How might our search for authenticity manifest itself?
So many articles about The Don, Trump, Donald Trump….We know he is crass, bigoted, brash, nasty, bold, unrestrained, uninhibited and shocking. Yet so many Americans are drawn to the fact that he is real. Did reality TV get us ready for the underbelly of our personality and our judgments? I maintain that we Americans are simply sick of being managed. Is there anything more anger-provoking than when we feel patronized, treated as though we are incapable or stupid? Donald lets us into his character, the unabridged version and we are relieved that even though he is an awful self-serving narcissist, we have a certain amount of grudging respect for him. Who knows? He may be the next president of our United States- a horrifying fact to me, but perhaps as I reflect on the current state of politicians- understandable.
Watching programs like “House of Cards” and “Homeland,” these shows underline just how much and in what ways we the American people are deluded, excluded from the reality of our governments operations and managed. We, I maintain, are sick of it. We put leaders in place who are dishonorable, masochistic, nihilistic and demented through CIA operations. Did I mention that we as a populace are screaming out that “We Are Sick Of It”? Can’t anyone tell us the truth?
Bernie Sanders told us the truth about Wall Street and the loss of the middle class, but we can’t believe he can pull off the demands of the current system to get any of his agenda through. But isn’t it interesting that Bernie arose at the same time as Donald, because we needed leaders who we could identify with that are real?
This search for authenticity, on a smaller scale, was underlined for me when I went to the new expanded MOMA ( Museum of Modern Art). Lichtenstein, Warhol, Arneson and other great artists now have wonderful space for us to view their contributions. I was drawn to this crowded hallway on the second floor. On one side of the hallway were black and white photographs that showed wealthy people in their natural habitat. On the other side of the hallway were black and white photographs that showed people in poverty. What was most interesting below the photos were the comments, maybe two or three sentences, that revealed what the depicted people felt about their economic state. The comments were authentic. In these vast halls of acclaimed art was a hallway of people speaking their truth. It was difficult to get close to the comments. They were real.
Hillary just gave a latest speech among the years’ attempt to convince us to trust her, by admitting that her major problem is that she doesn’t engender our trust. Does that level of honesty help her? Perhaps she and her campaign are finally getting at the reason this talented, brilliant woman isn’t flying ahead in the polls. Perhaps they are realizing that “We Don’t Want to Take it Anymore.”
And my last comment in this rant is that we as a society need to look a little more closely at the level of dishonesty, manipulation and performance that enters into all our social relationships. What I have been pondering lately is the role of the Asperger’s condition as it is emerging. I am wondering if these humans on the mild part of the spectrum are a sign of man’s evolution. Frequently, they are oblivious to the social cues most of us learn very young. In my limited experience of Asperger’s victims (?) is that they don’t lie, they say what they think and feel without anger, hostility, or meanness. How lovely to be the free man in the novel the Rosie Effect. To be seen as different, but real.
In conclusion, I maintain that we are all bombarded by so much in our lives through the media, books, art, movies…How we bring all these divergent ideas together from so many sources will determine how we steer our country for the next four years. I hope we all go with the person who is the most honorable, compassionate, and authentic leader we can find. I’m still looking.

Ellen Blaufarb is a Marriage Family Therapist and is Chair of the BUSD Bond Oversight Committee.

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