(Oppressors, Victims and Fighters)
Martin Oppenheimer 2005
from pp62-3
What are some of the other characteristics of “the authoritarian personality,” or the Manichaean worldview? Dogmatism and a low level of tolerance for ambiguity would naturally be part of this view. The individual needs the security of believing in a set of ideas that are unchallengeable in this rapidly changing, insecure world. He or she needs the “island of safety” that is represented by a firm framework that is questioned only by the “others”, those against whom one’s identity is established. The very fact that the “others” challenge this framework confirms that it is true. It follows that this personality type is less open to complex thinking, more ready to accept simple slogans. There are many “content analyses” of speeches and writings of right wing versus liberal and left-wing sources that confirm this empirically. The “sound bite” approach to political commentary on television, the short snappy political speech rather than the contemplative, reflective one with nuances suit the right-wing personality better than the left.
Another characteristic of this personality is the need for order and structure, a logical component of the need for security. In surveys that test for prejudice and the authoritarianism that is often at its root, the agree-disagree question is: “It would be better if teachers were more strict”; or, “We do not have enough discipline in our American way of life” (from Allport), or the classical one, “What this country needs is a few strong, courageous, hard-working leaders in whom the people can put their faith” (from The Authoritarian Personality, the pioneering study by Theodor W. Adorno and his colleagues, published in 1950).
The authoritarian personality sees the world as a dangerous place full of conspiracies. Generally social change of whatever kind is seen as a threat to traditional values, from scientific theories such as evolution to social policies such as the integration of gays and lesbians into the armed forces. The demagogue or the right-wing organization promises to combat that threat and restore what is believed to have been a stable, secure society.
Another personality dimension that coincides with the authoritarian mentality, although it is also present in a much wider sector of the population, is an intense “machismo,” or extreme parading of masculinity to the point of male supremacy. This machismo is ingrained quite early in life as part of male role socialization for many men, but it may also become intensified as men find their roles relatively diminished with the increased economic and political power of women, and as gays become more publicly accepted. Machismo can be traced to the family structure of patriarchy, a form that is historically rooted in agrarian life going back to the Old Testament. The agrarian American frontier family was generally patriarchal in form (unless the male head of the household had died, perhaps killed). Beginning just before the Civil War, if not earlier, the frontier farmer was very often armed. Conservatives tend to romanticize traditional small-town, rural America, where men were men, had guns, and women knew their place. Hence their antipathy to gun control and their near obsession with images of good gunfighters righting wrongs, Clint Eastwood-style, with or without the blessing of the law. The strong, virile rural American male is an image that many politicians attempt to copy as they seek the support of conservative voters who, by definition, look back to the “good old days” for inspiration and comfort. Note the body image of President George Bush, who, perhaps quite unconsciously, walks with his arms slightly away from his body, just like the proverbial gunfighter.
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