Dear President Obama

An example of a double bind:
A teacher invites a student for a cup of tea. The student sits down in a chair front of a cup of tea on a table. The teacher says, “I will hit you with this stick if you reach for the cup and I will hit you with the stick if you do not reach for the cup. What are you going to do?”

The first step in resolving this dilemma is to become aware of the pattern. We need to step back from the detail of the issues and the specific words.

Republicans, Tea Party members and conservatives, verbally and by voting, hit you with their stick every chance they get. Whether the topic is guns, taxes, spending, jobs or climate change, they are ready to say you are wrong, no matter what you say or do. When you state your messages to the people, they criticize you as if you were not communicating with Congress. When you respond to any criticism by giving more details, using logic or ethical reasoning, by their words and actions Republicans say indirectly or imply that you and the Democratic Party members are lying.

This binding of progressive ideas, so that as a country we can not move forward and resolve the many issues before us, leaves us in a perpetual crisis. This is very stressful for everyone. We can not leave and we can not physically fight. Over time, not being able to deal with our natural “fight or flight” response to stress causes anxiety attacks. The country is experiencing anxiety attacks. As the pressure continues to build, as our anxiety gets worse over time, we might have panic attacks. 

The debt ceiling crisis, the fiscal cliff crisis and now the sequester crisis are all examples of Republicans binding the progressive agenda and causing anxiety attacks for the country and each of us as citizens. The stress is building and the anxiety attacks are coming more frequently. The future might lead to panic attacks.

How to Resolve the Double Bind?

The key to getting out of the double bind dilemma is to take the stick away from the teacher. Using this metaphor and applying this pattern to the Republicans requires insight into the dynamics of the power struggle. What Democrats need to do is alter the pattern. Do something unexpected - stop negotiating with the Republicans and use your executive powers to continue to take action on climate change in a more dramatic way than you have been doing.

What are the assumptions that the Republicans are making to support their words and actions? What are the assumptions that the student is making that keeps him at the table?  We need to peel back the layers of the dilemma by continuing to ask questions about the hidden assumptions, threats and sources of fear in order to alter the pattern.

I can not give you the answers to these questions. You and other Democrats will have to use your insight and figure out what the stick represents in the real world and how to take the stick away from the Republicans. There might be a different stick for each major issue. There might be one giant stick that they use in different ways.

One way to take the stick away from them, that you have already used, is to have VP Binden carry your message to the Senate and have them pass legislation even though the House might not pass it. Keeping your team together and “on message” is difficult but helps in the long run. But these are things you already know about and do.

Validate what you are going to do by creating a double reward situation. No matter what the Republicans and conservatives say or do, Democrats and progressives take a stand on moral principles that is right. Supporting the Voting Rights Act is an example.

What key thing can you and other Democrats do to take the stick away from the Republicans? Who would the Republicans least expect to rise up and disagree with them? Who has not voiced their support for your agenda and, surprisingly, has the power to counter the suppression techniques used by the Republicans?

Republicans use all of the “Five Master Suppression Techniques”:

• Making Invisible
• Ridicule
• Withholding Information
• Double Bind
• Shame and Guilt

By ignoring your positive messages, your facts, your details and denying you have any power, Republicans are attempting to make you and the progressive agenda invisible to the public. Your public messages, speaking directly to the people and using social media, are all examples of how to deal with this attempt to make you invisible. Keep taking up the media space, keep yourself involved. Keep making yourself visible to the people.

By their body language and implications, by name calling and descriptions, Republicans continue to ridicule Democratic politicians, their progressive agenda and you. The counter message is to question what they said and ask them if they really meant what they said. You can validate your questions by making sure that you are asking them to behave in a respectful manner. No drama Obama!

The Republicans withhold information, deny facts, ignore cause and effect, and manipulate information to support their agenda. The way to counter this suppression technique is to put all the cards on the table. Keep informing politicians and the people of the details of your plans. Transparency about guns, climate change, taxes, spending, and many other issues counters their mis-information campaign. This is one of the strongest weapons Republicans and conservatives use that creates confusion and delay.

The Double Bind was discussed in detail above.

Shame and guilt are feelings we all have at one time or another. Some of us are more sensitive to feelings of shame and guilt. Republican words and actions are designed to cause people to feel shame and guilt for not agreeing with them, by blaming you for something that you did not cause. For example, by not reducing taxes on the “job creators” you are denying people jobs and unemployment will not go down. You are suppose to feel shame and guilt about this and every other major issue on their agenda. Republicans blame you for unemployment, the debt and the deficit and other issues even though these are not your fault.

This is the most difficult suppression technique to counter. Blame and shame can be described as the total sum of all the preceding suppression techniques.  Shame and guilt are thrown at us externally while the feelings are experienced internally.

The first step is to be aware of these feelings people have, that they are being applied by someone else and it is not our fault. You need to state this in public to the people. You need to state that you are breaking the pattern of the past and we are not going back to the way things were.

Second, you need to be clear about your expectation of positive and healthy relationships based on respect. Keep repeating this message.

Third, you need to set reasonable standards and boundaries. These might be physical boundaries or abstract boundaries. Standards of behavior and standards of honesty.  For example, you might have an issue where you take action on your own, as President, and use your executive powers to direct government actions. The Republicans would then have to cross a clear boundary of separation of powers and everyone would be able to see this.

You are fighting a battle for all of us that has been repeated for hundreds of years. The rich and powerful want to suppress any opposition that would change things for the better for everyone else. The rich and powerful conservatives in America have been using these techniques with more force, as minorities have become the majority, and the white male voters are now a minority.  I am a white male voter, but I am a liberal with beliefs aligned with a progressive agenda that will benefit everyone.

Take Care
Sincerely,

Richard Turnock

Summary of Five Master Suppression Techniques

Domination Technique	Counter strategy	Validation Technique
Invisible	Taking up space	Visible
Ridiculing	Questioning	Respecting
Withholding	Cards on Table	Informing
Double Bind	Alter The Pattern	Double Reward
Guilt & shame	Manage Self-Talk	Setting Reasonable Standards