February 09, 2007


IMPEACH BUSH


IMPEACH CHENEY

RIGHT-WING HOT BUTTONS

Right-wing politicians, right-wing think tanks, right-wing media, and the Far Right in the religious world have been skilled at hitting certain psychological hot buttons to insure electoral success. Fear has been a major tool the past few years. People like George W. Bush like to make us feel vulnerable and believe that only he, the Leader, can protect us from the evil people in the world. Bigotry against gays and against racial and ethnic minorities has been used by Republicans for decades. Richard Nixon's "Southern strategy" was based on anger about integration in the south. Former Governor Pete Wilson in California used bigotry against Mexican immigrants to achieve his political goals. This article by Roy Eidelson is at www.smirkingchimp.com:

My work as a psychologist suggests that five core concerns--about vulnerability, injustice, distrust, superiority, and helplessness--pervade the worlds of individuals, organizations, communities, and nations. First, concerns over personal and collective vulnerability are central to our lives. For most of us, nothing is more immediate than the desire to protect the people and things we care about, including ourselves. Second, we are also strongly affected by perceptions of injustice, both in our personal lives and in our group attachments. We often react to perceived mistreatment with a combination of anger and resentment, and an urge to right wrongs and punish those we hold responsible. The third concern is distrust. We tend to divide the world into those who are trustworthy and those unworthy of our trust. If our judgments are accurate, we can select our associates and allies wisely, and we can avoid harm from those who have hostile intent or are merely unreliable. Fourth is the pursuit of superiority. We regularly compare ourselves to other individuals and groups, and prefer to conclude that we're better than they are in some important way--perhaps in our accomplishments, or our morality, or our destiny. Finally, we strive to avoid the experience of helplessness, and instead do our best to control the important events in our lives. When we're overcome by despair and resignation we usually fail to achieve our goals.