Critical Thinking: Why Does A Large Part Of Humanity Want A Powerful Leader?

In most, if not all, countries around the world, there is a government that is in control of what happens. Or, according to some people in the world, just appears to be in control of what happens.

Anyway, this government will have a main leader, and this person will be responsible for the decisions that are made. Quite simply, then, when things go right, this person will look good, and, when things go wrong, this person will look bad.

An Elevated Position

Although someone like this will just be a human being and, thus, won’t be an all-knowing and all-powerful god, they can be seen as being more-than-human by a lot of people. As a result of this, a lot of people will put a lot of pressure on this person and expect a lot from them.

For someone to be in a position like this, they are going to have to be a certain type of person. They are likely to be incredibly resilient, not overly sensitive, have the ability to handle a lot of responsibility, to have a way with words, and a very good memory.

A New Beginning

Now, when a new leader has just come into power, there are going to be a lot of people who will be filled with hope. To them, the person who is now at the helm will have the ability to not only change their country but the ability to change their life.

Without realising it, they can see this person in the same way as they would see a superhero from a comic book film. It is then not going to matter whether or not these people are religious as they will have put this person on a pedestal.

A Powerful Effect

When someone views the apparent leader of their country in this way, they probably won’t have met this person in the flesh but that won’t stop this person from having a big effect on how they feel. If they were to step back and to reflect on how they feel when they think about them, they could find that they feel safe, secure and looked after.

Taking this into account, this leader, someone who they probably haven’t even met and most likely won’t know a great deal about, will have a big effect on them. So, regardless of what this leader will or won’t do as time passes, they will have a positive effect on one’s mental and emotional well-being.

Part of Life

It would be easy to say that this is just part of human nature and that, if someone wasn’t affected in this way by the leader of their country, it might be someone else that has this impact on them. For example, they could place a musician, actor or a sports star on a pedestal and feel stronger through the one-sided connection that they have to this person, or, the same thing could take place through putting certain people in their own life on a pedestal.

However, although this could just be seen as part of human nature, that wouldn’t explain what is actually going on. The big question is: why would someone need to put a leader or anyone else for that matter on a pedestal and to see them as being more-than-human?

Transference

One way of looking at this would be to say that when someone puts a leader or anyone else on a pedestal, it is because they are unconsciously viewing this person as a parental figure. Therefore, they are unknowingly seeing this person in the same way that they would have seen their parents when they were very small.

This would have been a time when they felt powerless and insecure and lacked the ability to handle their own emotions, among other things. From the outside, they will look like an adult, but deep down, they can feel like a dependent child.

A Strong Need

Considering this, it is clear to see why Carl Jung once said that followers create leaders as opposed to leaders creating followers. When a large part of a population is made up of people who are emotionally undeveloped and feel like children at a deeper level and are not aware of what is going on, there is going to be a strong collective need for an all-powerful leader.

The outcome of this is that, if there isn’t one already, they can end up with a leader who wants to control them and to take a lot of their freedoms away, something that they may be only too happy to accept. The reason for this is that a lot of their emotional needs will end up being met, which will allow them to feel safe and secure.

Self-Victimisation

What this emphasises is how important it is for a citizenry to work on all areas of their being if they want to live somewhere where they are truly free. If a large part of the citizenry only develops their mind and their body, for instance, and neglects their emotional self, it won’t be a surprise if someone appears ‘out there’ who wants to control them.

Someone like this will promise them the safety and security that they lack internally. As time passes, a large part of the citizenry can complain about what is going on but it will be a scenario that they have unconsciously brought into existence.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to emotional growth, a big part of this will involve grieving unmet childhood needs. So, if someone can see that they are emotionally developed, they may need to reach out for external support.
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This is something that can take place with the assistance of a therapist or healer. Through undertaking this process, not only will they be helping themselves, they will be helping others by changing the collective consciousness.