When practicing Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) with other people, I advocate use of thinking which is rational—that which is in accordance with logic and reason. Ultimately, the objective of REBT is to promote the practice of rational living.
To better understand this practice, it may be useful to know that a proposal can be logical while simultaneously serving as an unreasonable suggestion. For clarity, consider the following syllogism:
Form –
If p, then q; if q, then r; therefore, if p, then r.
Example –
If only people on the sociopolitical Left are good, then people on the sociopolitical Right are bad.
If people on the sociopolitical Right are bad, then rightwing efforts must be defeated.
Therefore, if only people on the sociopolitical Left are good, then rightwing efforts must be defeated.
This proposal is logical, in that its major premise and minor premise establish a formulaic conclusion. However, the suggested outcome isn’t reasonable, because the major and minor premises are inherently flawed.
First, the proposal that “only people on the sociopolitical Left are good” is a moralistic and rigid form of description that isn’t empirically true. What a person believes is good or bad, right or wrong, or otherwise is a subjective consideration that doesn’t apply to everyone else.
Second, concluding that “people on the sociopolitical Right are bad” is something with which one imagines members of the sociopolitical rightwing would disagree. Therefore, the entire major premise is fundamentally flawed, because it’s subject to speculation rather than fact.
Third, building upon a faulty major premise, the minor premise incorporates a prescriptive imperative using an irrational belief associated with demandingness. This occurs when absolutistically demanding what should, must, or ought to occur.
Suppose a centrist-leaning person who doesn’t identify with the Left or Right happens to value the rightwing principle of personal responsibility and accountability for one’s own actions. This individual may disagree with the proposal that “rightwing efforts must be defeated.”
Thus, the subjectively prescriptive proposal of the minor premise would be rejected by the centrist-leaning person. After all, not everyone would agree with the logical though moralistic imperatives of either the major or minor premises.
Finally, being that the foundational premises are flawed, the conclusive suggestion of the syllogism is unreasonable. Although people associated with the Left may support the dogmatic rhetoric of the proposal and suggestion, individuals unaffiliated with the Right may reject it.
One tool I find useful to illustrate absurd claims issued by partisan actors is a bell curve which is associated with normal distribution. I imagine you’ve seen one of these curves at some point in your life.
According to one source, “In probability theory and statistics, a normal distribution or Gaussian distribution is a type of continuous probability distribution for a real-valued random variable.” For context, it may be useful to know what a bell curve represents.
The x-axis (horizontal) usually depicts a measurement or score (e.g., average number of Democratic, Republican, and independent voters in the United States [U.S.]). The y-axis (vertical) provides the number of instances each measurement has occurred.
The top of the curve depicts the most commonly occurring measurement or score. In a normally distributed graph, the most frequently occurring measurement or score (mode) represents the average of all scores (e.g., average number of total voters).
The width of the curve suggests variance in the data. The wider the curve, the more variance there is (e.g., female Democrat voters in relation to male Republican voters). The narrower the curve, the less variance there is (e.g., number of deceased versus living voters).
When seeking to understand the utility of a bell curve, it’s important to consider information reported by one source:
Statisticians use the standard deviation to represent the variance in a bell curve. High variance = a large standard deviation. Low variance = a small standard deviation. The nice thing about standard deviations is that they – regardless of how large or small they are – represent the same proportion of their respective graphs. An increase of 1 standard deviation on a normal bell curve, for example, will always be equal to an increase of 34%. This is part of the empirical rule and it holds true for any data measured using a bell curve.
Now, let’s apply understanding of bell curves to the topic of politics within the U.S. and other nations. Before we do, it’s worth describing what one source states about the so-called “far right”:
Far-right politics, or right-wing extremism, is a spectrum of political thought that tends to be radically conservative, ultra-nationalist, and authoritarian, often also including nativist tendencies. The name derives from the left–right political spectrum, with the “far right” considered further from center than the standard political right.
One observation to which I’ve paid close attention throughout the last decade or so is that many people who identify with leftwing, progressive, “liberal,” or Democrat sociopolitical proposals and suggestions tend to castigate people unaffiliated with these ideas as “far right.”
This means that individuals who identify with rightwing, conservative, Republican, or Make America Great Again (MAGA) sociopolitical descriptions and prescriptions are generally considered to be on the “far right.” There is no normal distribution using this type of dichotomous framing.
Essentially, anyone right of the Left – to include independent or centrist voters, as well as people like me who choose not to actively participate in the political process – is said to be “far right.” Here’s how this irrational binary looks on a bell curve:
That ain’t right (correct). While I don’t doubt that a significant number of people within the U.S. identify with leftwing politics, not everyone who rejects the Left’s proposals and suggestions is a far right actor.
Of course, it may be of use to provide examples related to information referenced herein. Consider that one source states:
Developed by the far-right Heritage Foundation, “Project 2025” is a set of policy initiatives written by Trump-supporting activists in consultation with various right-wing organizations that would fundamentally transform the federal government into a tool of repression and political retribution.
Would this “tool of repression and political retribution” include actions such as ramping up a misdemeanor crime to felony status and dividing the charge into 34 separate crimes? If so, that form of lawfare isn’t something up to which a civil society could possibly stand.
A separate source reports:
The head of France’s conservative party on Tuesday [6/11/2024] called for an alliance with the far right in upcoming snap elections, breaking a longstanding taboo and throwing his party into deep turmoil as the shock waves from President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to dissolve the lower house of Parliament coursed through the country.
A French political party, using the democratic process for electing representatives, is apparently pushing back against policies which arguably aren’t serving the nation’s interests and goals? One was reliably led to believe that democracy was a “good” system of governance.
Another source states:
For most of the past year, the far‑right Alternative für Deutschland party has been polling at near 20%, and it finished second in this week’s European elections. All of a sudden, a nation that thought it had buried fascism forever is beginning to see its spectre [sic] rise once again.
Apparently, the democratic process turns fascist when one’s preferred political party isn’t projected to win. This begs the question regarding legitimacy of the so-called “far right” claim. Perhaps this term is merely a form of name-calling rather than a valid description.
Yet another source reports:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he’s taking an optimistic approach after Europeans made a lurch to the far-right in continental elections that could impact Canada’s trade and climate policies. “It shows that the far-right is becoming more mainstream across Europe,” said Achim Hurrelmann, co-director of the Centre for European Studies at Carleton University.
One supposes the phrase “optimistic approach” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that source. Nevertheless, one further wonders about how common it is for supposedly “far right” democratically-elected representatives abroad to suddenly manifest, or whether or not that ain’t right because reported sources are left-leaning.
Noteworthy, I’m not the first or only person to observe the trend reported herein. One source posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Have you ever wondered how corporate media decides who to call “far right”? Look no further, I found their cheat sheet:”
It was William Shakespeare who pondered, “What’s in a name?” Now, I ask – beyond the ad hominem attack associated with the term “far right” – what’s the significance of irrationally categorizing one’s sociopolitical opponents?
Are thoughts, beliefs, morals, ethics, or principles the matter with which one takes issue concerning people to the right of the Left? As an REBT practitioner, I instead invite people to consider the consequences of their cognitive process which causes unpleasant outcomes.
REBT theory uses the ABC model to illustrate how when Activating events occur and people maintain irrational Beliefs about the events, these unhelpful assumptions – and not the actual occurrences – are what create unpleasant cognitive, emotive, bodily sensation, and behavioral Consequences.
As an example, if someone who identifies with far right ideology isn’t self-disturbed by the notion that a nation should establish and protect its borders, who am I to say this individual is bad, evil, or unhealthy? I’m less concerned with the cognitive aspect than I am with the behavioral consequence.
However, it would appear as though some leftwing actors are neurotically fixated with what goes on in the minds of others – all while behaving in a manner which is counterintuitive to supposed leftist ideology. Let’s briefly look at the evidence in support of this claim.
One source reports, “Nazism; formally National Socialism, is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany.” Point one: Nazis were reportedly a far right group.
Additionally, one source reports of Ukraine’s Azov Brigade, “The unit has drawn controversy over its early and allegedly continuing association with far-right groups and neo-Nazi ideology, its use of controversial symbols linked to Nazism, and early allegations that members of the unit participated in human rights violations.”
Point two: The Azov Brigade apparently is a far right group. Also, one source states, “Since the nomination of William Jennings Bryan in 1896, the [Democratic] Party has generally positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party on economic issues.”
Point three: The U.S. Democratic Party is ostensibly associated with leftwing politics. As well, one source confirms, “Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. is an American politician who is the 46th and current president of the United States since 2021.” Point four: President Biden is affiliated with the Left.
Given these foundational points, I now turn to what a recent source reports, “The U.S. has removed restrictions on the transfer of American weapons and training to a high-profile Ukrainian military unit [Azov Brigade] with a checkered past, the State Department said on Tuesday [6/11/2024].”
Final point: The U.S. is ostensibly supporting “far right” neo-Nazis in Ukraine. Thus, it would appear as though some leftwing actors are neurotically fixated with what goes on in the minds of others – all while behaving in a manner which is counterintuitive to supposed leftist ideology.
How “bad” can the far right possibly be when the U.S. leftwing is apparently funding, arming, and training such actors abroad? Furthermore, is it any surprise that supposed “far right” movements are now cropping up around the world, given that our nation incentivizes such ideology?
That ain’t right, as far as some people who are left of center, centrists, independents, and even nonaffiliated with sociopolitical endeavors (such as me) may be concerned. Yet, given the perceived trend of the bell curve presented herein, there’s little room for nuanced opinions.
When working with people through use of REBT, I advocate rational thinking. Admittedly, the rational thinker among irrational sociopolitical actors may appear as though one is outright insane—in a state of mind which prevents normal perception, behavior, or social interaction.
However, use of tools such as syllogisms and bell curves may serve as mechanisms of self-reassurance. You aren’t necessarily insane or “far right” for questioning irrational ideologies and absurd behavior.
Increasingly, clients are reaching out to me so that they may discuss sociopolitical matters. Continually, I hear reports of the perceived inability to engage in civil discussions of this sort what are outside the confines of psychotherapeutic sessions.
Nevertheless, I invite each of my clients to increase their level of resilience in the face of perceived social outrage for daring to challenge ridiculous sociopolitical norms. One can improve high frustration tolerance by turning toward discomfort and withstanding criticism.
After all, what’s the worst scenario that could possibly happen? I mean, it’s not like a person is going to pay, arm, or train a neo-Nazi to kill other people, right? Oh, wait. Yeah. That ain’t right.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
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Cohen, R. and Breeden, A. (2024, June 11). France in shock as Conservative leader embraces far right. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/11/world/europe/france-conservatives-far-right-alliance.html
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