Democratic Anthropomorphism

Teenager sings his song,
“Sorry for the Mess,” in Oregon
coffeehouse, stabs himself to death.

When Howard Dean addressed the crowd in Worley, Idaho, last Saturday, I believe he made essentially the same mistake President Obama did when he said, or at least implied, that Republicans share the same concern for the nation as he does. I pointed out that I could see no evidence whatsoever that indicated any serious concern for our nation on the part of Republicans.

Governor Dean, during the course of his otherwise excellent presentation, said that “all Americans share a belief in fairness.” Unless Governor Dean believes Republicans are not Americans I think that statement is false. I fail to see where there is any indication of fairness on the part of Republicans. They insist on tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of the population (those with far more money they could possibly need) while not at all adverse to increasing taxes for the remaining 98%. Is that fair? Similarly, they are opposed to collective bargaining, the right of workers to negotiate fairly on their own working conditions and remuneration. Is that fair? They believe huge oil and other corporations should be given huge subsidies, and not have to pay taxes. Surely that is not fair. They are also opposed to unemployment benefits to those who no fault of their own find themselves without a job. Is that fair? Of course they are opposed to universal health care, especially a single-payer system, and believe if someone can’t pay they don’t deserve health care. I don’t believe that is fair. Most Republicans are opposed to abortion, and some even to contraception, thus forcing women (especially poor women) to bear children they are unable to care for. That’s not fair. And if a woman does have a child and cannot work because she needs child care, they oppose that also, not fair. They are basically opposed to welfare in any form, food stamps, Social Security (not really welfare), and such. That, too, is not fair. In short, searching for fairness among Republicans seems to me to be a lost cause. I do not believe Howard Dean is right when he makes the generalization that all Americans value fairness.

I think when Obama or Dean say Republicans are interested, just as they are, in the nation and in fairness, they are simply projecting their own beliefs onto Republicans, kind of a wishful thinking approach. Because they are interested in the welfare of the nation, as well as in fairness, they simply assume Republicans must be also. This is, I believe, a (probably) fatal mistake. The most basic idea of projection has to do with attributing one’s own ideas, feelings, or attitudes to other people (or even objects). In Freudian terms this has to do with the externalization of things like blame, guilt, or responsibility, and is regarded as a defense against anxiety. I do not believe Obama or Dean are using projection in this Freudian way.

Playing with words, is sometimes fun, and also sometimes useful. I might suggest that Obama and
Dean are more guilty of anthropomorphism than merely projection: “an interpretation of what is not human or personal in terms of human or personal characteristics.” I realize this term is usually reserved for attributing human characteristics to animals or even inanimate objects, but it could potentially be used for some humans as well. If, for example, it is true that Republicans are not interested in fairness, that would imply they lack empathy. Empathy is generally believed to be a vital and basic human characteristic. There is good reason to believe that Republicans do, in fact, lack empathy, for the poor, the sick, the handicapped, etc. Thus it would be the case that Dean, at least, is attributing human characteristics to those who do not otherwise have them. I am not saying Republicans are animals, what I am saying is, if they lack both the concepts of fairness and community, that behavior is much more animal-like than not.

Democrats, being “liberals” (nowadays a Republican hate word), and therefore what I would characterize as “decent people,” interested in the welfare of others and in the welfare of the community rather than merely themselves, seem to be incapable of realizing that others are not necessarily like themselves. Thus they project their own values onto others who do not in fact share them, and they expect from those others the same fairness and good fellowship they themselves display. In the case of contemporary Republicans, doing the bidding of their corporate masters, this is a recipe for disaster. Obama and the Democrats must give up their idealistic beliefs in the goodness and perfectability of mankind (especially Republicans) and face the grim reality of the politics of greed and the unremitting lust for power.

LKBIQ:
The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use - of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public.
Robert F. Kennedy

TILT:
The flightless kiwi bird of New Zealand lays the largest egg, relative to its size, of any other bird on earth.