I am transfixed every time I watch Willard (Mitt) Romney publicly attempt to define his existence. Willard simply cannot identify the essence of his being any better than a tumbleweed can root itself on a lonely stretch of asphalt highway. What captivates my thoughts however is the fact that quite a few individuals apparently buy in to this opalescent soap bubble of a candidate. How can this be?
Photo Credit: Michael Fagans / The Californian
For an explanation to the startling phenomena that is Willard’s apparent appeal as a potential chosen one to lead our country into the post-Mayan Calendar future, I turn to the renowned psychologist Arno Gruen. In his book aptly titled: The Insanity of Normality (Grove Press, Inc., 1992) Gruen describes the Willards of the world brilliantly: “It is an act of self-betrayal when children begin to lose consciousness of their own self. This process begins when they no longer perceive the feelings of their fathers and mothers directly but are guided by the way their parents see themselves. Such “adaptation” to the power needs of parents leads to a split in children’s psychic structure, separating their interior world from its interactions with the environment. In order to be able to share in the power that subjugates them, children substitute obedience and adaptation for responsibility for their own actions. If we lose the connection to our own interior world, then we can relate only to a false self, to an image-oriented self attuned to behavior and feelings pleasing to our surrounding world.”
Thus the existence of what I see as an epidemic of individuals, the Willards of the world, utterly disconnected from their own autonomous selves, unable to contribute their own absolutely unique selves to the betterment of the world as a whole. Instead, these Willards perpetuate an ever broadening population among us of what can only be described as ‘zombies’, ie: human bodies housing utterly unformed souls, frantically seeking the approval of those around them for having conformed perfectly. If one looks into Willard Romney’s eyes as he attempts to describe himself in such a way as to be accepted, one can see the very essence of ‘frantic’.
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Gruen continues: “I believe I have found many indications that destructive and murderous behavior is rooted in the betrayal human beings commit against themselves in order to share in a hallucinated sense of power.” Further, he states: “This insanity can easily conceal itself in a world in which deception and trickery are approved methods of adapting reality. Whereas people who can no longer bear the absence of human values in the real world are considered “crazy,” those who have severed themselves from their human roots [Zombies] are certified “normal.” And it is members of the latter group to whom we entrust power and whom we allow to determine our lives and our future.”
While his fellow Zombies may see in Willard an electable kindred spirit, those of us fortunate enough to be connected to our interior lives must remain vigilant in these times and not lose our grasp on our own rudders. We must, no matter the price, vehemently reject the ‘Willards’ among us as our potential leaders and instead seek out individuals who have done the very personal and courageous work of creating an autonomous ‘self’ that we can then evaluate for leadership potential based on their inherent, and dare I say divine, truths.
© 2012 Nancy Kotting All Right Reserved Reproduction by Permission Only Contact: NancyKotting@Gmail.com
