Rogue Counselor

From September 2, 20206

The Savior Complex and Politics

It’s funny. I’m watching myself become less of an idealist and more of a realist.

Take this post. I am fully aware that what I write here may not reach a lot of people. I’ve made peace with that. Earlier this week I left what I felt was pretty insightful comments for two of our Pennsylvania state representatives. I know it’s unlikely they read or take anything I say seriously. That is really the nature of hierarchical-based society. Even if your intentions are well-meaning, if you engage leaders in deeper critical thinking, you’re branded an outsider at best, an enemy at worst.

It concerns me how at election time candidates present themselves as “saviors” while dehumanizing their opponents. As it does every year the ads make you start questioning whether or not both candidates for any poltical office has a nefarious intention. If I were an alien (and, who knows, maybe I am) I would be pontificating how socially primitive our society is.

I used to think it was my responsibility to call out this behavior…to “save” others from the evil in the world. I don’t see it that way anymore. I now see it as a response to my own trauma of not being heard, of not being enough, and of not living up to my potential. I am taking responsibility now for how my own savior complex was a bridge into narcissism.

Now I am training to be a minister focused on interspiritual and interfaith facilitation. My observation is that organized religion — especially the Abrahamic factions — has played a huge role with this savior complex. I’ve learned to replace the word “evil” with “trauma”. Clinical terms like “narcissism” and even “sadism” have been needlessly weaponized, but I am beginning to appreciate how we almost can’t help but develop narcissistic or sociopathic tendencies just to survive in this highly competitive environment. In extreme cases I have seen “evil” show up as sadism — which is the enjoyment of hurting or killing a person.

Can we really “save” anyone from this? I don’t know. But this is where a balance between realism and idealism might be healthy.

I have recommended to two of our state representatives now to consider nonpartisan trauma responsive services when dealing with issues involving kids, health, and emotionally charged situations which turn violent. Both parties are selling us on the idea that society is terrible and that we need a partisan “fixer”. To me that seems disempowering to us in “The Commons” and, forgive me for saying, a little insulting to our collective intelligence.

All right. So this post is getting a little lengthy. I will end here and invite you to role model intelligent conversation about this here in the post. I will also be at the Awaken Center at the Montgomery Mall tonight at 6 PM. We can continue this conversation in person as well.

From September 5, 20206

FOR THOSE WHO PREFER LONGER, THOUGHTFUL, POLITICALLY ORIENTED POSTS

I want to preface a few things before writing this. First, I am not a psychologist, nor am I an authority or an expert of any kind. Yes, I am a “Ministry Candidate”, but our cohort considers ourselves companions and fellow travelers and that “spiritual authority” cannot be designated by manmade institutions. I am just a father and a husband working on understanding why things are happening the way they are. Why it seems so many people are struggling with making sense of some uncomfortable and in many cases horrifying truths. I see myself as a friend, nothing more. I no longer seek to be an authority because I am still learning and working on my own stuff.

That being said, I am writing today out of genuine concern and not to criticize anybody. If what I write here comes across as critical or even triggering it is because I am recognizing some of my own patterns that I wish to change.

A few days ago I wrote a short piece about “The Savior Complex and Politics”. In that piece I called for our political leaders to consider nonpartisan trauma responsive facilitation in lieu of debate. I am genuinely concerned for the mental health of those leaders who are in the spotlight every day. After years of developing friendships and listening to SA survivors, it is finally starting to make sense why people are so sensitive about religion, politics, and money. I will elablore on this…

Many of you know I am trying to birth new forms of economics. However, one SA survivor once put it to me bluntly, “Mike. Those who are in control would rather see you dead than have your ideas see the light of day.”

Since then I kind of made it “my fight” to be heard, to stand out in the crowd, and make my voice louder. In retrospect, I see now how I was demonstrating my own narcissitic tendencies. But today I am married to my best friend and father of two young children. It’s not just me anymore. So when an SA survivor — one who is far more qualified than me when it comes to understanding the social and political motivations of powerful people — tells me that particular interests would “rather see you dead”, you tend to play it safe out of care and concern for the people you love.

Today the genie is out of the bottle. Today we have access to the graphic details of SA and systemic abuses. Today we have the choice to either hide from or face our collective trauma. When you listen to SA survivors — really LISTEN without agenda — you learn a narrative that no one really wants to talk about.

You start to ask yourself the question, “Is cruelty and silence a prerequisite for the attainment of worldly power?”

Behind closed doors, blackmail is the currency for high positions of power. There are insider terms like “collateral” where SA and cult survivors describe attaining video evidence of these transgressions in order to get government representatives to vote a certain way. There are psychological terms like “narcissism”, “psychopathy”, and “sadism” being lightly thrown around by those not necessarily qualified to use them. I am not an expert, but I consider the survivors of such abuse more than qualified to use such terms — especially when they are seeing a caring mental health professional who truly have their best interests at heart.

Consider this as well. There are viral videos out now with CIA operatives claiming they are actively recruiting those with “sociopathic tendencies”. This is because it is easier to weaponize individuals with deep trauma.

However, this line of thought brings up another dangerous question:

“Do people in power encourage and reward mental illness?”

I am concerned because, as we go into another election season, the smear campaigns from both Republicans and Democrats (even at the local level) appear to encourage dehumanizing an opponent for the audacity of standing in the way of a career goal. SA survivors want you to know they are disappointed that the common public still buy into these Blue and Red narratives. For my own growth, I no longer want to challenge politicians for being out of touch with the public. Today I want to express genuine concern for their mental health. If it is true that they are either dealing with a mental illness like sadism, or being blackmailed for exhibiting any other human transgression, then it is the silence that is doing more harm than anything else.

Thank you for listening. Before I close I want to appreciate you in that I am aware acknowledging or responding to this post might be considered dangerous. I want to express my appreciation for anyone who took the time to read this.

From September 5, 2026

ACKNOWLEDGING THE TRAGIC:

A PERCEPTION CHECK ON YESTERDAY’S MISTRIAL

This will be another long post and will continue the throughline from “The Savior Complex” and “For Those Who Prefer Longer, Thoughtful, Politically Oriented Posts”. I will be archiving these on my WordPress blog. My intention is to slowly and methodically call attention to the need for trauma-informed facilitation in response to political polarization.

Before I continue with more pieces about this narrative, today will be a slight divergence in that I want to acknowledge the Lindsay Clancy mistrial announcement.

The last thing anyone needs is yet another armchair juror commenting on this. As I am witnessing the floods of arguments, disagreements, and escalations in discourse on the online space, I feel there is a need now more than ever to consider trauma-responsive facilitation. This story is so emotionally jarring that many — women AND men — are positioning to be seen as an authority with this case. Are we needlessly putting too much pressure on ourselves by doing this? How can any one person understand psychiatric medicine, the complexity of law, even religion and metaphysics, to know enough to even speculate on what “justice” is in a tragedy like this?

What this tells me is that when confronted with moral complexity we often collapse into a trauma response. Yes, you can easily argue with me that you are “right” and the other side is “wrong”. And my response will be that you are completely justified in your rage, grief or whatever complex feeling arises. Your lived experience completely validates your perspective on this and it should be heard. But being “right” doesn’t bring those three children back. Being “right” doesn’t take away the pain of everyone involved. Being “right” sets the stage for greater resistance to your truth. Whatever truth you are holding.

I will end here for today. Again, I will emphasize that I’m not positioning myself as yet another expert or authority on anything. My lived experience is just as valid as your own. But if you wish to understand the deeper context of what I mean by “trauma responsive facilitation”, please refer to what was written over the past few days on this platform. My next entry will be further presenting a case for politicians to consider nonpartisan trauma responsive facilitation in lieu of competitive debate or smear campaigns.

From September 6, 2026

THE ARCHIVE OF LOST CAUSES?

I’ve started to archive my writing from the last few days. I am fully aware of how rage bait scales and thoughtful content gets buried on this platform. This is why I am calling this latest chapter of my life, “The Archive of Lost Causes?”.

So I am playing the long game. To simplify, I have been writing raw content calling for a grassroots initiative to form Nonpartisan Trauma Responsive Facilitation to support political candidates this season. Since Election Day is less than two months away I am expecting my content will continue to be buried under the rage bait. To understand more about my concerns about the mental health of any one serving in or running for political office, please refer to the link in the comments and review article from September 5 entitled, “For Those Who Prefer Longer, Thoughtful, Politically Oriented Posts”.

Today I will add my calendar to the Archive. Calling attention to these events on social media may be futile. However, if any of the following spark your interest I would encourage you to reach out to me if you want to get involved in the effort to bring trauma-responsive awareness to public discourse…

September 8: Weekly rehearsal with Derek Marshall for “Great, Again?” — a Frost/Nixon inspired theater piece addressing the Trump presidency.

September 9: Meeting with Lynnette Sheard from the New Jersey Mental Health Association to present university and professional level theater training. Date of event TBD.

AlsoSeptember 9: Attending my first Justice and Witness Committee at the Pleasantville United Church of Christ.

September 10: Weekly rehearsal with Janet Berkowitz of the play “The Wizard of Iz” — an interactive theater piece about suicidality and bullying.

September 11: Bi-monthly meeting with the 8th Flame Ministerial Cohort to continue recognizing people doing the meaningful work who often go unseen and unrecognized.

September 13: Attending Circle of Miracles Sunday service to watch Jackie Miller’s talk.

September 14: Visiting with Reverend Cindy Greb.

September 16: Holding our bespoke monthly meeting which includes three ministers like Susan Manning from Pebble Hill Interfaith Church. When we last spoke the topics were about autism awareness, death doulaship, and establishing an interfaith human library.

September 17: Recording a special meditation and talk with a minister from Circle of Miracles as part of the Living Library series.

September 18: Recording the September edition of the Living Libraray Book Club with The Bridgers for Mental Health. This recording will include Gary Schoenberg among two other members. All members will be encouraged to discuss a book that holds special meaning for them. I will be bringing “Nobody’s Girl” by Virginia Giuffre to the discussion.

September 23: Closed meeting with the Guardian Council to discuss “Guardianship of Self”. Members of the Guardian Council include Randy Hyden, Nini Castle and Flower Power.

September 26: Cyclebreakers with Rachael Marie and Alyssa Anderson at Peace Valley Park.

October 6: Attending an AI conference online with one of the Bridgers for Mental Health.

October 7: Divination and Money Management – an open meeting at the Awaken Center, Montgomery Mall. We will continue our discussion about metaphysical factors on economic cycles.

October 10: Pre-election performance of “Great, Again?” at Pebble Hill Interfaith Church.

October 11: Community meeting to discuss the pre-election “Great, Again?” at Pebble Hill.

October 21: Public speaking workshop with Greg Campisi at the Awaken Center. Titile of workshop TBD.

November 14: Post-election performance of “Great, Again?” at Pebble Hill Interfaith Church.

November 15: Community meeting at Pebble Hill Interfaith Church to discuss the post-election performance of “Great, Again?”

February 2027: TBA about attending the JCM in Dialogue (Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Dialogue) conference in Germany. Taniya Hussain did a Living Library conversation about this two weeks ago.

If anything interests you about my September and October activity, please let me know. As Chief Steward of the Living Library Time Bank it would be a pleasure to explore which initiative might be a match. Perhaps there is no such thing as a “Lost Cause” if people know about you and what your gifts are.