Reply #27: Questions and thoughts ...

[housewolf]

Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Taken as a metaphor, extend that concept to the roles and interactions of a group and its leader(s).

I believe that what a group sees in its leader(s) is a reflection of aspects of the group itself that it, perhaps unconsciously, yearns to express.

But the question is, then, does a leader hold a vision that then ignites and inspires the passions and imagination of the group, or do the needs of the group call forth a leader to help them express those qualities?

Some say that a group gets the government/leadership it deserves. I see it a bit differently.

I agree with you that Democrats are not innocent is all of this. Much as we would like to see ourselves as victims of a powerful right that has grasped the reins of power unfairly, and as much as we decry the Iraq war and other injustices of our time, we are all a part of the consciousness of America being expressed right now and we all play a contributing role.

Today's leaders reflect that the pendulum has swung beyond the center-right, into the realm of the left's shadow. As such, it is a horribly painful time for the left. There is nothing as frightening as seeing one's shadow being acted out in front of you, in real life, and not knowing that it's your shadow. Unless and until one can recognnize and embrace the shadow, own it and transform it, the natural course is denial, rejection and faithlessness.

It is interesting that the right seeks to radically change course, while the left seeks to maintain the status quo. It is almost as though conservatism and liberalism have switched sides in this. It is confounding to me, having grown up through an era when the left were the radicals pushing for change (more liberty, freedoms, expanded rights of the individual) to see now that the right pushes for radical change in their desire to perform radical surgery on our society, cutting out what it doesn't like and reverting to a more authoritarian era.

It is as though the pendulum swung to the left, we reveled in our vision of expanded liberty through the 60's and 70's. The pendulum started swinging right again in the 80's, and now it's moved further right beyond the center-right. This is a cycle that has occurred throughout the history of America, a cycling of left to right then back to the left, and over again. It has a generational time-frame to it, each lasting 30 - 40 years. I don't know how much further the pendulum needs to swing right before it begins to swing back the other way.

I believe there are unconscious forces at work, beyond human consciousness or control, that are expressed during these eras. (What I am saying is that I don't believe the hippies were hippies by choice, but that there was a need within the human spirit for expression that came forward at that time). Perhaps this are astrological in nature, I know not. Perhaps they are other forces of the human unconscious, perhaps archetypal in nature. I don't know. I do know that as individuals, we can work our hearts out for what we think we want (i.e., political campaigns and leaders) but there are other forces involved that are bigger than we are.

It is interesting, what you say about the rw unconsciouly accepting the demise of the country. They have been quite vocal in decrying the outward cultural expressions of the leftward-swing of the pendulum, and they were as unhapppy with what was, for them, an expression of their shadow during our glory days while the pendulum was left of center, as we are now. They seek their ideal in authoritarianism, just as we seek it in individual freedom. In their righteousness, they yearn for the rapture and the apocolypse, seeking an eternity in servitude to their god.

But government as god has failed them, and will always fail them. Yet I am not convinced that they are, as yet, faithless to it. It seems to me they are still faithful to the view of government as a substitute god. They remain faithful to an idea of a past that never existed, and to a hope in its revival. When their faith is finally broken, and I believe it will be, the tipping point will have occurred.

I await a charasmatic leader, one who can communicate a vision of a positive future that inspires both/all sides and ignites the imaginations of a large majority of Americans to aa higher good.

But which comes first? The leader with the vision or the vision awakeing within the group that then calls forth the leader?

It is important to remain faithful to the process, but where are we in the process????