Let’s lose the ‘psycho’ label

Last Updated on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 11:45 Written by Claude Johnson
Thursday, 26 January 2012 01:00

Lately, I’ve been feeling that if Yogi Berra were to comment on today's political situation in this country, he would say, “Politics is 80% half-psycho.” Though I’m liberally paraphrasing Berra’s famous quote, his estimate is probably conservative, especially in an election year.

Similarly, judging from our local situation as a Giants-Patriots border region, Berra might have said, “Football is 80% half-psycho.” Take our family, for instance. Don’t ask me why, but each of our kids has a different favorite NFL team — the Chargers, Saints, and Patriots. My wife’s a Lions fan (from Detroit) and I’m also a Pats fan — my Boston-area high school football team was named the Patriots and I never left the bandwagon. Is that psycho? Probably not, because we don’t go around telling others that their team stinks.

I’m using “psycho” to highlight a basic human psychological flaw found in politics, football, and wherever else people define themselves through things: Possessions, labels, beliefs, thoughts, emotions, outcomes. This “attachment to things” is what keeps the “ego” alive. The ego is who we think we are vs. who we actually are, and it defends itself at all cost.

Psycho politicians (and marketers, and newsrooms) know the ego well. They try to get votes (or money) by pinpointing the things we think make us who we are. To them, labels really matter — Democrat, Republican, Liberal, Conservative, “angry,” “victimized” — it makes manipulation easier. Next they try to raise fears that we’ll lose our things if we don’t follow their instructions, or promise us more of those things if we do follow their instructions. People dislike following orders, but they will if their identity is at stake because to the ego, that’s life threatening.

Psycho football fans believe they’ll somehow be “better” if their team wins. Psycho politicos are similar — a candidate’s specific agenda doesn’t matter as long as he’s “their guy.”

When people feel stuck, there are only two ways to “get up.” One is to actually get up. The other is to put someone or something else down. Many feel they must do the latter. Kids do too, reflecting their parents’ outlook. It’s a faster, easier way to create what seems like a winning edge. Don’t fall for it. Deep down the ego knows that doesn’t work, which eventually leads to madness. It’s healthier to address the actual underlying issues, by choice.

Today, it’s hard to avoid being psycho. The trick is to keep becoming “less psycho.” Some call this the “evolution of consciousness.” How is that done? Try stillness. How? Try taking a deep breath. Try putting some space between the label you use for a person or a thing and the actual person or thing. Try separating what you see or hear from your reaction to what you see or hear. Stillness reveals what’s universal: Peace, love, joy, beauty, truth, affinity, life. These exist everywhere, whether seen or not. Look for them, and there they are. Even in the mirror. It’s a choice. Alternatively, one could remain feeling stuck, feeding their ego. Psycho.

Claude Johnson is a local business owner and a former Democratic candidate for the Connecticut General Assembly.

This column is altered from the print version to reflect a correction. In the print version, the columnist mistakenly presumed Yogi Berra is deceased. Mr. Berra is in fact still alive today.