AN UPDATED VERSION OF "PROGRESSIVE POLITICS AND HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY IN THE TRUMP/CORONAVIRUS ERA"

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AN UPDATED VERSION OF “PROGRESSIVE POLITICS AND
HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY IN THE TRUMP/CORONAVIRUS ERA”
Elliot Benjamin, Ph.D., Ph.D.
Ph.D. Mentor, Department of Psychology,
Capella University
NOTE: This is an updated version of my previous article Progressive Politics and Humanistic Psychology in the
Trump/Coronavirus Era (Benjamin, 2020a). The second update (at the end of the article) was written about a week
before the United States midterm elections. The third update was written about 7 months after the United States
midterm elections.
In this chapter the author discusses the relationship of progressive politics to humanistic psychology in
the Trump/Coronavirus era. The harsh realities of personal fears and severe challenges to our mental health evoked by
both the United States presidency of Donald Trump and the coronavirus pandemic are described initially. Then, a
number of self-care practices that are consistent with the basic values of humanistic psychology and that we can
undertake to help us meet these harsh realities are illustrated. Next, the author describes his own personal engagement
and self-care in the world of progressive politics and humanistic psychology in the context of the Resisting Trump
movement. The article concludes with the author suggesting that perhaps it may be worthwhile for politically like-
minded others to also consider finding ways of merging their progressive politics with humanistic psychology in order
to enhance their self-care through these turbulent times in the Trump/Coronavirus era. The author also includes two
updates to this article that describe his more recent perspective on this topic.
KeyWords: Trump 2, Trumpian, empathy, humanistic psychology, climate destruction, humanistic psychology,
coronavirus pandemic, self-care, progressive politics, Resisting Trump movement, Trump/Coronavirus era
Corresponding author’s Email: ben496@prexar.com

INTRODUCTION
In the present article I want to focus upon the merging of progressive politics and humanistic psychology during the
tremendously stressful and dangerous times in which we are currently living, which I refer to as the
Trump/Coronavirus era. The merging that I describe in this article is based upon my own relevant experiences,
primarily in the United States, but they may very well have applications to various countries in other parts of the
world. I have published a number of articles and given a number of talks related to the merging of progressive politics
and humanistic psychology in the context of the Resisting Trump movement (Benjamin, 2018a, 2018b, 2019).1 In the
concluding section of one of my articles (Benjamin, 2019) I summarized my view that many of the statements and
policies of United States President Donald Trump are completely antithetical to the basic premises of humanistic
psychology that involve engaging in genuine and empathic relationships with people:
Under the current dangerous leadership and rhetoric of US President Donald Trump, the
destructive effects on the mental health of much of our country’s population are becoming
increasingly apparent. Furthermore, President Trump’s various political activities, especially
inclusive of his dangerous rhetoric, may very well have led to significant increases in violence,
and they run completely counter to the basic values of Humanistic Psychology that promote
genuine, empathic relationships between human beings. (pp. 7-8)
My above summary describing the detrimental effects of Trump’s leadership and rhetoric on mental health, as well as
its apparent stimulation of significant increases in violence (Benjamin, 2019), is supported by a number of quantitative
statistical studies as conveyed by various authors: (Fein et al., 2018; Finkelstein et al., 2019; Folley, 2019; Haverluck,
2018; Macias, 2019; Panning, 2019). However, the concerns that myself and others have previously written about in
regard to the “destructive effects on the mental health of much our country’s population” under the “dangerous
leadership and rhetoric of US President Donald Trump” (Benjamin, 2019, pp. 7-8) are currently greatly increased due
to the current coronavirus pandemic crisis.2 Nevertheless, I believe that the merging of progressive politics and
humanistic psychology in the context of the Resisting Trump movement, now applied in our current
Trump/Coronavirus era, may therapeutically enhance our mental health while literally saving the United States and
the world from the point of disaster with no escape (Benjamin, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c, 2020d). To support my
contention about the value of this merging of progressive politics and humanistic psychology I will make use of my
own relevant experiences in the Resisting Trump movement, with a current focus on the coronavirus pandemic crisis.
1. DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS ON MENTAL HEALTH IN THE TRUMP/CORONAVIRUS ERA
There have been a number of disturbing reports about the significant detrimental effects on the mental health of a
large segment of the US population, directly related to our present political climate under what I have referred to as
the “dangerous leadership and rhetoric” of President Donald Trump (Benjamin, 2019). One of these disturbing reports
conveyed the following:
Trump’s behaviors during the campaign (e.g. misogyny, and ethnic bigotry, prejudice, and
discrimination), and his subsequent success have ignited and perpetuated feelings and beliefs
characterized by fear of and hostility toward particular groups, and major shifts in beliefs and
perspectives that reveal potentially significant challenges people could face as a result of the
disruption of a particular worldview. . . . Specifically, the demonstrated threats to human rights
and civil liberties have raised disturbing challenges for many American citizens and
undocumented immigrants in the form of deep concern at being led and governed by an
individual who does not promote public safety, equality, and human dignity in language and
behavior. (Krippner & Pitchford, 2018, pp. 175-176)
The prevalent anxiety that many Americans have experienced since the 2016 election of Trump has been referred to as
“Trump Anxiety Disorder” and described as follows:
Symptoms were specific to the election of Trump and the resultant unpredictable sociopolitical
climate. . . . Though not an official diagnosis, the symptoms include feeling a loss of control and
helplessness, and fretting about what’s happening in the country and spending excessive time on
social media. . . . Trump is driving the nation into a mental crisis. “Two-thirds of Americans say
they are stressed about the future of our nation—including a majority of Democrats and
Republicans,” an APA press release issued last year revealed. “More than half of Americans (57
percent) say the current political climate is a very or somewhat significant source of stress, and

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nearly half (49 percent) say the same about the outcome of the election.”. . . . “We’re surrounded
by conversations, news and social media that constantly remind us of the issues that are stressing
us the most.” (Haverluck, 2018, pp. 3-5)
Furthermore, as I have previously described, the precarious mental health of President Trump himself may very well
be a significant factor related to these detrimental mental health effects:
A significant factor in this detrimental mental health phenomenon in the United States is directly
related to the questionable mental health of President Trump himself, as strikingly described in
terms like malignant, pathological, hedonistic, and narcissistic by a number of well-respected
psychiatrists and psychologists in the book The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump (Lee, 2019).
(Benjamin, 2019, p. 4)
However, these disturbing reports pale by comparison with what the whole world is now facing with the current
coronavirus pandemic crisis, and the United States is doubly challenged by what I have referred to as the “Deadly
Duo”: Trump and the coronavirus (Benjamin, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c). The deadly worldwide consequences of the
coronavirus have been described excessively,2 and there have also been a number of descriptions of the detrimental
effects on mental health in the United States from this crisis (Benjamin, 2020d; Graham, 2020; Holcombe, 2020;
Hunter, 2020; Kaur, 2020). Some of these descriptions are as follows:
Along with these feelings of disorientation, it may seem like it’s getting harder to concentrate and
taking longer to complete tasks, as if our brains are just working more slowly. . . . “It’s a perfect
storm between changes in environment, loss of social anchors and increases in cognitive
stress. . . . And then on top of that, most of us are not getting the quality sleep that we used to”
. . . .”Often if you’re feeling stressed or you’re feeling anxious, those thoughts and feelings can
show up and either make it more difficult to fall asleep or more difficult to stay asleep.”. . . . That
sleeplessness, in turn, can further cognitive impairment, attention and concentration issues and
short-term memory loss. . . . “We’ve lost all of the routine of a typical week, and that means
having weekends as a boundary or as a separation or something to look forward to. . . . Now the
weekend is the same as a weekday. Because work is home and home is work for many people,
some may find themselves working longer hours or into the weekends. Gone are the happy
hours, concerts or sporting events that once separated weekdays from weekends, causing the
days to just drag on. . . . For those who still need to go into work, routines may look a lot
different. And there’s the added mental strain of remembering to socially distance, wear masks
and avoid touching surfaces. All of that can contribute to a sense of disorientation.”. . . . We’re
multitasking a lot more. Many people are finding themselves balancing multiple responsibilities,
such as homeschooling children or caring for an elderly family member—all while holding down
a full-time job or coping with the stress of a layoff. . . . “Our working memory is a limited
resource. . . . We can easily tax it by trying to engage it in too many activities at once or trying to
multitask in our mind.” The pandemic is becoming a source of chronic stress given that it’s been
going on for weeks, or even months for some people. . . . High stress levels impair our
concentration and attention, and can affect short-term memory. (Kamur, 2020, pp. 1-3)
“We’ve lost that sense of certainty, that sense of safety, that sense of predictability and so it
stands to reason that all of that leaves us feeling dislocated and unsure about what’s going to
happen next.”. . . . People all over the world are grieving the sudden loss of loved ones, and the
intensity of those losses is clear. But grief can come from the loss of anything we’re attached to
deeply: the loss of economic stability, the loss of our ability to move around freely, the ability to
participate in life’s milestones in person. (Hunter, 2020, p. 1)
Across the country, seniors’ lives are being upended as continuing care retirement communities
take aggressive steps to protect residents from Covid-19, the illness caused by the novel
coronavirus. . . . Without regular contact with other people, older adults can become lonely or
depressed. A change in someone’s health status that might have been noticed if they didn’t show
up for dinner can now go unobserved. Without stimulation, motivation and cognition can
decline. (Graham, 2020, pp. 1, 4)
It could put strain on families, send children home to abusive situations, make those living alone
feel isolated and threaten people’s sense of purpose by keeping them from work. . . . And those

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experiencing financial insecurity in the midst of the pandemic have an added stress that is
difficult to resolve. . . . The experience of staying home together through a pandemic can be
considered a collective trauma. . . . People in quarantine show signs of confusion, depression and
anger. (Holcombe, 2020, p. 2)
It is well known that cognitive stimulation is significantly related to preventing cognitive decline (Eckroth-Bucher,
2009; Krell-Roesch et al., 2019), and the related detrimental consequences to mental health from the coronavirus are
likely spreading throughout the world. In particular, in China there are studies that have reported detrimental mental
health consequences that include anxiety, depression, sleep-related symptoms, and fears of being quarantined and
isolated from the world (Huang & Zhao, 2020; Wilder-Smith & Freedman, 2020). However, as described in the next
section, there are also a number of self-care recommendations from health care professionals that may offset at least
some of the detrimental mental health consequences from the coronavirus, and some of these recommendations are
consistent with the basic premises of humanistic psychology (Rogers, 1961).
2. SELF-CARE, HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY, AND THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
Mental health professionals have recommended a number of self-care practices to offset the detrimental mental health
consequences of the coronavirus. These recommended self-care practices include developing self-awareness, self-
acceptance, and self-compassion, practicing mindfulness, meditation, and/or yoga, connecting with others “virtually,”
engaging in constructive and cathartic self-expression, limiting the frequency of getting news updates, limiting social
media time, obtaining professional “virtual” mental health assistance, getting adequate sleep, keeping up with proper
nutrition, getting outside as much as possible, engaging in regular physical activity, spending enough alone-time if
living with someone, focusing on the joys in the little things in life, maintaining a sense of daily structure as much as
feasible, and taking frequent breaks (Graham, 2020; Holcombe, 2020; Hunter, 2020; Kaur, 2020; Rogers, 2020;
Villano, 2020; Willingham, 2020). A number of these self-care practices have been well established as beneficial
practices to mental health in a variety of circumstances (Brenner, 2014; Kabat-Zinn, 2005; Rogers, 1961; Schneider et
al., 2015). The following illustrates some of these recommendations that are consistent with the basic premises of
humanistic psychology that involve self-awareness, self-expression, creativity, authenticity, and empathy:
[Senior] communities have responded by having staff check in regularly with vulnerable
residents, offering to arrange video visits with family members, organizing Zoom interest groups
for residents and creating programming, such as exercise sessions broadcast over closed-circuit,
in-house television stations. (Graham, 2020, p. 4)
Being present in our sadness is important while at the same time holding as much gratitude or joy
as we can. . . . “It’s really important for us to be present to the loss as we’re moving through it,
but it’s also important to stay present to the restoration, to the moving forward, to the finding the
meaning in our living, to allowing moments of joy to come in to release some of the anguish. . . .
Crying and screaming are healthy expressions of grief, therapists say, and dancing and singing
can also be restorative expressions of emotion. . . . One important element of taking care of
yourself is setting boundaries. Being able to say, “today is not the day” when someone comes to
you with something you can’t presently deal with. . . noting that women often struggle with
feelings that taking care of yourself is somehow selfish. It’s not. (Hunter, 2020, pp. 2-3)
Since action can allay our anxieties, you may want to also consider what you can do to help
others who may be more affected by the outbreak than you. Service workers, medical workers,
hourly workers and people in the restaurant or entertainment industries may have their
livelihoods paralyzed or have to put themselves in disproportionate danger. . . . If you can’t seem
to get a handle on your thoughts, professional help can be an option. (Willingham, 2020, pp. 2-3)
“Just having someone to talk to, someone who can help you work through some of these difficult
issues, is invaluable. . . . Now more than ever, therapists are becoming indispensable for giving
people the tools they need to get through any situation.” (Villano, 2020, p. 4)
Meditation is one tool that can help our immune systems functioning optimally. . . . “Awareness
by itself heals. Awareness without conceptual intervention restores self-regulation.”. . . . In a
2015 review of studies on the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction [(MBSR)] and

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mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), researchers found that people who received this
therapy were less likely to respond to stressful situations with negative thoughts or unhelpful
emotional reactions. Those participants were also more likely to focus on the present moment
and less likely to experience ruminating thoughts. Breathing meditations can also reduce muscle
tension and your heart rate, which are signs of stress. . . . Breathing meditations are another tool
you can add to your coping toolkit, which may also include journaling, baking or virtually
connecting with others. (Rogers, 2020, pp. 1-3)
The above self-care recommendations are certainly very valuable and have a great deal of potential to benefit many
people who are desperately trying to find ways to constructively deal with not only the coronavirtus pandemic crisis,
but also the Trump-induced mental health crisis, as described in the preceding section. However, there is one
particular self-care recommendation that has not been mentioned by the above authors, and this is one that I
personally have gotten much value from and I will discuss in the next section.
3. SELF-CARE AND PROGRESSIVE POLITICS THROUGH RESISTING TRUMP
IN THE TRUMP/CORONAVIRUS ERA
In this section I will endeavor to put all the above threads together: self-care, humanistic psychology, progressive
politics, the Resisting Trump movement, and the coronavirus, and I will do so through conveying my own continuous
involvement in each of these five threads. However, I experience these five threads as interconnecting without any
kind of firm boundaries, and therefore my portrayal of my relevant experiences in this regard will encompass all these
threads simultaneously.To begin with, my involvement with progressive politics ever since the November, 2016
United States presidential election has been completely immersed with the Resisting Trump movement7. And since
2017 I have been involved in writing articles and giving talks to promote the merging of humanistic psychology with
progressive politics via the Resisting Trump movement (Benjamin, 2018a,2018b, 2019).5 However, the recent advent
of the horrific coronaviruns pandemic crisis has brought things to a whole new level, and I have described my
thoughts related to the connections between Trump and the coronavirus (Benjamin, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c) with some
preliminary excursions into how these connections can also relate to humanistic psychology (Benjamin, 2020d). For
example, I originally had written about the “dangerous leadership and rhetoric” of President Trump (Benjamin, 2019)
originally had written about the “dangerous leadership and rhetoric” of President Trump (Benjamin, 2019) but this is
now extended to the apparent stimulation of hate crimes against Asian Americans related to Trump for a period of
time designating the coronavirus as the “Chinese virus” (Benjamin, 2020d; Somvichian-Clausen, 2020). But the
question I want to focus on at this point is how my involvement in progressive politics through the Resisting Trump
movement in the current Trump/Coronavirus era goes together with my self-care in the context of humanistic
psychology. And much of the answer to this question is related to my involvement with the grass roots progressive
politics Resisting Trump Indivisible movement,3 which like everything else in these Coronavirus times, has currently
transformed into “virtual” connections. I take part in both the relatively small weekly Zoom meetings with my local
Bangor, Maine Indivisible group, and in the large monthly National Indivisible conference calls. In regard to my self-
care, the weekly Bangor Indivisible meetings consists of only about a dozen people, and I am quite active in voicing
my thoughts and feelings, both personal and political. My thoughts and feelings that I have conveyed to my
Indivisible colleagues have been largely focused on what it takes to defeat Trump in the November United States
presidential election, which now means electing Joe Biden to be president (Benjamin, 2020e). For the past year
Indivisible was not favorable to Biden, as Biden was not nearly progressive enough to satisfy the progressive leanings
of virtually all Indivisible members, which I certainly understand and empathize with.4 However, true to their
commitment to defeat Trump, Indivisible has now endorsed Biden, with over 95% of Indivisible members voting in
favor of the endorsement (Seitz-Wald, 2020).5
I have stimulated discussions in my Bangor Indivisible group related to how Indivisible could induce former Bernie
Sanders supporters to support Biden, inclusive of my personal disclosure about my communications with my son in
this regard (Benjamin, 2020e). I have expressed my concerns, reinforcing the similar concerns expressed by others in
the group, about Trump trying to postpone the November presidential election and/or eliminating or minimizing mail-

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in vote ballots to help him get reelected, through not supporting the continuation of the United States post office
(Bunch, 2020). I have sparked continued discussions about the sexual assault allegation against Biden, taking into 6
account Biden’s defense of these allegations and the evidence for and against him (Bradner & Lee, 2020; Dem, 2020;
Cillizza (2020). Thus in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic restrictive environment that we are now required to
live through, I have been able to maintain my political/personal connections in a way that has nourished me and made
me feel less isolated and more part of the progressive political world. My continued involvement in the Indivisible
movement, and in particular with my local Indivisible group virtually, has been a very important part of my self-care
as I live through the Trump/Coronavirus era, and is part and parcel of the basic values of humanistic psychology that
involve self-expression, authenticity, and empathy. Furthermore, I have continued my writings regarding the
connections of humanistic psychology to progressive politics and the Resisting Trump movement, inclusive of this
present article, as I have received constructive feedback and interest from professional humanistic psychology circles
in response to my ideas, and what I have to say, about humanistic psychology.6 Taken together, the affirming
responses that I have received, and am receiving, from Indivisible and professional humanistic psychology circles
have the effect of making me feel connected to an idealistic group of people to whom I can relate, which is nourishing
my sense of self-care through these turbulent times. This goes hand-in-hand with my personal good fortune to be
involved in a continuous loving harmonious (non-social distancing) relationship with my wife, as well as with the
continuation of my artistic/therapeutic mode of day-to-day functioning, inclusive of my engaging in pure mathematics
as a hobby, playing the piano by myself and playing piano/flute with my wife, writing psychology/political articles,
enjoying our family dog and cat, engaging in my disciplined mindfulness meditation practice, exercising at home
regularly and taking walks, and separating the weekends from the weekdays hrough continuing to experience homey,
fulfilling, and intimate weekends with my wife (Benjamin, 2020d). This all goes along with stringently practicing
social distancing and taking the utmost precautions when I am out in public while the coronavirus pandemic is still
raging, as I recently turned 70 and I certainly am not taking my good health for granted (Benjamin, 2020d). But all
things considered, I am grateful to still be alive and well and have the opportunity to be writing this essay and have it
published in a professional humanistic psychology journal. In this way, the five threads of self-care, humanistic
psychology, progressive politics, the Resisting Trump movement, and the coronavirus are all woven together for me,
with permeable boundaries that are working well to keep me functioning effectively through these trying times. It may
be worthwhile for politically like-minded others to also consider finding ways of merging their progressive politics
with humanistic psychology in order to enhance their self care through these turbulent times in the
Trump/Coronavirus era. In this regard, I find the following wise and inspiring words from esteemed humanistic
psychology elder Maureen O’Hara (2019) to be timely and relevant (Benjamin, 2020d):
I believe that despite the looming threats which often appear to block out the light of hope, we
are in fact witnessing a transformative insurgency at the core of which is a new consciousness.
There are “persons of tomorrow” everywhere engaged in large and mostly small creative and
effective initiatives addressing the multiple challenges humanity faces in the 21st century. . . . It is
urgent that as an alternative to the current narratives of despair, fear and division we promote
narratives of hope and solidarity not just with other humans but with all the species on the planet.
These narratives already exist in the hearts and minds of those who are making a difference. We
are in this together. The culture our descendants will inhabit will be created by the actions,
stories and choices we make now. (O’Hara, 2019, pp. 147, 149).
4. CONCLUSION
In this essay I have discussed the relationship of progressive politics to humanistic psychology in
the Trump/Coronavirus era. There are harsh realities of personal limitations and challenges to our mental health that
we are all facing during these turbulent times. However, there are also a number of self-care practices that we can
undertake to help us get through these times, and a number of these practices are consistent with the basic values of
humanistic psychology. For me personally, I am continuing to engage in the world of progressive politics and
humanistic psychology in the context of the Resisting Trump movement, and along with my good fortune to have a
fulfilling personal life, I am consequently undertaking sufficient self-care to be able to function effectively through the
crisis that is challenging all of us with our very survival. Along these lines, it may be worthwhile for politically like-

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minded others to also consider finding ways of merging their progressive politics with humanistic psychology in order
to enhance their self-care through these turbulent times in the Trump/Coronavirus era.
FIRST UPDATE: AUGUST, 2021
This article was initially published in November, 2020 in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Vol. 60, No. 6, and
was written a few months before the United States November, 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden was
elected president. However, the dominant features in this article remain relevant today, as we in the United States may
currently be living in a pre-Trumpian or pre-Trump 2 time period, meaning that it is quite possible that in 2024 we
could be faced with a Trump-like president or even the return of Donald Trump himself as president. Furthermore, the
coronavirus is still a deadly worldwide threat today, in particular through the surge of the Delta variant infecting
unvaccinated people. Consequently, the combined constructive activist forces of progressive politics and humanistic
psychology that I describe in this article may still very much be a significant potential remedy to survive and maintain
our sanity in our current era.
SECOND UPDATE: OCTOBER, 2022
It has now been nearly 2 years since this article in its original form was published in the Journal of Humanistic
Psychology, 7 and over a year since I published my August, 2021 note (see above). I believe that a number of the
dominant features of this article remain relevant today, especially with the 2022 United States midterm elections just
about a week away, and the expectations for the Republicans to take over the House and possibly the Senate, as well
as likely electing a number of state officials who are denying the 2020 presidential election of Joe Biden, with the dire
possibility of bypassing the voice of the American people in 2024 if Americans vote for a Democratic president
(Benjamin, in press; Haque, 2022; Montgomery, 2022). I still find a number of the constructive humanistic practices
that I wrote about in my original article to be sustaining practices for me today: in particular,
developing self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-compassion, practicing mindfulness,
meditation, and/or yoga, connecting with others “virtually,” engaging in constructive and
cathartic self-expression, limiting the frequency of getting news updates, limiting social media
time, . . . getting adequate sleep, keeping up with proper nutrition, getting outside as much as
possible, engaging in regular physical activity, spending enough alone-time if living with
someone, focusing on the joys in the little things in life, maintaining a sense of daily structure as
much as feasible, and taking frequent breaks” (Benjamin, 2020a, pp. 782-783).
But I must also say that what I wrote about the merging of humanistic psychology and progressive politics is no
longer working for me in the current discouraging political situation that the United States is living in (Benjamin,
2020a). I am glad that many people are still active politically to try to make a difference, but for my own mental
health I now feel the need to focus on all the above self-help practices, and especially the self-awareness, self-
acceptance, and self-compassion, practicing mindfulness and meditation part. As much as I hope that I am mistaken, I
am anticipating the beginning of the destruction of the human species starting with this upcoming midterm election, as
I feel extremely dejected about the effects that the Republicans having political power will likely have on escalating
the major catastrophes of climate destruction and nuclear war, in addition to a host of horrific domestic issues such as
gun violence, hate crimes, and the curtailment of civil rights for minority groups.8 Thus I feel that what I need to focus
on at this time is the richness of my day-to-day life through continuing my harmonious loving relationship with my
wife, taking good care of our new puppy, maintaining the workable relationship that I have with my son as we work
our way through our pandemic relationship challenges,9 and continuing my mathematical productivity through my
ongoing collaboration with my mathematical colleague/ex-math Ph.D. advisor. The continued havoc of the
coronavirus with all its never-ending new variants is certainly very discouraging to me, though I am trying my best to
find a constructive way to balance taking calculated risks to live my life not governed by excessive fear, and
maintaining a reasonable degree of safety precautions. 10 Needless to say, this is very challenging to accomplish, and

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together with the dire political reality that I described above, it is all that I can do to maintain my relative degree of
sanity and being able to function effectively. And thus when it all comes down to it, what I need to do is to practice
“acceptance” of what I detest, and “appreciation” for what I still have, and both of these practices are part and parcel
of the basic premises of humanistic psychology (Rogers, 1961; Schneider et al., 2015).
However, the world out there still exists and I cannot ignore it in spite of my constructive plans for my personal
self-adjustment. Although I no longer feel that there is anything realistic that I can do to actually change the dire
situation of the United States joining much of the world in the curtailment of democracy (Haque, 2022), at least I can
choose to “maladjust” to this dire situation, as advocated by Martin Luther King, and described by Arin Reeves (2012)
as follows:
The power of maladjustment. . . the choice to not adjust to what is wrong or broken even if it
invites others to call you crazy. . . . It is actually crazy to adjust when you know that what you
are adjusting to does not live up to the best of who you are. It is the maladjusted who lead. It is
the maladjusted who change the world. (pp. 2-3)
So I don’t need to “adjust” to the repressive United States regime that I am dreading is soon going to happen. I can
choose to be “maladjusted” and write about my maladjustment. And I believe that being maladjusted to these
depressing future political realities that I am anticipating is going to soon happen in the United States is part and
parcel of everything that humanistic psychology stands for (Benjamin, 2019; Rogers, 1969, 1986; Schneider et al.,
2015). And I feel inspiration from humanistic psychology founder Carl Rogers (1986), who in the late 1970s near the
end of his life, said in this regard: “I believe our culture is facing a life and death crisis on many fronts, and that I have
an obligation as a citizen to speak out” (p. 24).
Yet another possible avenue of personal health actions that I can take to constructively deal with the dire United
States and world political situation, as well as the continued coronavirus nightmare, involves applying a combination
of mindfulness meditation, terror management theory, and Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy.11 In his formulation of
logotherapy, Viktor Frankl (1959/1985) commonly conveyed in his works that “suffering ceases to be suffering the
moment a person discovers meaning in the experience” (cited in Weathers et al., 2016, p. 154). Much of Frankl’s
logotherapy psychotherapy is captured by one of his most often repeated far-reaching statements, which is a statement
that is directly related to the practice of mindfulness meditation (Kabat-Zinn, 2005): ”Between stimulus and response
there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom” (as
cited in Wong, 2020, p. 19). Frankl conveyed the basic premise of his logotherapy psychotherapy poignantly in terms
of what he described as “tragic optimism,” which has much similarity to the more recent theory of post-traumatic
growth (Schulenberg, 2020; Weathers et al., 2016):
I speak of tragic optimism, that is, an optimism in the face of tragedy and in view of the human
potential which at its best always allows for: (1) turning suffering into a human achievement and
accomplishment; (2) deriving from guilt the opportunity to change oneself for the better; and
(3) deriving from life’s transitoriness an incentive to take responsible action. (Frankl,
1959/1985, p. 162)
Describing the central place of Frankl’s reliance on faith, Wong (2020) related Frankl’s concept of tragic optimism
to our current coronavirus pandemic crisis impactfully, as follows:
Frankl survived the Nazi death camps and proved that tragic optimism worked even in situations
much worse than what we have now. . . . .What kept Frankl alive through multiple Nazi death
camps was precisely his faith in a future reunion with his wife (not knowing that she was already
dead), faith in the enthusiastic acceptance of logotherapy in the world, and faith in the inherent
value and sanctity of life. . . All our pursuits of meaningful work and meaningful relationships
are initiated by faith and sustained by faith even when we were living in a hellhole. (pp. 24, 47)
Jon Kabat-Zinn described the benefits of mindfulness meditation in extreme situations of fear and threats to our
well-being, as have poignantly been portrayed in a number of descriptions of terror management theory (Pyszczynski
et al, 2021; Solomon et al, 2015):
Through ongoing mindfulness practice, you learn to get in touch with and draw upon your deep
interior resources for physiological relaxation and calmness, even at times when there are
problems that have to be faced and resolved, and sometimes even in the face of crises and serious
threats to your well-being. . . . It may be possible to find a locus or a core of harmony within
ourselves in the midst of the full catastrophe of our fear and anxiety. (Kabat-Zinn, 1990/2013,

9
pp. 442, 448)
And it is exactly mindfulness meditation, as conveyed by Kabat-Zinn, as well as Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy, in
regard to our terror management of the coronavirus pandemic in “the face of crises and serious threats to your well-
being” and “the full catastrophe of our fear and anxiety” that I believe is needed right now as the whole world is
experiencing continuous mortal danger from this pandemic. Thus it is important for me to remember these avenues of
constructive activity as I try my best to deal with the dual horrors of my anticipation of the ending of democracy in the
United States and the world, and the continuation of the coronavirus pandemic. These constructive activities are
consistent with the descriptions that I have given above of my personal adjustment, as well as Martin Luther King’s
application of creative maladjustment to “maladjust” to the dire conditions of the world that we live in.
And getting back to the impending United States midterm elections in one week, I find value and meaning in
applying King’s creative maladjustment application directly to my involvement with the widespread and very
effective grass roots political organization, Indivisible [3]. Indivisible has a “plan” to constructively deal with the
aftermath of the midterm elections in the event that my dire predictions are accurate. As conveyed to me by the
Indivisible Northeast coordinator:
Whatever the election outcome, Indivisible will have a strategic guide to support the activities of local
groups, and in 2023 our political team will also be developing resources on how to push back on threats at the
state & local level as well as how we can act together to make whatever progress is possible on federal policy.
I’m also in the process of finalizing a regional workshop to support Indivisible leaders and activists in centering
their Indivisible activism as movement activism, with ideas about how to develop capacities for sustainable
movement work over the life course so that no matter what happens from election to election we have the
community and resilience to keep going. I’m hoping to schedule it for the week of November14-18.
Yes this is what I needed. I still need to focus on all my personal adjustment activities that I described above, and at
the present time I don’t feel able to continue my activities related to combining progressive politics with humanistic
psychology that I have described in this article. But what very much hits the spot for me at this time in a way that
helps me balance all my personal adjustment activities, is to feel like that there is at least “something” that I am doing
to “maladjust” to the dire political situation in the United States that I am anticipating will soon happen. And in this
regard, I am very thankful that Indivisible is still there, as I am remembering how Indivisible was such a tremendous
therapeutic political force for me when it originated nearly 6 years ago, right after the 2016 United States presidential
election that unleashed the nightmare of our President Trump [3]. And I will therefore close with at least a bit of
optimism. Not optimism in the sense that I believe anything productively concrete will emerge from any political
activity that I undertake. But rather, optimism that there is at least “something” that I can constructively do in the
context of finding personal meaning in a logotherapeutic context as I “manage my terror” and “maladjust” while I
meditate, to deal with whatever comes in a week—for there will be “life after the midterms” for me.
THIRD UPDATE: JUNE, 2023
The November, 2022 midterm elections went much better than I expected, with the Democrats keeping the Senate
and the Republicans gaining the House by only a few seats. Nevertheless, those few seats have resulted in a great deal
of challenge and turmoil, and a devastating debt default was barely avoided, largely through the skillful negotiations
of President Biden that resulted in a minimum of destructive consequences in comparison with what the House
Republicans wanted to require to limit the debt ceiling. However, the 2024 presidential election is now in the
forefront, which in all likelihood is going to be a rematch between Biden and Trump. The Republicans are painting
Biden as old and incapable of fulfilling the duties of the presidency, and Biden’s public physical falls is feeding right
into this feeble picture of him. In spite of all Trump’s legal difficulties, it concerns me that this feeble picture of Biden
could result in the catastrophic event that I desperately want to avoid: a 2024 President Trump. If Biden were to get
elected in 2024 and was unable to fulfill his term of office, I have no problem with Vice President Kamala Harris
taking over the presidency, in comparison with the alternative of a President Trump. At any rate, these are my current
thoughts and concerns as we are now in the beginning of the 2024 election cycle.

10
NOTES
1) My humanistic psychology Resisting Trump talks, some of which I have presented as a member of the American
Psychological Association (APA) Division 32 Humanistic Psychology Task Force on Hate Incidents, have taken place
at the APA conventions in 2017 and 2019, the 2019 Association of Humanistic Psychology annual meeting, and at a
2019 London British Association of Humanistic Psychology meeting that I facilitated.
2) See Fox, 2020), Levenson et al., 2020, and Benjamin, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c and the references therein.
3) See Benjamin, 2018a, 2018b, 2019 and the references therein; and see the Indivisible homepage website at
www.indivisible.org
4) See my essays related to Biden and Trump at www.integralworld.net and www.esperanzacenter.or
5) See the Indivisible detailed contrast between the views of Biden and Trump on a number of issues on the
Indivisible homepage at https://2020.indivisible.org/?
akid=59083.12450.UrND_Y&rd=1&t=7&utm_medium=link1_20200508&utm_source=emai
6) See Benjamin, 2019, 2020d and Note 1; within the past 2 and a half years I have also published an article and
reviewed an article for the APA publication The Humanistic Psychologist and I have served as a reviewer for two
articles in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology.
7) See Benjamin, 2020a.
8) See Benjamin, in press, and the references therein.
9) See Benjamin, 2022a, and the references therein.
10) See Benjamin, 2022b.
11) The material on logotherapy and mindfulness meditation in this update is taken from Benjamin, 2020b.
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