S2E21: Moral Injury and Politics Today

A nonpartisan discussion of the ways in which the psychological theory of moral injury parallels what most Americans are facing now, as they must choose to vote or not vote, or vote for a candidate accused of serious misdeeds. Whatever you think of Tara Reade, Joe Biden's accuser or the list of allegations against Donald Trump, being forced to decide here threatens to implicate all of us in injustice. How does this work, what light does it shed on  the ways we deal with similar issues in religious communities, and how can we restore moral perspective in our chaotic times? 

There’s mention of Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching chapter 18 (Taosurfers rewording):

When men lose touch with the Tao,

they focus on legalism 

and charitable giving.

This leads to scheming;

then great hypocrisy ensues.

Genuine love breaks down in a family;

then relatives start to insist on family obligations.

The nation falls into chaos;

then people insist on partisan loyalty.

 Things mentioned:

• Army chaplain Wayne Boyd’s interview on this previous show.

• Tara Reade’s allegation against Joe Biden.

• System Justification Theory

•  Dietrich Bonhoeffer Ethics

• Jacques Ellul on Christian Anarchy

• An old Virtue in the Wasteland pod on Trump and Virtue Ethics

Articles on Moral Injury:

Jost, J. T., & van der Toorn, J. (2012). System justification theory. In P. A. M. Van Lange, A. W. Kruglanski, & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of theories of social psychology (p. 313–343). Sage Publications 

Jonathan Shay, “Moral Injury” Psychoanalytic Psychology  31.2 (2014): 182-91.

Nickerson, Angela et al., “Moral Injury in Traumatized Refugees,” Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 84.2 (2015): 122-23.

M. Porter and N. Haslam, “Predisplacement and postdisplacement factors associated with mental health of refugees and internally displaced persons: a meta-analysis,” JAMA 294 (2005): 602-12.

Antonelli, Mildred. Private Practice, The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol 77(4), Dec, 2017. pp. 406-416.