Divorcing Max Baer, Jr. - Democratic Underground

H2O Man

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Fri Oct-10-08 06:39 AM
Original message

Divorcing Max Baer, Jr.

The 2008 presidential election is allowing us an opportunity to have a fascinating view of the curious dynamics at all levels of our society. As we enter the final weeks of the campaign season, there is a strange mix of both the good and bad potentials that lay before us. The tensions that the losing McCain-Palin campaign are emitting deserve a closer look.

Recently, in the largest newspaper in the part of rural, upstate New York where I live featured an op-ed by a military intelligence officer. In it, he made references to the "temple of Obama" and "the prophet Obama." I responded with an op-ed, which I have shared with a few friends on DU, in which I addressed these attacks by approaching them in a manner based upon the "family systems" theory.

"Family systems theory" is based largely upon the works of Dr. Murray Bowen. For those not familiar with this, it is an approach to treating individuals, which recognizes that people are often best understood not in isolation, but as part of a family system that creates both an intellectual and emotional base. Dr. Bowen’s works identified eight "interlocking concepts" that allow insight into how the dynamics of the family system play out. These include the smallest units of interaction; how the person identifies him/herself within the family; the nuclear and extended family emotional framework; sibling position; and how the emotional framework translates during the progressive and regressive periods in the larger society.

In this general context, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the current campaign, and consider it as two extended families – the Democrats and the Republicans – getting together for a large social function. It’s not a marriage, and it isn’t a funeral yet. Perhaps it is best viewed as two large families getting together for a divorce ceremony. The two families have a long history of tension between them, going back generations, and these tensions have led to an increasing number of conflicts in recent years.

One of the biggest causes of divorce in America is economic stresses in a marriage. We can even trace the unfortunately common phenomenon of "affairs" to the need of employers to have workers focused on spending more time at the work place than at home. And, as in found in the most bitterly disputed divorces, the question often centers on, "Who is going to pay for this mess?"

To illustrate some of the ugly dynamics that we are seeing today, I thought it might be interesting to use Max Baer, Jr., as three members of the Republican extended family. Of course, there is no such thing as "coincidence," and so DUers will not be surprised that I have picked the son of former boxing heavyweight champion Max Baer, and the nephew of contender Buddy Baer. And Max Jr., had a brief amateur boxing career.

In real life, Max had a degree in business administration, with minors in philosophy and sociology. Thus, the educated members of the Republican family are focused upon the business aspects of the divorce campaign of 2008. They realize that John McCain is going to lose the November election, and their approach cannot be understood in terms of their attempting to win the presidential election. Within that group, there is a divide on how to inject the republican social philosophy into the national debate, in order to do two closely related things: (1) win as many congressional, state and local elections as possible; and (2) protect their financial investments.

The current approach involves the manipulation of the emotions of the less intelligent members of the republican extended family. This is, of course, intended to instill the fear and hatred of the Democratic family, in order to create the "us versus them" response needed to get their family members to the voting booth in large numbers.

That fear and hatred creates an increasingly uncomfortable collection of behaviors by members of the extended Republican family members at this gathering. As Democrats, we find the republican "Jethro Bodines" (Max’s character on the "Beverly Hillbillies") to be humorously annoying in their "freeper" panic. They mistake the republican Mr. Drysdale’s interest in their money to be an interest in their shallow conversation, and fail to grasp the fact that it would be in their best interests to have Barack Obama elected President. Unfortunately, they exist in a failed sit-com, playing "double-knot spies," hoping to date the beauty queen Sarah Palin.

The other character we see is Deputy Reed Morgan (Max’s character in the 1974 movie "Macon County Line.") We saw an example of this in the sheriff who introduced Sarah Palin to a Florida crowd, who was clearly enraged by Obama’s middle name. They are also found among those who subscribe to ideas such as making Alaska a separate nation, and those who view the 2008 election in the delusional context of a "holy war." Unlike their cousin Jethro, these are potentially dangerous people. In periods of social and emotional stress, they regress into violent attempts to intimidate others, to maintain what they define as being in control.

In the next month and beyond, we will see the Republican family act out in the most unattractively dysfunction ways. We will do best by keeping our focus on that which is most important to our Democratic family’s interests. That will include having to confront some of their behaviors – not in the sense of debating the delusions they mistake for reality, such as their belief that Barack Obama is a Marxist Muslim, intent upon forcing his godless religion down their throats. Rather, we will need to set and maintain healthy boundaries, and let them know that much of their behavior is simply unacceptable.

Thank you for reading this.

Your friend,
H2O Man