Nader & the (Temporary) Triumph of the Shadow
Of course I have several tons of trouble forgiving the idiot Nader voters in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Florida in 2000 who voted for Nader The Unspeakable instead of for Al Gore. (That Nader allowed it was Unspeakable.) This was an historically insane case of letting the perfect become the enemy of the good. No, they are not “all the same.” Yes, there is a huge, a gigantic difference between the Parties. 90 thousand Nader voters in Florida. What were those people thinking? A case of rampaging political immaturity and political petulance at its very worst. You make a protest vote in Idaho or California, not in Florida, you under-informed flaming imbeciles. Don’t even talk to me about the cousins of rats who didn’t get around to registering at all. Or didn’t vote at all “because they’re all the same.” We’re supposed to forgive you this self-indulgent nonsense? Like suicide – stand on the ledge and do your drama so we know you’re really upset, but don’t actually jump. Ruins too many lives, including your own.
I remember going to sleep a couple of days before the Election thinking, ‘In World X, Al Gore wins and in World Y, George Bush wins — and I wonder which world I wake up in?’
Well, ole Fat E woke me up in World Y. How in the Hell could it have happened? We had a vast budget surplus. Al Gore was a man of depth and insight who was a champion of the environment and a champion of the Internet slash Future and of civil rights. We were set to take our place as a leader of an increasingly free and just future of humane development. It was clearly in the stars and in the cards.
What the hell happened? The Shadow. Jung’s Shadow. The atavistic forces of fear and paranoia; the primitive, fundamentalist, future-fearing, dark underbelly which lurks maggotily writhing under all our enlightened rocks. We have to have a Reckoning with the Shadow before we move on.
These Shadow-ridden folk are the apotheosis, the manifestation of gigaGreed and Religious zeal and perversion of the kindness, the tenderness the mature can dare, the kindness required by all the Sages, including the impetuous young Jesus, an undeveloped, somewhat inflated and delusional, but occasionally inspired incipient Sage.
We have to slog through the gruesome recognition of the capacity for nastiness and selfishness in our own selves – these horrible people are our very own family – we cannot keep sweeping this garbage under the rug just because it’s so skin-crawlingly embarrassing. We have to speak out clearly, we have to draw the lines. War is an unspeakable violent mess. Capitalism has strengths and grotesque weaknesses. Addiction to Patriotism and Religion blinds people to kindness and fellow-feeling. It is harder to be adult, sane, humane, and sensible than it is to say those words. Our country has been bloated with hubris, power-drunk – George used to do Jack Daniels, now he does PowerAde – both incapacitating of the resources of the heart. We haven’t listened or consulted or collaborated. America must spend some serious time in a dunce cap.
Nationally and internationally we have submitted to Bullyism, the delusional entitlement that the Have-Mores have accrued unto themselves in ugly spasms of self-righteous Greed multiplied by Creed.
We can discover a sweetness of purpose and the enduring strength of that if we keep our own hearts bright and refuse to succumb to the ghoulish perils of Seriousness.
More about antidotes anon.
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This crowd would give Jung a fright. There was something recognizable as evil in the WW2 spasm — it was a matter of unfathomable degree.
The mundane stealth of this pustular eruption of the shadow is daunting. They have undermined the true and the good and nobody has noticed until recently.
I generally agree about those who voted for Nader, but it's worth mentioning that when Congress voted on going to Iraq it was with an overwhelming democratic majority as well.