We Idolize Those Who Treat Us Unwell (But We Respect Those Who Treat Us Well)
Just like the first great boyfriend who shows us what we have missed on other dates, or the first great girlfriend who lets you feel love instead of confusion, so can the politician who acts on vision and keeps his promise change our perception of what is benign and what is harm.
Someone decent and reliable in the long run usually doesn’t cause intense obsession, but gratitude and respect, steady and calm feelings that are very healing to the psyche.
I am seeing both extreme devaluation or extreme cheer for a person in public service as a symptom of deprivation and of not-knowing. When a politician is projected on to be either Satan or a saviour, you understand that there is no objective evaluation of his actions. Fans or haters can not take in inspiration outside of the given spectrum — inspiration doesn’t even register on their radar.
And yet, the advice “Snap out of it!” won’t do. We need different models and see that they work in the real world.
12 December 2017
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Shared on my blog:
