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“By overidealizing a cause, person, or object,

people can give free rein to the Shadow."
The Laws of Human Nature, Chapter 9, The Law of Repression

Young Squire
11 6
Jul 1, 2022

Quote

“By overidealizing a cause, person, or object, people can give free rein to the Shadow.” —
Robert Greene

Explanation

When people put ‘things’ on a pedestal, they allow their emotions to overpower their
rationality, and they become manically dedicated to ensure whatever they are idolising
prevails.

This frantic obsession causes people to accept and encourage manipulation, bullying,
and demonisation so long as the current ‘thing’ succeeds—by any means necessary.

However, such behaviour is not simply a case of overly dedicated or passionate

individuals fighting for what they believe in.

The current cause, person, or object is not actually the priority at all.

Instead, the chance to release the Shadow—acts of cruelty, bullying, coercion,

dehumanisation—is the real reason people become so invested in these intense
cultural or social moments.

Such behaviour has been brewing, waiting to escape these peoples’ psyche, and the
current ‘thing’ acts as a socially acceptable opportunity to allow this side of themselves
to be unleashed.

As a purely hypothetical example, this current ‘thing’ could perhaps be a global virus
that grants people the opportunity to demonise those who are not vaccinated against
the virus, claiming these selfish, evil individuals ought to be isolated and ostracised
from society, that such non-compliant rebels must be stripped of their freedoms and
barred from normal life.

The most committed and emotional members of such a group have found an effective
way to release the darkness that exists subconsciously inside of them, darkness that
has been repressed instead of channeled in a healthy or productive way, and so it
escapes in an archaic and destructive manner, raging uncontrollably.

But this is a hypothetical example, of course, so we need not worry about such a
scenario manifesting in reality…

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Daily Robert Greene quote explanation

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6 Comments

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Lisa Marie Harris Jul 3, 2022 Liked by Young Squire

Wow, another example is a cult, most recent case from the The Vow documentary.
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Niki Writes Basically Crypto Jul 1, 2022 Liked by Young Squire

Iʼm a new subscriber. Really loving your content, thank you!

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