[Update 1 9/4/07: I re-combobulated the wording of the first couple of paragraphs to better reflect what I'm trying to say. I re-read the original and realized it made no sense. So I hope this helps]

Head’s up, this is much less a political or social rant so much as it’s a lesson in psychology and how it can apply to the left v. right problem…

As I was sitting around watching on my the DVD’s from the Beavis and Butt Head collection, I started to wonder… How do we go from point a to point b without degenerating into worthless wastes of life; and better yet, why do some people fail to overcome the worthless waste path?

I frequently ask myself how it is that I got here (and by here I mean at this point in life). I mean, as I look over the years, I have most definitely had my ups and downs. However, I am a student of the Carl Rogers school of personality development, so I take each experience as a building block towards who and what I am. Anyway, looking at Rogers’ theories as deeply as I have, I have started to wonder if its possible that each person is empowered to take control of their own life, and it is a choice to either do so or allow ones self to be swept away by their own experiences? I mean, I’ve never put much weight in Freud and psychoanalysis, but the more I watch people the more I realize that Freud may have been on to something with the “victim” style of personality development (being swept away and victimized by your past experiences). Of course, I feel the need to apply this psychology lesson to my right versus left paradox, so bear with me a bit as I hash my way through this…

I had every opportunity to degenerate into a waste. I nearly flunked out of high school, I have had drug and drinking problems over the years, I was married at 21, divorced at 26. I’ve been laid off from jobs, been stuck with unemployment and have gone more than my fair share of extended periods without any health insurance. I grew up listening to heavy metal , watching Beavis and Butt Head and reveled in the advent of ultra-violent video games like Mortal Kombat and DOOM. I was the victim of severe bulling when I was young, ended up with half a fake tooth in the front and a number of scars here and there from being pushed down or having rocks thrown at me. For all practical intents and purposes, I should be a degenerate waste of life and a Democrat. I mean, the entitlement mentality was set up to suck people like me right in and groom me for a life of claiming to be the victim and sticking my hand out.

However, things didn’t turn out like that. I may have some issues, but for the most part I’m a decent contributing member of society who owns his own house, has a nice car, works a decent job and can occasionally hold down a decent relationship. I had a stunning career in the Navy and got an honorable discharge with a chest full of medals and a portfolio of awards and commendations. Despite my struggles, I somehow managed to survive. I have argued the logic behind this with the left out there, and while some get it (my compliments to Bruce over at “The Same Rowdy Crowd”) most of them don’t, and I have been told everything from I am lucky to I simply succeed because I’m a white guy. If you ask me, it’s very demeaning and downplays everything I have accomplished so far, and since I have n educational background in psychology (especially personality development), I thought that maybe I would try to teach people how to use personality theories to their benefit (and maybe learn a thing or two about how people forge their own paths).

For those who are interested, check out Rogers’ 19 propositions with which he based his theory of personality development. It’s an interesting read, but beyond the scope I am looking at right now. I am more interested in his characteristics of a fully functional person. Note the points the Rogers makes and how they apply to conservatives much more than they apply to liberals, and then tell me why you think that is? Personally, it makes sense to me, as I am a fully functional person and a conservative, but I’m crious as to what others think about this:

Characteristic 1: A growing openness to experience – they move away from defensiveness and have no need for subception (a perceptual defence that involves unconsciously applying strategies to prevent a troubling stimulus from entering consciousness).

This one speaks for itself. Experience shapes and people grow with experience, but one has to be open to it.

Characteristic 2: An increasingly existential lifestyle – living each moment fully – not distorting the moment to fit personality or self concept but allowing personality and self concept to emanate from the experience. This results in excitement, daring, adaptability, tolerance, spontaneity, and a lack of rigidity and suggests a foundation of trust.

This is an interesting one. I usually interpret this one as learning from an experience rather than forcing the experience into your own mold. There are some people who are good at this sort of thing. There are others who take every experience and make it their own or turn it into their own cause.

Characteristic 3: Increasing organismic trust – they trust their own judgment and their ability to choose behaviour that is appropriate for each moment. They do not rely on existing codes and social norms but trust that as they are open to experiences they will be able to trust their own sense of right and wrong.

This is a tricky one. Does that mean that law is inflexible, or does that mean that law is to be interpreted to fit the situation. This is one of the reasons that I dislike the concept of the Bill of Rights. By trying to rigidly define something we only end up stripping away our ability to use judgment. In other words, it’s a dynamic world and each time a rigid law (or right) is defined we limit deny the dynamic aspect of reality.

Characteristic 4: Freedom of choice – not being shackled by the restrictions that influence an incongruent individual, they are able to make a wider range of choices more freely. They believe that they play a role in determining their own behaviour and so feel responsible for their own behaviour.

Take charge of yourself. The”I’m a victim” mentality just doesn’t cut it. This is essential in forging your own path in life and not just claiming to accept that you are dealt a lot iin life and you’re stuck with it.

Characteristic 5: Creativity – it follows that they will feel more free to be creative. They will also be more creative in the way they adapt to their own circumstances without feeling a need to conform.

Follow the leader. I frequently warn about the herd mentality… And for those that follow news events from the left, this past weekend showed the best example of herd mentality as Daily Kos went into a panic regarding a supposed inside source telling a Kos kid that we’re getting ready to attack Iran. Isn’t it time to start thining for yourselves?

Characteristic 6: Reliability and constructiveness – they can be trusted to act constructively. An individual who is open to all their needs will be able to maintain a balance between them. Even aggressive needs will be matched and balanced by intrinsic goodness in congruent individuals.

This one makes more sense than any of the other characteristics. It takes balance to address needs - your own needs and the needs of others. This flies right back in the faces of the ever altruistic left.

Characteristic 7: A rich full life – he describes the life of the fully functioning individual as rich, full and exciting and suggests that they experience joy and pain, love and heartbreak, fear and courage more intensely. Rogers’ description of the good life: “This process of the good life is not, I am convinced, a life for the faint-hearted. It involves the stretching and growing of becoming more and more of one’s potentialities. It involves the courage to be. It means launching oneself fully into the stream of life.”

Live your life. This is in stark contrast to the sheltered nanny-state and politically correct life that is currently being jammed down our throats and o our children. Life is full of experiences - good and bad - and they are all things that shape and create us. Denying us these things cuts into our ability to be fully functioning individuals. Rogers knew that this wasn’t an easy way to live life, but understood that it is necessary. It s because of this sort of thing that I have been able to take my experiences in stride and I have been able to use every one of them as a building block in my current life.

So there you have it. The psychology of personality development as it applies to one conservative with a uber-liberal background and how I went from Beavis and Butt Head to home ownership and responsibility.

Thanks for reading! Don’t worry, I won’t do this sort of thing often. I just felt this needed to be addressed.