Body blows to MPs' worldviews in politics

From time to time, our worldview – that is, the sum total of beliefs, perceptions, values and core values, evidence and thinking that is our personal picture of what the world is, and how it functions – gets a body blow.

Sometimes that doesn’t matter all that much – as happens, for instance, when children find out about Father (or Mother) Christmas – it’s painful, but we get over it. At other times, it does matter.

On a personal level, things that make a difference to our worldview may include falling in love (not only for the first time), or personal losses – such as our first memento mori, or losing a loved one.

Major setbacks in anything that is important to us can also have a major impact – as many Australian cricket fans this week would probably attest to.

How we respond to those events can be personally significant. Many counsellors would probably point out, with a fair degree of validity, that many such events offer opportunities for growth – and, as children, our growing past the shock of discovering the truth about Father (or Mother) Christmas is one such example.

There are other examples.

One larger example would be, for instance, the revelations of the Pentagon Papers, subject of the recent US film “The Post”, in 1971. That was a blow to many US citizens, and would have shattered any elements of their worldview that were based on the notion that their government was trustworthy and morally “good”. However, as with the excesses of their current President Trump, quite a few responded to that shock by becoming involved in politics or socially active in some way – they hurt and grieved, modified their worldview, and then they either got on with their life, or did something constructive about what they didn’t like.

Others, less constructively, just became cynical – or more so.

Here in Australia, our comparable test to the Pentagon Papers was probably the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in 1975 by the then-Governor-General, Sir John Kerr.

I’m not sure how I would characterise our reactions to that event - other than being a wide and complex range.

At this point, it should also be noted that some events cannot reasonably be expected to have a positive outcome: being sexually assaulted, particularly as a child, is one such example.

I would now like to turn my attention to Australia’s current Commonwealth Government, led by Malcolm Turnbull.

Despite the hopes of many left-inclined voters, the Turnbull Government has largely stuck to its conservative guns. That has probably been most obvious, and perhaps most expected, in economic policy, but also shows in the continuation of Australia’s widely criticised policy on asylum seekers (with signs that the ALP’s position is shifting, in detail, if not principle), the persistence that led to a backdoor way to put Same Sex Marriage to a public vote (the result of which the more conservative elements would not have expected), and a continued denialist attitude towards the urgency of climate change despite growing scientific evidence, community concern and media questioning.

On top of that, the Turnbull Government continues to be told by voters, through polls, that there is significant discontent with it. Being in Government and enacting laws that they believe in, is obviously important to government MPs: what sort of shocks are the continued adverse polls results and events such as the strong support for Same Sex Marriage, and personal controversies having on the worldview of those in it?

It is quite possible, given that MPs need to have, to some extent, a relatively thick skin, that this is having no effect – consider, for instance, John Howard spent 13 long and difficult years - last century - in opposition before becoming Australia’s second longest serving Prime Minister.

However, it is also true that mental health issues exist in many workplaces – as James Packer has recently demonstrated. Unfortunately, these are too often poorly acknowledged and/or managed (and hence the “R U OK?” campaign). Politics is no exception to this (see for instance, here, here, and here), and there have also been articles about the toxicity of working in politics (see for instance, here, here, here, here, and here) and the increased pressure of the 24/7 news cycle.

My personal opinion, based on various experiences and observations through my life, is that one of the reactions that can occur as a result of a shock to one’s worldview (particularly when under other pressures) is denial – either temporary or longer term (and see also here). Is it possible that a number of conservative MPs have experienced a shock – or shocks – to their worldviews, and are reacting to that by “circling the wagons”?

That might be one explanation for their continued insistence, for instance, that company tax rates will be good.

I hope not. If that is the case, there are going to be some damaged people who eventually leave politics, and that would be sad for them, their families and friends, and the state of politics in general. I would prefer that any MPs experiencing such problems admit it – to themselves, if no-one else, that they get help, and that the standard and style of debate in politics, media reporting and commentary, and public reaction becomes such that it is possible to admit to a change of heart without being excoriated (which is a point others have made – see here, here, here, here, and here).
And that isn't going to be easy - the sense of powerlessness tends to drive one towards stronger, angrier reactions.