The Shadow Persona
It has been a year since the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States. I think it is safe to say that there has not been such a divisive personality in political history. I have been wondering what make it so, after all his views are not the views of the majority and in many ways he is acting in a way that the majority would find sophomoric at best.
It then occurred to me, Donald Trump represents the shadow of us all. Jungians will know about the shadow persona which is the representation of the dark side of our personality. The Darth Vader to Anakin Skywalker as it were. This representation concerns people for the obvious reason. Donald Trump and his views are the dark side of our better selves.
The realisation, at an unconscious level, that we could hold these views and opinions in the dark part of our personalities scares and upsets us. Hence we project our outrage on to Donald Trump because he is the physical embodiment of these beliefs and views.
Now don’t get me wrong, this does not absolve him of his behaviours or actions, however, I think this explanation might explain why we have responded to him with such passion.
