CARL JUNG : RIGHT VS. LEFT
The culture in America today can be related to the findings of the early Psychologists and developers of what we now call Psychology. Sigmund Freud started things out back in the late 19th century when he declared that all personality was partially a sexual dysfunction. While this was totally denied by his peers at the time, and still lies in a shadow of doubt, it can be seen in our culture today; in the oppressive nature of men to rule. Wars, war games, destruction, xenophobia, masochism, hate crimes, and racism are customary in proving that my dick is bigger than your dick. Domination over others appears to be the main concept in social communities. Since societies today employ the hierarchical design, there must always be an alpha-dog running the show (but the size of his dick is not measured in inches but measured by his/her power.)
To this end, modern societies have organized with leaders and followers. Those who do not support the cause are considered dissidents and must be done away with, since they interfere with the leadership's desire for power and wealth. We see this attitude playing out in almost every nation on the planet; the ultimate-rich demand obedience from their followers and prefer to eliminate the dissidents for their opposing views.
So, maybe Freud was correct, all life is sexual. ..... OK, I hear you calling me wrong about this, but in the term "sexual"; I am incorporating the concepts of oppression and domination over others.
In an effort not to be considered against one political party in favor of another, I'll reframe from using all the colorful political terms, and just divide the country into two distinct groups, the Right & the Left. Of course, this does a disservice to those who fancy themselves as Independent, but in reality they "lean" either Right or Left.
The Right is certainly a hierarchical structure, while the Left prefers a more lateral structure of divided-shared leadership. This, I suggest is the reason why the Left has no dominate leader to champion their cause. While the Right is organized with structure about what it wants, who will be in charge and how to make things happen, the Left is still assembling ideas, mostly about how to stop the Right from getting what it wants. So we see, time after time, Leftists bringing knives to a gunfight.
Carl Jung split from Freud early on his career, primarily about this "sex" thing and began his own investigation into personality development. What the two agreed on, was that the personality develops in the initial first years of a new child's life. The years when a child has not yet developed any sense of reason or logic, but rather thrives on imitation. By the age of 5, Freud, Jung, Adler, Fromm, Horney, Sullivan and others in the field agreed that a person's personality was established before the age of reason. This basic personality would be hidden in a child's subconscious, where, even after growing up, it would not be accessible for changes, but would be present through out the adult person's life as an attitude; a lens through which they view the world, people, society and community.
In Jung's long lifetime, he was able to classify people into eight different personality types which later expanded into 16 categories by combining the original eight. Later his research was expanded through the efforts of Meyers & Briggs, as the MBTI; the Meyers-Brigs Type Inventory. To thoroughly (well, not always) understand people, the MBTI defines people in the way in which they use their energies, the way they receive information, the way they make decisions, and the way in which they live out their lives. So why is this important in politics ? In the text below, I hope to demonstrate it's importance.
Using four letters to describe just about anyone, the MBTI demonstrates a polar definition of personalities. In combination, the four classes become 16 different types of people. I'm not into polar thinking myself, but choose to use this as a narrative on the differences between the Right and the Left. Employ a bit of critical-thinking and you be the judge and decide if these issues are in fact true.
The first letter is either an "I" or an "E" which represents the way people use their energy; it is termed Expression. In the "I" camp we find people who give considerable thought to what's happening and how they have acted. "I" stands for Introvert, and Introverts tend to stay in the shadows, never wishing to be put in the spotlight. They question their actions, beliefs and values, over and over, never wanting to be found wrong. Introverts take to writing journals and books so as to express themselves without immediate reaction from those who disagree. The Extrovert (E), however is using their energy expressing themselves, right or wrong; it doesn't matter. Extroverts make up over 75% of Americans, and in our culture, Extroverts are rewarded with higher paying jobs, higher social and political positions. Extroverts look forward to the next challenge with little consideration of the results of past indiscretions. Perhaps this is why we enter one war after another.
In a classic story presented by Dr. C. George Boeree, a renowned personality theorists, Boeree tells the story: An Introvert and an Extrovert walk into a bar one night, and proceed to get highly drunk. They both decide to take off all their clothing and began dancing naked on the tables with the cheering crowd egging them on. The next morning, the Introvert is found hiding in his apartment going over the events of last night. He understands how wrong it was to get naked and dance on the tables. He is engulfed in shame and guilt, never wanting to show his face in public again. The Extrovert, however, asks where the heck are his clothes, and looks forward to the next time when he can do it again, maybe better.
In MBTI terminology, the Extrovert projects himself without shame or guilt and is looking for the next time he can do it again. While the Introvert (Left) hopes it never happens again. Apply these philosophies to the Left, who wishes to avoid war at all cost, the loss of lives, destruction and devastation, and to the Extrovert (Right) looking forward the next war where fortunes can be made.
The second letter of the MBTI represents how people take in information (input). The Sensate (S) takes in his information through what he sees, reads, hears and can touch and feel. He is one who believes in facts and figures with which he decides what is correct as opposed to what is mis-information, propaganda, a sales pitch or spun to influence people. The Sensate uses his mind and applies reason and logic to what is presented to him, he sniffs out the lies and discards them. The (N) iNtuitive operates from a different part of his body, he uses his gut; what feels right, and he avoids facts and figures which are contrary. President Bush-43 (Right) is a great example of a gut-player. While he dismissed intelligence information about Iraq, he proceeded to act according to his gut (hate for Saddam) in driving the country into an aggressive war. President Obama (Left) is more akin to the (S) Sensate avenue of collecting intelligence, digesting it, applying reason and logic and avoids making gut reactions.
The third MBTI category represents the way in which people make decisions (processing). The two alternatives here are Thinking (T) and Feeling (F). The Thinking individual spends his time on looking at the possible result of decisions before he makes them. Usually, the Thinking individual is concerned more about what is good for the economy, war, industry, big business, and himself. Through reason and logic he bases his decisions on what may be best for the continued growth of country and his supporters. The Feeling individual places his focus upon what may be best for other individuals, their living conditions, their families, their children, their health and well-being. I believe it is within these two choices that we can clearly see the differences between the Right and the Left. While one (R) focuses on growing corporate interests, privatizing government functions, enriching the wealthy, and providing a government helping hand in Free-Trade .... the other (L) focuses on people and their needs, such as education, healthcare, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, public services, security and the welfare of all people.
The fourth category describes the output of decisions. For some, once a decision is made it is permanent, without second guessing or reconsideration. These are the Authoritarians who insist on others supporting their decisions, right or wrong, (R)Bush-43 was a grand example; even when found to have made decisions, latter proven as wrong, he rewarded those who supported him and discarded many who knew better. These folks are known as "Judgmental" in the MBTI. Not because they pass judgment, but because they take on the robes of being the decider, the judge. (L) Obama is a different kind of decision maker and outputs his directions as (P) Perceiving. While the Judgmental make decisions and stick to them, the Perceiving is always looking for new information and changes decisions accordingly. Some view this as a lack of leadership, while others appreciate the consideration before decisions are made.
It becomes very difficult for the political Right to understand the actions of the Left. So with a closed-mindset, the Right tend to destroy what they cannot control and don't understand. We see this in the "Ternary of NO" being displayed in Congress. And we see it in the general public's mind-set as they believe that Obama is not leading the country as they would have liked and voted for.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
