Friday, November 4, 2016

Political neurosis. (Or how to vote for Hillary and remain sane.)

Summary: Voting for Hillary is your right, and one could even make a logical case for it. One could disagree with such a choice, but it is a choice to be respected. On the other hand, ignoring Hillary's faults, attributing to her non-existing competences, and framing your support for her as something grounded in high moral values are a different story. And it says more about you than about her.
There are many people who would like to believe that Hillary is good and that Trump is evil, and that the good always wins. And if you are one of them, then there is nothing easier than surrounding yourself with like-minded people and reading only Hillary-friendly media, i.e. living in a comfortable emphatic bubble.
Except if you are too intelligent to dismiss the evidence that Hillary is far from an angel. And that the world is far from being a good place, and people are being exploited and murdered every day to guarantee your rather comfortable way of life. (I could give you here a long list of Hillary's faults. However, if you need such a list, then you probably belong to the previous paragraph.)
But then you may not have enough courage to accept that the world is such a nasty and scary place. And you want to explain it away: by arguing with those who disagree with you, by ignoring the Hillary's faults and by trying to prove that even doubting her virtues paves the way for unimaginable horrors to come. In short, you try to convince yourself that the world is not what it is, but what you want it to be.

Isn't this the very textbook definition of neurosis? Yes. And we know that it doesn't matter how much you argue and even if you manage to convince someone - your anxiety will remain. Because the ultimate person that you have to convince is yourself - and, as we have already assumed, you are too intelligent and informed to ignore the truth. The reality will not change - the only thing that can change is you. Mastering courage is the only path to mental health.
P.S. Bonus: not only will it make you feel better, but it will also make you look smarter!
P.P.S. The bad news: you may still have to deal with hundreds of less courageous people around you...

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