The Rorschach Test?

Rorschach_blot_01 I’ve always been fascinated with the logic behind the Rorschach Test, which ostensibly contributes to the ability of Psychologists to develop a person’s psychological profile. As I read, hear and watch samples of news coverage of events from day to day, it becomes apparent to me that the application of similar logic to the news coverage can allow any objective person to see more clearly that there is indeed A Major Paradigm Shift Well Underway in this country.

The lead image for this post is the first of ten ink blot images used in the test. The most common responses are “bat”, “butterfly” and “moth”. These responses can supposedly provide clues about how subjects tackle a new and stressful task. Other ink blot images provide [to the Psychologist, at least] indications about how a person is likely to manage feelings of anger or physical harm, how he/she relates with other people, his/her perception of self-worth, his/her view of authority, etc.

Applying That Logic To News Coverage Today …

Everybody tends to view news coverage through the “lens” of their Value System [links to USAparadigm page(s)]. A news reporter also [of necessity] factors into his/her coverage the Value System of his/her media outlet’s ownership/management, which drives the editorial screening process [Six Corporations Control …]. So content [the actual objective “story”] that is “filtered” by the Value System of a particular media outlet and its reporters and anchors is viewed by a person whose perception of that “filtered” content is “filtered” by his/her Value System. The result? Just like the impression formed in the mind of a person looking at one of the Rorschach Test ink blot images, the person reading/hearing/watching the news forms an impression of the situation.

If you back away from the detail and look at multiple news stories in multiple media outlets about multiple events on a given day, evidence of the paradigm shift going on abound. Let’s look at just two examples — the Alabama special election to replace former Senator [now Attorney General] Jeff Sessions [the voters will make the selection on December 13]; and President Trump’s announcement that the U. S. will move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Alabama Senate Race

Alabama’s Senate seats are about as solidly in the Republican camp as any state’s, and everybody assumed that a Republican would easily win the election to replace Senator Sessions. In the Republican primary, the two front-runners were Luther Strange, the appointed temporary replacement and “traditional Republican politician”, and Roy Moore, a known “fly” in the “ointment” of Establishment government. Moore won the primary and will face Doug Jones, an Establishment Democrat, in the General Election on December 13.

U. S. Embassy In Israel

Last June, President Trump signed [as his three predecessors had] a waiver of The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, a law that dictated and funded the relocation of our embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999. He simply said that other items on his agenda were taking priority at the time an extension decision was needed, and that he needed more time to consider the matter so that he could make an informed decision and act in an appropriate manner. Everybody was happy, and seemed to assume that at least on this issue, Trump would simply renege on his campaign promise [as his three predecessors had done] in order to avoid “rocking the boat”. Now, after considering the matter further, he is simply doing what he said he’d do and there seems to be a world-wide uproar complete with predictions of doom.

Paradigm Shift Evidence

These two examples reveal some very clear evidence of the Major Paradigm Shift Well Underway not only in this country, but in the world.

How the Alabama Senate race is playing out is just another of many examples that collectively are clear evidence that we have a two-party system that is working less and less well every day. In one of the links referenced above, Joel Arthur Barker defined a Paradigm Shift as a decline in the current paradigm’s capacity to solve problems and create new things, and a concomitant rise in the ability of a new paradigm to do so. Practically everybody in Senate leadership dissed themselves from Moore when the sexual misconduct allegations first arose, but then Republican leaders began to soften their criticisms when polls showed Moore’s drop in the polls to be temporary. What’s still in the Current Paradigm is that our elected leaders make their decisions based purely on politics and not on what is right or what is best for our country. The “shift” part is that there is clearly a growing anti-Establishment mindset in this country — the voters in Alabama, whether they’re “right” from a broader perspective or not, seem to be saying [at least as indicated by current polls] “If the Establishment is against a candidate, we’re for him” [in fact, that’s how Moore won the Republican Primary — the Establishment pushed hard for his opponent, the incumbent appointee].

Reaction to the President’s announcement about the U. S. Embassy in Israel clearly shows two things about the paradigm shift. The first is simply more — among much — evidence that this President is focused on doing what he said he would do [contrary to his three immediate predecessors, two Democrats and one Republican, all of whom said in their election campaigns that they would do this]. The second is clear evidence that the paradigm shift is worldwide [world leaders tend to assume that one American President will be more or less like his/her predecessors on these kinds of issues, choosing not to “rock the boat” too much, so the “shift” part of this announcement is that a world leader — particularly a U. S. President — did exactly what he said he would do rather than softening his resolve after his election and just “going with the flow”].

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It’ll be most interesting to see what the voters in Alabama actually say on December 13, and whether the predictions of doom about the U. S. Embassy announcement amount to anything [that won’t be known for months at least, probably years — any demonstrations going on, denouncements by other world leaders, etc., provide a view far too short-sided to be of any value].

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