Kerby Anderson

You may have noticed when someone criticizes you, often they are criticizing you for their own behavior. Sigmund Freud described this as “projection.” Another person “projects” their own motives or behaviors on you as a way of coping with their own problems.

We also see this in the political world, which is why on radio I often attribute many of the political comments these days to projection. Politicians are often guilty of condemning their opponent’s behavior when they are just as guilty of it themselves.

Columnist Robert Knight recently wrote about how projection and denial have become the way this president and his administration engage the political process. Projection is used to blame problems on the other party and candidates.

Denial is another Freudian concept. That occurs when someone dismisses external reality and formulates his or her own “truth.” Robert Knight concludes, “Both disorders are not only rampant among America’s political left but have become tools in their war on common sense, truth, and decency.”

He goes on to explain that these two disorders have significant consequences in our political discourse. “By painting opponents as ‘threats to democracy,’ they issue a license to would-be tyrants at all levels of government to silence speech.” He goes on to provide lots of examples from speeches by the president along with actions by many within his administration.

I might mention he is not the only pundit talking about this. For example, Columnist Victor Davis Hanson writes about how the president is arguing that he is “saving democracy” while at the same time “destroying democracy.” Many of his examples can be found in the attempts to keep Donald Trump off the ballots of some states.

During this election year, a wise voter should be aware of projection and denial when listening to the candidates.