The Importance of Identification Part 3

I supported, and overlooked his unorthodox behavior of sleeping in a recruit’s room or even attending high school with that recruit. He held spring practices in Florida, and took his teams to Italy and France. In 2015, my Wolverines lost to Michigan State when on the last play the game, the punt was blocked and a Michigan State player ran it into the end zone. I could not objectively listen to criticism when it came to coach Harbaugh’s call to punt the ball. Moreover, it was as if my conscience was frozen, nonfunctioning, malleable or absent as Jim’s sense of morality became like my own. I could not employ my conscience independently when it came to Jim’s behavior. I could easily use my words, and/or defense mechanisms or even ignore the coach’s behavior. I could not even apply rational thought and thinking properly. Or simply put, my rational thought and my conscience were objectively ineffective when it came to coach Harbaugh. It would probably take losing seasons to dislodge my identification with coach Harbaugh. Otherwise, my feelings of approval and support continue to be obtained by allegiance to this external authority. These few examples demonstrate the power of unconscious identification. Irrational judgment, non-effective immature conscience, submission to the leader, inability to listen to reason or criticism, and the employment of denial, rationalization, and intellectualization occur within .Jim Harbaugh, as the messiah, can do no wrong at this moment. His will, commands, and precepts or principles becomes my moral laws. Because of our cognitive ability, we can come to any conclusion possible. We don’t have to be consistent; we don’t have to be rational; we don’t have to make sense; we don’t have to think in complete sentences nor do we have to be reasonable. We can even convince ourselves of the unbelievable. Facts are easily discounted and become not important. Often, our unconscious introjections, identifications and emotions interfere with and rule reality. As a consequence, our moral and ethical conscience and development are often out of balance, flawed, and not representative of Judeo-Christian values. Who is your Pied Piper? It’s clear that the vast array of Pied Pipers help define and establish one’s personality as a result of the power of the identifications.