The American (it’s not who we are) Dream
The gun debate sends US politicians into a tailspin of denial about violence. Some awareness of their collective unconscious is needed for that to shift.
By Steve Ray
From The Age, Sep 16
The 78-year-old former president was on his golf course in Florida’s West Palm Beach when Secret Service personnel spotted a gun rifle poking out of the bushes a few hundred metres away.
Trump was unharmed, and the suspect, who has been identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, fled the scene but was eventually arrested.
In the aftermath of the incident, Vice-President Kamala Harris declared that “violence has no place in America”. Her running mate, Tim Walz, insisted “it’s not who we are as a nation”.
I can’t have been the only one who wanted to believe Harris and Walz. But immediately, I could feel the empty ringing of words that have been hollowed out by too many mass shootings, too many violent tragedies.
Their statements are what we expect good, principled politicians to make. “We want no part of this violent world we find ourselves in” is the subtext of their messaging. What’s really happening though is a running away from the hard decisions that need to be made for real change to happen because the statements are just not true.
Inventing the future
Whenever we run from something negative, repulsive, scary, violent etc, in our attempt to wish it away, without realising it, we allow it to cement its place in our psyches as well as our physical realities. Our collective unconscious dwells on the past and invents the future from what we hold on to, so even as we are telling ourselves how bad these things are, we embed them in future events. “It is written” like a blueprint of a building yet to be built and our fear is a vital component in the process of negative events recurring.
If we look at the two statements above from Harris and Walz, we can see clearly that they attempt to change reality by denying it. “Let it not be like this” is the intent behind the words, let’s create a different reality. This, however, is re-storying.
The only way that change can happen is by first acknowledging the reality or what actually is. Put simply, we need to speak the words – say them out loud and admit the reality of the world that we are living in – if we are to find the first compass point from which to find a new direction. By claiming a different reality, no change can be made, because we have told ourselves a different untrue story … one where no change is needed.
This is the power of the unconscious, whether it’s that of a collective nation-state or a single individual.
The vast majority of people in the US want no part of the violence that is endemic in their country, and the easiest way to get there is by telling a different story. The problem is, it’s not real.
In Groupwork Centre’s model of self-awareness, the Community of Selves, we encourage people to look more deeply at the unconscious messages we all tell ourselves. It’s all too easy to place responsibility for our problems outside of ourselves – leading us into the heated mist of blame and judgement, unable to do anything personally because we've put the problem “out there”.
Messages we tell ourselves
The key to self-awareness and to changing these stories in ourselves, is to first discern the truth that lies here. What stories are we telling ourselves? These unconscious internal reactions often come from a place of fear. They are strong and frequently confronting. But if we are willing to hear the truth, we can change personally, and help others in the process. With this first reality-check we can find the place from which we can take action wisely.
Ultimately, change can only happen when we speak the truth by naming what’s really going on. For would-be leaders, truths that are hard to hear need to also invite the target audience into the vision of what could be so that the way forward is owned by the collective.
Shift the emphasis
It might not seem like a big thing, a few words changed. But systemic change often begins with a simple change in direction. We can either reinforce the dysfunction we are in by telling fairytales, or rediscover the path to transformative change by telling the truth.
“Violence has no place in America.”
“Violence has become a normalised part of our daily lives. This has to change. Can we start by…? ”
“It’s not who we are as a nation.”
“Violence is a part of who we are as a nation. What do we need to do to make it a story of the past?”
Steve Ray is co-director of Groupwork Centre
Groupwork Centre offers workplace training in collaborative leadership and facilitation which includes the Community of Selves model of self-awareness.