.
Jonathon Haidt has a lot to say about Republican vs Democratic morality, and though very well written is, well, a bit wrong, and gives the Republicans a way too much slack Actually, David Brooks (surprise) has a very good take on the problem: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/12/opinion/12brooks.html?hp
Net: Republicans favor a storied view of people rather than what the last 30 years of research has shown us. It's nice to know the underlying stuff, but not essential, so long as one isn't actively acting against the grain.
The GOP people might not be at the back of the train like the muslim fundamentalists, but they really are riding toward the back, certainly behind other modern nationals.
Posted by: gerald berke at September 12, 2008 11:09 PM
Or, it could actually be that she is more qualified, and has more actual leadership skills than the erst-while Saviour Obama. Get off it--everyone who makes any reference likening him to the bible or to godliness is following the pack (of mostly non-thinking groupies).
Posted by: Aim at September 14, 2008 04:54 PM
Err... where did anyone say Obama was a biblical savior on my blog? I believe without a single doubt than no one leader can save this nation. The American people will collectively need to wake up, take responsibility for our actions, start holding our leaders and corporate America responsible for their lies and deceit, hold OURSELVES responsible for our over-consumerism at the expense of the environment and our fellow inhabitants on this planet. We the People tolerate all this shit, which is why we're knee deep in it.
Susan
Posted by: susan at September 14, 2008 05:11 PM
Interesting article, Susan, and as always Chopra writes with intelligence and wisdom. Many Republicans are very afraid of an Obama presidency and have embraced Palin as "wonderful." They are pretty shocked when I point out her short comings. I'll send you articles from today's NY Times............. or you can get them online.
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