"Indeed," confirmed Dr. Lubetkin. "That's why the reactions, not only of his supporters but even those who oppose him have become relatively mild--sometimes humorous--if not muted."
Is that why they say things like "there he goes again,' or 'that's just Donald, and "he's always been that way"? I asked.
"Precisely," said Lubetkin; and he pointed out that in mocking Trump's behaviors but tacitly accepting them by not taking decisive action, many of us have unknowing succumbed to the power of desensitization.
I believe that during the 2016 presidential race, the Democrats made a mistake endorsing Michelle Obama's mantra "When they go low, we go high." So I asked Dr. Lubetkin if he thought that maintaining the high road and avoiding confrontation empowered Trump's use of desensitization.
"Undoubtedly," responded Lubetkin. "They did not foresee that he would be going lower and lower."
"How does desensitization work in this case when Trump's outrageous behaviors are so transparent?" I asked
"People become habituated," Dr. Lubetkin pointed out. "When they hear over and over and over 'lock her up, fake news, no collusion,' they become exhausted and eventually indifferent to other perspectives. They become much more receptive to the false concepts of reality with which he floods us."
If desensitization is habituating us to Trump's destructive behaviors and thus normalizing them, how can we disrupt the process? Isn't responding complicated by the fact that many Republicans object to the president's deplorable behavior but are loyal to the party and dependent on its financial supporters? Does cognitive behavior therapy have an answer?
Lubetkin did not have a ready response to this thorny question. He hesitated, then said, "There is no simple cookbook formula because there are many factors involved other than the isolated behavior of, let's say, lying. But if you object to persistent lying and realize that by desensitization you are being brainwashed, you have to first consciously acknowledge that you are being manipulated and controlled. Then you must act to disrupt it, not just passively dismiss the behaviors or verbally object to them. You have to become an activist. Passivity is submission to mind control."
Will the public take this advice? Or will desensitization continue to manipulate our minds, turning us into Pavlov's dogs?
Dr. Lubetkin's powerful observation that "passivity is submission to mind control" offers a clue. One can only hope that the activism of the Women's March, the Me Too movement, and the Never Again student-led campaign for gun control will awaken us from the mind control of desensitization.
On a final note, given the president's battle with Robert Mueller's investigation of foreign interference in our elections and his praise of Vladimir Putin, isn't it ironic that the psychological technique of desensitization that Donald Trump has applied so effectively in shaping the minds of Americans has its roots in Ivan Pavlov's laboratory in Russia?
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