We are steadfast into the 2024 election, and in all honesty, the Democrat Party is firing on jet fuel right now with the change in candidates from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris. The polls, the media coverage, and the general “vibes” of the election are swinging, I would say aggressively, in the Democrat’s favor. Is this the fault of the Republicans? I would say some of it has to do with their campaign strategy. However, I argue this would have been the case even if Joe Biden had only a 5/10 debate compared to a 2/10 debate and remained in the race. After all, the media only mere weeks before the debate were saying Joe Biden was sharp, confident, and going to own Donald Trump. The same was true for Kamala Harris, much media is dedicating quite a lot of vitriol towards her. Now, all of a sudden, she is a demi-god destined to lead the country.
Conservatives See a Conspiracy Theory Around Joe Biden’s Stumbles – Politico
What science tells us about Biden, Trump and evaluating an aging brain – The Washington Post. With the tagline: The 2024 presidential race has been dominated by allegations of mental decline. Scientists and doctors offer cautionary notes.
What should be clear now is that the media is not on Donald Trump’s side, which had me conflicted in the beginning because what would the media talk about if Trump was not the center of attention? Surely, if he loses this election he won’t run again, and there will be nothing to talk about, and much like how it was before 2015, news ratings, especially for cable, will be in the tank. See my blog where I describe the Cable News Trump Bump. But now the media is in a win-win; either Trump wins and they get their 4 years of vitriolic press against him. Or, with Kamala, they get to placate their audience with identity politics “first female black president!!!”, then when she ultimately fails – and she will fail – they can go back to the harsh criticism of her, and in 2028 push another candidate like Josh Shapiro or Andy Beshear.
Politics is an ugly business, and in today’s polarized political landscape, it has been notched up to a decibel level, that I am almost getting sick and tired of. However, looking at the media, and subsequent reaction, a word kept coming to mind ‘projection’. The seemingly 180-degree shift from saying Biden is competent to say he needs to step out because he is incompetent. From strong disdain for Kamala to championing her as the second coming, it all seems like a psychological exercise in false promotion to satisfy a narrative rather than truth. It is no secret that the Democratic Party shared this sentiment as well, as they were the ones championing Joe Biden’s competence, only then – in a call back to Caesar in the Senate during the Ides of March – Democrat leaders from Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and Hollywood elites metaphorically stab Biden in the back. What is to make of all this?
Well, we must look at the Democrat Party and its affinity toward projection. The Democrats, often seen as champions of “progressive ideals”, may paradoxically embody a phenomenon central to Jungian psychology: Shadow Projection. By exploring the Democrats through this psychological framework, we can uncover how their glaring criticisms and contradictions might stem from an unwillingness to confront their own hidden insecurities and biases. This approach not only highlights the influence of unconscious forces in shaping political behavior but also invites a deeper reflection on the broader implications of unexamined shadows in our collective consciousness.
I’ve talked about Jungian Shadow Projection in previous blogs, but let’s go deeper into defining and analyzing what is Jung’s concept of shadow and projection? Jung’s concept of the “Shadow” is a central idea representing the unconscious part of the personality that contains repressed weaknesses, desires, and instincts. The Shadow includes everything outside the light of consciousness and often holds aspects of ourselves that we don’t want to acknowledge or accept, such as selfishness, aggression, or envy. Projection, in tandem with the shadow, is a psychological mechanism where an individual attributes their own unconscious thoughts, feelings, or traits to another person. Jung believed that when people are unaware of their Shadow, they project these hidden aspects onto others. For example, someone who is unwilling to recognize their own anger may perceive others as being unusually angry or hostile.
Some scholars argue that the shadow itself is not necessarily negative, as it can promote greater self-awareness; however, shadow projection is seen as inherently negative as it refuses the acknowledgment of self-awareness as projection prevents individuals from seeing themselves and others clearly, leading to errors in logic. However, the greatest psychological connection with bad shadow projection is the trait of narcissism – specifically malignant narcissism. This is counter to grandiose narcissism, which is characterized by an inflated self-image and a need for admiration; on the other hand, malignant narcissism combines these traits with antisocial behavior, aggression, and a lack of empathy, making it more destructive and harmful to others.
The bad side of Jung’s Shadow Projection directly aligns with malignant narcissism. These traits are often defenses against underlying feelings of inadequacy, shame, or other negative emotions that are repressed in the Shadow. Here is how they can be displayed.
- Projection as a Defense Mechanism
- Manifests in an intense and irrational hostility toward others, seeing them as flawed, inferior, or threatening,
- Shadow and the False Self
- Malignant narcissists create a “False Self” to hide their Shadow, projecting an image of perfection, superiority, and invulnerability. This False Self is a facade that compensates for deep-seated feelings of inadequacy and shame.
- Lack of Self-Awareness and Empathy
- This lack of insight prevents them from understanding their flaws or the harm they cause to others. Coupled with a diminished capacity for empathy, this results in a disregard for others’ feelings and a tendency to exploit, manipulate, or harm them without guilt or remorse.
There are replete examples within the Democrat party, just as recent as two weeks ago. Democrats call JD Vance and the Republicans “Weird”, however, they are the ones claiming that men can be women and women can be men. Also, just look at Tim Walz’s record of passing a law that allows boys’ bathrooms in high schools to have tampons and a college hazing ritual he had to endure, that is just too gross to say in this blog. Democrats call Republicans racist even though their whole campaign is tied to identity. Have it been their fundraisers “White Dudes for Harris” or “White Women for Harris”, or even more sinister, the party’s serious anti-Semitism problem, reports saying this was why they did not choose Josh Shapiro. This combines all three – a defense mechanism to push people away from their own anti-Semitism, to frame Trump’s apparent wrongdoings to deflect and create a false self that they are the benevolent ones and a blatant lack of empathy through manipulation to cover what pockets in their party are actually like.
Democrats bash the idea of anyone in their party being a “DEI Hire”, but they are the party that advocates and pushes for institutions – like colleges and universities – to embrace DEI policies in hiring. Kamala Harris is on record being one of the biggest advocates for equity. This one is striking, as we question the media and Democrat Party by saying “Wait, DEI is a bad thing for you now?” Democrats yell about a “women’s right to choose what they do to their bodies.” However, they cheered firing women who wanted to make their choice regarding the covid vaccine. They only like being anti-women when it fits their narrative – quite malignant.
They call Trump a threat to democracy when they just subverted their own democratic process to remove Joe Biden from the ticket because he was projected to lose in November. It is obvious that Joe Biden did not have the mental capacity to run – but apparently, he has the mental capacity to still be President? The Kamala Campaign and the media criticize Trump and his talk about ‘rally attendant size’. However, KamalaHQ can’t stop talking about their own rally sizes and how large they are. Either you care about rally sizes, or you don’t. The fact that one will say it doesn’t bother them but continuously compare is an example of the false self merging with the defense mechanism – a projection of inferiority.
In conclusion, one might argue this is not a psychological projection, it can be hypocrisy, which is bad enough on its own, but psychological projection goes much deeper. For example, I think the Democrats deep down know that DEI policies and the woke agenda embrace a neo-racism that is toxic to society; however, they have repressed this for far too long, given they have benefited from the narrative reflecting a fear of admitting a mistake or showing incompetence. I tend to believe most hypocrisy is done unwilfully, meaning once someone is exposed to their hypocrisy, a normal person would reflect and either change or formulate a coherent debate as to why they feel the way they feel and admit a true bias of themselves. This is not the case, this is willful ignorance on the part of the Democratic Party. They see this, but they just choose not to acknowledge it and eventually lie and subvert the truth for their gain.
I usually end with a call to action, but I don’t have one related to this election, we will see what happens in November. Either they will vote on classical topics like the economy and immigration, or they will vote on “vibes” and “feels”. Whichever it is, hope you choose the correct path.
carsonbabich.com 
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