I
posted this blog in 2018. I have updated
it as a follow up.
Harper Collins labels compulsive those people or their behavior when they cannot stop
doing something wrong, harmful, or unnecessary. A recent headline “Compulsive
Opposition” caught my eye, leading me to examine this factor in more detail.
I consulted the dictionary for synonyms of compulsive,
neurotic popped up. The dictionary suggested that there are no
cures for compulsion, it is a chronic disease.
Unprepared
for Defeat
Clinton’s defeat at the presidential polls on November
8, 2016 unleashed a number of powerful and unprecedented reactions. It was in the bag, so to speak, that Hilary
would win hands down. No way that Americans would elect someone that Democrats
labeled a racist, homophone, misogynist, xenophobe, chauvinist, and worse. No
way voters would turn their back on making history by electing the first woman
president. No way that voters would be so stupid to elect someone who in their
eyes was an imbecile and a narcissist.
When the votes were tallied, the results were crystal
clear. Clinton had lost the election, albeit she had won the popular vote, she
lost thanks to our Electoral College system. Supporters were shocked and
inconsolable. How could this be happening? Surely, this was too hard to swallow,
impossible to accept, or with which to come to grips. It was a sad spectacle to see a whole slice of
our society uncontrollably disconnected, looking for answers to a
counter-intuitive outcome.
This huge loss followed shellacking at the polls starting
in 2010 that had given Republicans control of the two Chambers of Congress, the
presidency, and victories in 32 governorships.
Mass grieving and some hysteria enveloped parts of the
electorate. It was a defeat hard to digest and so unexpected. Scare tactics
took over: the newly elected President would undo the safety net, people would
die for lack of healthcare coverage, elders and children would be forced to eat
dog food, and the poor and the disabled would be at the mercy of a heartless
regime.
Fishing for Answers
Immediately, supporters everywhere began to look for
ways to thwart the people’s choice by employing ways to stop the insanity of
this unacceptable result.
A long checklist of actions followed: court
challenges, recounts, demonstrations, confrontations, attempted bribery of
Electoral College representatives to change their vote, calls for secession
from the Union, elimination of the Electoral College, gratuitous medical
diagnoses of Trump, suspected Russian involvement, leaks, fake news, and so on.
The 2018 elections brought much needed consolation by
the landslide win in the race for control of the House. Newly minted
progressives won promising a workers’ paradise, elimination of white privilege,
a more equitable income distribution, and other utopian aspirations.
In the end, however, distraught supporters are still
grieving and unable to accept reality. The new House has unleashed some 60
different investigations of Trump and his business ties. Every major Trump
executive action is being challenged in the courts. His accomplishments are
being trivialized. Yet Trump supporters are standing firm in their support of
his agenda.
Clinton lost, Trump won! Still hard to swallow …
When Democrats failed to achieve the intended result
in 2016, the battle cry morphed to resist,
resist, resist … followed by the ominous by any means. Repeating the redundant slogan was to emphasize that
there would be no stopping, no matter what. The goal remains: resist, period.
No time or interest in solving mounting problems or looking for better
solutions. Anything coming from this election result would be illegitimate,
crooked, heartless, or worse.
Resistance continues to be a compulsive action,
unstoppable and vociferous. Compulsion, we are told, is a condition… an
irresistible and persistent urge to behave antagonistically. That’s where the
by any means scares me. It encourages
some deranged sympathizer to resort to the unthinkable. Resistors still refuse undemocratically to
accept the will of the people. They are willing to resort to fascist ways to
continue resisting. Gratification and satisfaction come only from resistance.
For some, it has become an obsession.
The Kabuki
Dance
Wikipedia tells us that Kabuki is a “term used by
American political pundits as (a) synonym for political posturing. It is a
drama carried out in a predictable and stylized fashion.” It is designed to
give the appearance of an uncertain outcome, when in fact key players know the
outcome beforehand.
Allegations of collusion by the Trump campaign with
the Russians to defeat Clinton explain why the election was lost. The special
counsel investigating the Russian connection and Trump’s team has not yet uncovered
illegal acts by Trump and so far has not doomed Trump’s presidency.
Democrats have proclaimed that even though the Mueller
investigation might fail to confirm coordination with the Russians or explicit obstruction of justice charges, the House should continue to
investigate both. Many progressives insist that Trump should be impeached. The
notion itself makes many left-wingers lick their chops.
Examining
the Paradox
As an organization development specialist, I learned
many years ago to follow Chris Argyris model of evaluation. Chris taught us
that one way to assess an organization’s, a movement’s, or a political party’s
performance is to examine the theory and philosophy they espouse versus their theory
and philosophy they practice. Gaps between the two would show the degree to
which some talk is just that as well as the degree to which an organization is
out of sync with its own philosophy and theory.
Progressives have espoused for years tolerance,
bonhomie, compassion, inclusiveness, and respect for the environment, just to
name a few. Examination of this philosophy in action shows a complete reversal
of the espoused principles.
Some are not tolerant of ideas and views that differ
from their own, and go out of their way to muzzle others’ speech. Bonhomie
(affability for those not familiar with the term) applies only to those they
like or think alike. Compassion only applies to certain people, those who agree with one’s philosophy. Inclusiveness does not mean that you include
people whose view differs from yours. Respect for the environment applies only to the
masses, while rich proponents or politicians are excused when driving their guzzler
SUVs, fly their private jets, or power their yachts.
Gaps suggest a malfunction of the moral compass,
perhaps a diminished capacity for integrity, or just plain phoniness.
Where Are We
Now?
Cable News is the big loser as each of the Kabuki acts
fails to come up with any smoking gun. Democrats will point out that several
people have been convicted already of crimes having little to do with either
collusion or obstruction of justice. The special counsel’s investigation will
retreat to the background. The usual suspects will appear nightly fueling
viewers’ curiosity and demand that the evidence be turned to the House for
additional investigation.
Trump’s opponents will continue the resistance even
though their actions will not stop him. They will have had enough time to vent,
much time to grieve, and to lash out at anyone who disagrees with them.
Anarchists, among the resistors, will continue to look for opportunities to
wreck havoc and destroy private property. Ill-advised young leftists will
continue to use fascist methods to deny adversaries to speak, claiming that
whatever they have to say is hateful speech anyway.
Let me emphasize that one size does not fit all.
Many Democrats have moved on and have come to grips
with reality, however unpleasant that might be. Those suffering from the
compulsion of resist, resist, resist
will continue to be stuck in its involuntary repetition or neurosis. Bill
Bridges, in his widely claimed work on transitions, warns us that you cannot
move on unless you are willing to let go. Some folks just cannot let go,
dooming themselves from enjoying a new beginning.
There is also a warning to those on the right. Stop
gloating! The pendulum will swing the other way, and it will be your turn to
experience despair, hysteria, and melt down. None of us is immune from a bad
case of compulsion or neurosis.
History has a funny way of repeating itself! Wide
pendulum swing? Fot sure!
Action-Reaction
In a two party system, oscillation is an established
pattern. Imagine what Conservatives will do resistance-wise to the next
democrat president. The actors change, the Kabuki dance will continue to the
detriment of the nation.
