Why the Left’s Obsession With Donald Trump Will Backfire

The election of Donald J. Trump as U.S. President came at a time when the world is facing an existential crisis. This crisis of meaning is not a new phenomenon but Trump’s election has served to bring awareness of this crisis to the forefront.

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To be sure, we’ve entered a new era—one characterized by increasing uncertainty, mounting fears, growing divisions, and other polarizing influences that fuel the flames of discontent and lack of public confidence in our societal and governmental leaders and institutions. For many, the future of democracy, liberty, and justice lies precariously in the balance.

Since the November 2016 election, there has been an obsession with “The Donald” and everything, mostly negative, that he represents. It may be helpful, at this time, to turn to the wisdom of the world-renowned psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, Dr. Viktor E. Frankl, author of the classic bestseller, Man’s Search for Meaning, to shed some light on this situation.

Some people to this day are still in a state of shock that Trump actually won. While many of the national polls showed that the race was tied or too close to call, some media sources chose to report on only polls that showed Hillary Clinton as the clear front-runner. It’s no wonder that some people were shocked on election night. It’s no wonder that some people didn’t bother to vote.

Dr. Frankl referred to a concept called “paradoxical intention,” which occurs when we become so fixated on an intent or outcome that we actually work against the desired result. The fixation on Clinton’s assured victory coupled with the impossibility of imagining a Trump win, resulted in a complacency that worked against them. Lesson: Don’t Work Against Yourself.

Some people find it difficult to interact meaningfully with those who hold differing views. They tend to shut down any debate by ridiculing others or by labeling them if they don’t agree with their views on, say, healthcare, environmental, or immigration policies. In essence, they are afraid of and/or are intolerant towards any opposing views.

This violates what Dr. Frankl called “self-detachment,” our unique capacity as human beings to look at ourselves with a sense of perspective. Being a true progressive requires that we be able to look at ourselves in a detached way, in order to authentically “know thyself” in a larger context and free ourselves from restrictive thought patterns. When faced with opposing views, we need to step back and see the bigger picture. Lesson: Look at Yourself from a Distance.

There’s an old Greek saying, “Anger takes out your eyes.” When obsession turns to anger, people are unable to see clearly and, as a result, they may say and do things that are inappropriate, regretful, and ultimately not helpful in achieving their desired aim. The obsession with suggesting that President Trump is mentally ill¹, or Madonna’s suggestion to “bomb the White House,”² or Sarah Silverman’s call for a military coup³, or still others who called for impeachment during Trump’s first month of a four year term⁴, could backfire as more people voice a desire for more productive and respectful solutions. Lesson: Shift Your Focus of Attention.

Many on the Left have good intentions of creating a world that works for all. But a fixation on bringing about change at any cost, shutting down debate and diversity of thought, holding others “prisoners of their thoughts,” being angry, advocating acts of violence, or even believing that Trump could not possibly do one thing good for America or for the world, will backfire.

With so much talk about creating a wall along the southern border of the US, the bigger issue now is the wall that has been created between the left and the right.

We cannot connect meaningfully with others if we believe that we have a monopoly on truth.⁵

No one has all the answers to the many formidable challenges facing the world today. Indeed, it would be foolish and dangerous to think that any one person or group does. Moreover, we will never attain common ground unless we are all willing and able to go to a higher ground.

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Without assuming personal and collective responsibility to learn and grow from our experiences and from each other, there can be no democracy, no real freedom. Perhaps the arrival of Trump will turn out to be just the catalyst we need.