This quote stated by Anna Freud really summed up an important part of this weeks reading. “An early stage in the development of conscience, identification with the aggressor occurs not just when we are scared of others but when we cannot bear their censure. We internalize the criticism, but rather than directing it at ourselves we turn it outward becoming the critic because we cannot bear the criticism. Moral maturity is reached…when we become able to turn this criticism back against ourselves” (69-70). It is easy for a person to see a fellow employee participating in deeds that are unethical and set themselves apart from them, saying they are not like that employee. But for that individual to set their self apart from the employee is avoiding the bigger picture. That person should asking why are they doing that, and is it really for the good of the company? And if so, am I too acting unethically? This line of questioning is at most times hard to face, and it is easier for an individual to lash out on others instead of themselves.
By participating in classes where Service Learning plays a key role, the student participating is taking his or her steps towards moral maturity. They are doing this by acknowledging that they can be a solution to a huge problem that affects the community as a whole. For me at MarinLink, I am participating indirectly in trying to help with bringing down pollution and the use of plastic products. My job has been to help think of ways to reach consumers so they have the information to make consumer decisions that is not only beneficial for them, but for the environment as well. When participating in any community organization that has goals to help solve major issues, that volunteer is looking at the big picture. They are acknowledging that they have to look at themselves before they point fingers at others. And instead of placing the blame, they are taking the steps to help the people around them be aware of the situation.
Yes--this is a wonderful interpretation. You got it! The whistleblower goes beyond mature narcissism into what Kohut (cited by Alford in his discussion of narcissism moralized) called comic narcissism. So that not only is the critique turned inward but the subject of the critique are those big picture principles that you illustrate with the work you are doing with MarinLink. The whistleblower so closely identifies with these values/issues that any violation of these ideals is a personal "wound" on his/her psyche. The whistleblower believes in striving for the perfection of self and that perfection is a world that manifests these values/ideals/ethics. . . You articulated what I have been thinking about in terms of the ways in which whistleblowers are motivated to act on big issues that affect the larger reality not just more individualized values/ethics. So in this way the whistleblower closes the gap between personal moral codes and collective social issues.
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