11/5/2021

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,          

      My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,          

            Please pass on my condolences to Colin Powell’s (CLP) family. He blazed his trail with grace & humility. What an inspiration!

            I had some inspiration this AM as I learned about PRT, Psychological Reactance Theory (Brehm, 1966). It explains “Why is it that a child sometimes does the opposite of what he is told? …Why propaganda is frequently ineffective in persuading people? And why the grass in the adjacent pasture ever appear greener?” In a nutshell, it explains why people don’t like to be told what to do & comes down to the idea that we don’t want our freedoms curtailed. When we are bossed around, we experience an amalgam of anger & negative cognitions which can become a righteous motivation to fight. People vary in their need for autonomy so some of us hate being bossed around more than others. Maybe you encountered it when your PR people shared their Get Vaxed Ads with you.

            I found this theory useful in 3 ways this AM. First, PRT explains why my neighbors up in Oroville felt the need to become their own “constitutional republic” which will “oppose state & federal orders it deems to be overreach.” Apparently, this is a piece of political theater without much consequence, but it did get coverage in the G, so they have sent a message. Second, PRT provides hope that efforts, of the groups in Myanmar who are encouraging Tatmadaw soldiers to defect, will work. By appealing to the soldiers’ innate desires for freedom to resist their leaders, groups like People’s Embrace, are motivating military families to take the risk of deserting the Tatmadaw, which, by the way, is having trouble recruiting folks. Finally, PRT can help you figure out how to persuade LMS & JM3 to get on board with your plan.

I hypothesize that CLP had an intuitive understanding of PRT which made him such a successful leader. Maybe you do too.

BYBS,

RCA

BYBS,