What's wrong with Trump? The shadow knows

Carl Jung     (Public Domain)

There is often a fine line between righteous anger and self-righteous hate.

Those denouncing Trump are often as ignorant of the forces within as those cheering him on.  Both consider themselves to be responsible citizens fighting for the greater good.  But what if most were clueless citizens, fighting outer projections rather than inner demons?

After all, most of us don't really know Trump.  He may have done a million kind things for society when no one was looking.  Larger-than-life personalities often do have a larger-than-generous disposition (as long as you don’t cross them).

What we know about Trump is what society (including us) projects onto him.  We tend to blame the media, forgetting (or not even knowing) our own complicit roles in the political game.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat wisely point out that Trump is often reflecting the shadow side of American society.  His perceived alignment with “hatred of immigrants, racial superiority, a sneering disregard of the basic civility that binds a society” mirrors the cumulative callousness that Americans themselves have often displayed.

One has only to remember “the genocide of Native Americans, the witch hunts, the slave trade” and countless etceteras to detect some parallels here.  So is Trump the only problem?  Or even the main problem?  

Or could it be those who are cheering and/or hating him so vehemently?

Resources

http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/blogs/posts/spiritual-literacy/382/unleashing-americas-shadow 

Copyright March 8, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved