Political Psychology

POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY:

THE PATHOLOGY OF POLITICAL LIFE

Politics is crazy.

It's difficult for us to think of politics in psychological terms; that societies can be insane to varying degrees and will make irrational decisions. Yet, we've seen madness infect societies many times. But psychological diagnoses only seem to be words used as convenient markers for social problems that we don't or won't understand.

Have you ever considered that your political beliefs may not be rational and haven't been made by conscious choice? Your emotional makeup, learned and conditioned in early childhood, makes the choices for you. Most child raising isn't abuse free and unconditionally supportive. If you had traumas, abuse and/or other unresolved emotional experiences, as most of us do, these become repressed emotions because they are painful and create your dysfunctional emotional makeup. And if you had no therapy or other situations to resolve and reconcile these hurts, then you are programmed to repeat, respond and react unconsciously to every new situation that might bear even a slight resemblance to the original experience. In other words, you are a robot. Push the right button and you react. You are not free.

Most beliefs are formed and selected by emotional makeup. If your emotional makeup is functional and non-traumatic, you are free and have the ability to consciously choose your views by a rational process, but if it is dysfunctional, as it is to some degree in the majority of humanity, you cannot make fully rational decisions. Certain beliefs fulfill one's emotional makeup, whither conservative or liberal. The fanatic Nazi, revolutionary and fundamentalist are severely dysfunctionally emotionally driven. They may kill to defend their unfounded beliefs. This is not sane.

The human mind is capable of compartmentalizing itself so that even conflicting beliefs can coexist and that facts to the contrary won't have any effect. Argument and presentation of new data doesn't work to change this condition. It's a psychological blindness.

Political ideologies aren't sane because they are too narrow to take into account all the possible variables of humanity and the human spirit. Yet we often want to cling to a particular ideology because it offers comfort and a concise way of understanding and acting in the world. We want to think that it will solve all problems if only it could be implemented. It's not possible.

Much of our beliefs about the world are prejudicial. Prejudice isn't sane. It's irrational beliefs created by dysfunctional emotional programming. If you were raised by prejudiced parents you likely will inherit their prejudices. The common prejudices of your community also seem natural and right to you. Questioning it brings up emotional resistance.

Most people are afraid of freedom. While they may profess a belief in freedom, they prefer to live in a power hierarchy that directs them how to live because that feels safer, predictable. They want to live under a parental government/society wherein they don't have to be fully responsible for the self.

Savvy politicians and religious leaders, who may not intellectually know this process, instinctively know how to use emotional attachment to beliefs to manipulate the electorate. It's the carrot and the stick – fear and promise of reward. Most politicians are very emotionally dysfunctional.

We choose politicians on many factors, unfortunately not often on the merit and qualifications for the job: Personality, personal connections, status, beliefs - all emotional considerations. Politics reflects the emotional dysfunctionality and insanity of society. You're more likely to vote for the politician whose personality you like than the one whose issues might solve social problems.

Many laws aren't rational: Prohibition of drugs and the drug war, control of racial and sexual minorities, all victimless crimes - and have disastrous consequences for individuals and society. These are difficult to change because of emotionally attached belief.

The current social insanity since 9/11 demonstrates our irrational fears. Psychohistorians call it a "trance state" because we can't see reality. In this state we have become an undemocratic people, fearful, manipulated, allowed draconian laws to be passed that limit our freedoms, laws that don't appear to work, but allow those in power to gain more power. That's what this situation is really about - political control of the whole world. Control by the insane.

Currently, the political response is driven by fear and anger. It is palpable throughout the land. People want a strong defense, a tightening of the social structure and behavioral norms (law and order), a strong economy, protectionism. That is the conservative response, leading to fascism. Rhetoric, disinformation and propaganda are all used to create and inflame emotional issues by using emotionally loaded buzzwords to trigger robotic behavior. The images may be innocuous, but the emotional response to them is without thought to discern what use these images have in the hands of a skillful orator. Political campaigns are run on buzzwords to manipulate issues. Where amid the current political ideas and rhetoric are high ideals and rational thought being held up for humankind? Where is a long-range vision for our future? I don't see it.

All authoritarian societies are collectively emotionally dysfunctional, otherwise, they couldn't exist. The people acquiesce to social control from a centralized authority. The leaders are the most dysfunctional: insecure, paranoid, megalomaniacal. Even the rebels and revolutionaries who oppose the regime suffer from the same dysfunctional emotions. That's why democratic societies and the freedom of individual rights rarely result from coups and revolutions. The people aren't free in hearts and minds. This is the prime reason that democracy can't be imposed on a society having no previous democratic ideals.

Political freedom directly results from emotional and psychological freedom. How do we achieve this? It can begin individually, each one of us purging ourselves of dysfunctional emotional programming, and when there are enough of us it will make a difference. The mass of society's members will resist even the idea that they are somewhat insane and won't attempt to change. But can a mass social therapeutics be devised? And how might we ethically use it?