Tag Archives: Rupert Wilkinson

Blog, Media + Politics, Psychology

The Republicans’ Masterful and Insidious Prey on America’s Founding Fears and Stories: Part III

Originally published on The Huffington Post, April 25, 2012

In two recent op-eds in The Huffington Post, “The Republicans’ Masterful and Insidious Prey on America’s Founding Fears,” and “The Republicans’ Masterful and Insidious Prey on America’s Founding Fears, Part II,” I talked about two masterful analysts of America’s founding myths and stories, Rupert Wilkinson and Robert Reich.

Wilkerson identified four fears have not only been present from the very founding of the Republic, but they are so basic that they are virtually synonymous with it: 1) The Fear of Being Owned; 2) The Fear of Falling Away; 3) The Fear of Winding Down; and 4) The Fear of Falling Apart.

In turn, Reich described four primary myths or stories that historically have not only defined American character, but have from the very beginning of our existence as nation shaped our major attitudes and policies towards key issues and problems: 1) The Rot at the Top; 2) The Barbarians at the Gate; 3) The Triumphant Individual; and, 4) The Benevolent Society.

Briefly, The Rot at the Top is all the European despots, evil kings, and tyrants from whom we initially fled. Given that Freudian Oedipal fears are always just beneath the surface as a natural phase of human development, they are especially painful, easily triggered, and manipulated when they have a strong basis in historical fact.

The Rot at the Top corresponds directly to Wilkerson’s Fear of Being Owned. It helps to explain why the outrage towards President Obama and “Obamacare” is so nasty and intense. As the head of government, a black president especially stokes fear, fury, and hatred of unimaginable force.

As helpful as Wilkerson and Reich are in understanding the largely unconscious forces that not only drive all Americans, but are especially powerful in motivating today’s Republicans and conservatives, I want to go even deeper. In a recent book, Why Some Politicians Are More Dangerous Than Others, NYU psychiatrist James Gilligan makes the case that lethal violence, whether in the form of homicide or suicide, has increased significantly under Republican presidents and declined just as significantly under Democratic presidents. Indeed, lethal violence typically reaches epidemic levels under Republican presidents. Even under Democrats, it is still significantly higher than other developed nations.

The link is as follows: While Republicans perpetually talk about getting tough on crime, they actually need it to get and stay in power. Pitting the lower middle class and poor against the really poor, who are simultaneously seen as responsible for and the victims of crime, is a great way of diverting attention away from the fact that under Republicans, unemployment, income and social inequality, all of which lead to crime, actually increase considerably under Republican presidents. This is precisely why Gilligan sees some politicians, mainly Republicans — there are enough Democrats — as more dangerous than others.

More importantly, as a psychiatrist, Gilligan digs deeper for the underlying unconscious elements of human behavior. Republicans, and the Red State constituents they represent, are governed largely by a shame-based morality or ethic. Democrats, and their Blue State constituents, are governed largely by a guilt-based morality.

Under shame, I am bad. Under guilt, we or I did something bad, but we are not necessarily bad per se. Those who have suffered shame, say by being fired or chronically unemployed, are more likely to feel they are bad, and as a result, to strike back with intense acts of violence against others (homicide) or oneself (suicide).

In contrast, under guilt, one is motivated to help those who through no fault of their own have suffered, e.g., racial discrimination, unemployment, etc.

I cannot stress enough that it is absolutely vital to understand that these forces are largely unconscious. They are also not necessarily independent for one can be under the grip of both of them simultaneously.

Understanding such forces is crucial in attacking issues such as gun control, which are completely out of control. Even though the vast majority of both NRA and non-NRA gun owners are for tighter gun control laws, fear and shame are still the primary factors driving gun ownership to record highs. But neither fear nor shame can be approached directly, for one is generally too ashamed to admit one is ashamed! They have to be approached indirectly. For example, one needs to get uber-macho spokespersons to say in the most nonthreatening and blameless terms that it is OK to have as few guns as possible in one’s home: “It’s the manly thing to cut back.”

My point is not that we will solve all of our thorny problems through a better understanding of unconscious forces alone. That is absurd. But, we will not solve them through all of the appeals to so-called rational policies and thinking alone!

Unfortunately, conservatives understand this far better than liberals. If they are so smart, why do liberals have such trouble in understanding the power of emotions and good stories to shape politics and people’s behavior? Because sadly, as a general rule, liberals don’t understand that we don’t learn with our conscious minds alone. I don’t believe that we even learn primarily through consciousness!

Originally published on The Huffington Post, April 25, 2012

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The Republicans’ Masterful and Insidious Prey on America’s Founding Fears and Stories: Part II

Originally published on The Huffington Post, April 9, 2012

In a recent op-ed, “The Republicans’ Masterful and Insidious Prey on America’s Founding Fears,” I talked about the fact that in 1988, Rupert Wilkinson published a remarkable little book. Wilkinson identified four fears that not only have been present from the very founding of the Republic, but are so basic that they are virtually synonymous with it: 1. The Fear of Being Owned; 2. The Fear of Falling Away; 3. The Fear of Winding Down; and 4. The Fear of Falling Apart.

Very few people know that just a year earlier in 1987, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich also published a book that dealt in a different but complimentary way with the same themes. In fact, I regard it as one of his best books.

Reich described four primary myths or stories that historically have not only defined American character, but have from the very beginning of our existence as a nation shaped our major attitudes and policies towards key issues and problems.

Taken together, Reich and Wilkerson give a deep understanding of the largely unconscious forces that not only drive all Americans, but are especially powerful in motivating today’s Republicans and conservatives. Like all cultures, our unique history has “set us up” in how we approach critical issues no matter what the time period in our history or the particular problems we are facing. As Nietzsche famously said, “History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.”

Reich’s four stories are: 1. The Rot at the Top; 2. The Barbarians at the Gate; 3. The Triumphant Individual; and, 4., The Benevolent Society.

The Rot at the Top is all the European despots, evil Kings, and tyrants from whom we initially fled. Given that Freudian Oedipal fears are always present as a natural phase of human development, they are especially painful when they have a strong basis in historical fact and are thus easily magnified.

The Rot at the Top corresponds directly to Wilkerson’s Fear of Being Owned. Once again, it helps to explain why the outrage towards President Obama and “Obamacare” is so nasty and intense. As the head of government, a black president especially stokes fear, fury, and hatred of unimaginable force.

Of course, for liberals, the Rot is Big Business; for conservatives, it is The Government. Neither one has a monopoly when it come to basic fears.

The Barbarians at the Gate are all those “just on the outside” and forever plotting to “get in and steal all our hard earned and deserved riches.” No wonder why illegal immigrants are so feared and hated. They are just the latest representatives of the evil horde. But so are women to conservatives. This also helps to explain why all the evidence to the contrary will never be enough to dispel claims that Obama is a Muslim who was not born in the U.S. In short, “he’s not one of us!”

The Triumphant Individual is the classic, lone American Hero who all by himself — traditionally the American Hero is male — is sufficient to defeat all of America’s enemies. He is the strong, silent type who doesn’t need anyone. Of course this all too conveniently ignores the fact that it took groups of people together to cross the plains and settle the country. Individuals by themselves were much more likely to perish.

But more than this, The Triumphant Individual is the raw creative energy of America itself. As such, The Triumphant Individual is closely allied with Wilkerson’s fears of Winding Down and Falling Away from the original dream of America.

Finally, The Benevolent Society is America herself, the shining beacon of hope to all of humankind. It is an America that can do no wrong because it is the font of all that is right. This too is closely allied with Wilkerson’s fears of Winding Down and Falling Away from the original dream of America.

The point is that at a very fundamental level, there is a great consistency between different views that help to explain why we are the way we are. But they do more than this.

The thing that liberals need to understand — and I’m not sure that they really can because of the powerful Grip of The Enlightenment with its intense distrust of emotion has on their thinking — is that because Wilkerson’s fears and Reich’s basic stories resonate so strongly with conservatives, they are much more able to use them to their immense advantage. Until liberals are able to help forge new stories that define the America of the future, they will always be at a severe disadvantage in winning the hearts and souls of Americans.

Still, Republicans and conservatives may very well own America’s old stories, but as recent events demonstrate all too well, it’s not enough to guarantee that they won’t screw up and lose today’s hearts and minds. For instance, because of their gross insensitivity, they show no end to their ability to offend women and other key stakeholders.

Nonetheless, liberals shouldn’t take this for granted. We need to take the lead in telling better stories about ourselves.

Originally published on The Huffington Post, April 9, 2012

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Blog, Media + Politics

The Republicans’ Masterful and Insidious Prey on America’s Founding Fears

Originally published on The Huffington Post, April 5, 2012

In 1988, Rupert Wilkinson, who has taught at leading universities in America and the U.K., published a remarkable little book, The Pursuit of American Character. It is nothing short of brilliant. I only wish that more people everywhere were aware of it. If they were, they might really understand America.

The Pursuit of American Character is the single best succinct explanation of the underlying forces that drive American political behavior of which I know. The speeches and general campaigns of the current crop of Republican candidates read as if they were taken, word for word, straight out of Wilkinson.

Wilkinson identified four fears that have not only been present from the very founding of the Republic, but are so basic that they are synonymous with it:

1. The Fear of Being Owned
2. The Fear of Falling Away
3. The Fear of Winding Down
4. The Fear of Falling Apart

The Fear of Being Owned is the earliest and most basic of the four. It embodies all of the primal fears that drove our forefathers to undertake the perilous journey from the Old to the New World. The journey was not merely one of physical geography, but more fundamentally, it was a mental and spiritual journey. It was an heroic escape from the centuries old tyranny of “evil European Kings and despots” that literally did own us. No wonder why it is rooted so deeply in the American character.

The Fear of Being Owned helps to explain why the attack on “Obamacare” is so prolonged and vicious. Even though we are The Government, The Government is identified so strongly with the forces of oppression and tyranny that all the rational arguments in the world are almost powerless to overcome the perception that The Government is The Enemy even though in reality the big insurance companies are the real enemy. Like all of them, the fears are largely unconscious and thereby not open to direct examination by logical arguments alone. The only way to counter them is by getting at the deep emotions that undergird them.

The Fear of Falling Away is the fear of losing the original holy vision of a “City on a Hill” that the Founding Fathers gave us. It is the vision of an America that can do no wrong because She is the font of all that is good and right with the world.

Even though America was supposed to have no established Church or state religion, The Fear of Falling Away is not just “a vision.” It is America’s true religion. The very idea of America is a religion in which all can participate.

No wonder why the Republicans fear that in looking to the future, President Obama wants to take us away from America’s glorious past. In drawing a sharp contrast between himself and the president, doesn’t Governor Romney stress repeatedly that he wants to take us back to the values that made us great, whereas the president doesn’t?

The Fear of Winding Down is the fear that we will lose the unbridled and unbounded energy and optimism that made America great. This fear is also so basic that it’s wrapped up with all kinds of ideologies, e.g., capitalism. Thus, if President Obama would only relax the constraints on American business, then we “could get this high-energy economy going once again.” But then goes the criticism, “This President doesn’t understand business.” Worse, he’s incapable of understanding it.

The Fear of Falling Apart is the fear that we are tearing ourselves apart because of all our internal conflict, e.g., young versus old, black versus white, etc. Therefore, in contrast to the “weak leadership of the current President, we need a strong leader who understands what America is really all about.”

To dismiss these fears as completely childish and irrational, as intellectuals and liberals are prone to do, is a not only fundamental, but a grievous mistake. They may indeed be “childish and irrational,” but they are “real” to many Americans. The only really effective way to deal with them is to co-opt them as only a political genius like Bill Clinton could.

In the end of course, we desperately need new and better stories of who and what we can be. The old fears are seriously out of touch with a world that is interconnected and complex as never before.

Anyone who thinks that the world basically doesn’t run by stories needs to have their head seriously examined. But that, too, is another story!

Originally published on The Huffington Post, April 5, 2012

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