INTJ's and Politics

Hey, everyone.

I know I was supposed to write something this week about the INTJ mystique, but I had a weird week that threw my mystique off. As a result, I'm not feeling it, and INTJ's don't like feeling things. Maybe I'll save it for next week, but I think I may have just given myself a great book idea instead. We'll see.

So, instead of the INTJ mystique, this week I'll be covering...

That's right; INTJ's and politics, specifically political alignments and why INTJ's have the political alignments they do. This post was inspired by our country's current turbulent political atmosphere and this image I found on Pinterest:

As you can tell from the image, INTJ's tend to align themselves with either Republicans or independently. To be honest, I'm shocked there are any INTJ's out there who affiliate themselves with the Democratic party, but I can think of a couple of reasons why. For now though, let's start at the top and work our way down.

INTJ's As Independents

If you know anything about INTJ's, you're probably well aware of their very individualistic and independent nature. INTJ's don't like being someone else and they don't like being told to be like someone else because most people kind of suck and INTJ's think themselves the best people in the world. They also don't like to rely on others because it isn't unusual for people to let them down. Not to mention, the more people there are in a situation, the more things there are that can go wrong. As a result, INTJ's prefer not to get involved in politics. The only reason they do is because if they didn't, someone else would try to tell them what they need and what they don't need, and INTJ's don't like that at all.

So, an INTJ is loyal first and foremost to himself. No one knows his business better than him, and no one is as interested in his business as him. As a result, INTJ's aren't likely to align themselves with a political party because they can easily be let down by the people in the party, and the political ideals that make up the party may be too limiting for some INTJ's. INTJ's have an overwhelming desire for freedom from just about everything, so they don't like being nailed down so long as they can avoid it. And, because their loyalty is to themselves, they do have a knack for acting unilaterally or going "rogue" when they think their freedoms, sensibilities, or ideals are being violated. Hence, it makes the most sense for INTJ's to belong to a one-man party of themselves.

Sort of like a one-man band.

INTJ's As Republicans

Now, wait a second, I just said INTJ's are huge individuals and hugely independent. Why is there only a 1% between INTJ's as Independents and INTJ's as Republicans? Well, there is a very good explanation for this.

While INTJ's are indeed very independent, maverick, and iconoclast, they don't actively seek rebellion. They just want to be left alone. In doing so, INTJ's leave everyone else alone. And with they're high ideals and immutable principles, they're some of the very few people in the world who can act according to righteousness for the sake of righteousness. In theory, this means INTJ's can live in anarchy, but something that INTJ's realize is that not everyone can live in anarchy. They don't possess the maturity, character, or moral fiber to live in a system without rules. INTJ's may always have their heads in the clouds, but they can be very practical when necessary, and in difficult situations, they may even morph into ISTJ's to ensure their survival.

INTJ's soak up all kinds of knowledge like a sponge.
They can amaze you with what they know and about what.
Just don't expect them to drink their own piss.

But, looking specifically at the Republican party, why would INTJ's join them instead of say the Democrats who actually call themselves "liberals" when they get far enough to the left? Well, because the Republican platform tends to follow the ideals that this country were built on: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Plus, Republicans believe in a smaller government that looks after the big issues and doesn't try to get involved in the lives of citizens. Republicans believe in a laissez-faire system where citizens look after their own interests. And this is very appealing to INTJ's because it means as long as Republicans are in control, they'll stay out of the business of INTJ's. And the fact that Republicans believe in money and indisputably beating the rat race also helps because INTJ's despise the rat race and the constant need to have money talk so bullsh*t walks. Not to mention, Republicans don't get tied down with feelings. Something's either right or wrong, works or doesn't. And once it's right and fixed, who gives a crap who it might hurt? If you're being hurt by a system that is right and works well, you were probably doing something wrong or lazy to begin with in which case INTJ's have no sympathy for you.

I don't know why I bothered censoring it.

INTJ's As Democrats

So, why wouldn't INTJ's be Democrats when the political left believes in a liberal society? Well, according to the chart, 19% of INTJ's do consider themselves Democrats, and it may have something to do the liberal perspective of everyone is free to do what they want so long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. It may also go back to what I was talking on how INTJ's recognize that they can take care of themselves, but other people need a system of rules or a structure. Some people need a very firm structure, and some INTJ's see this in the light of that since some people aren't as independent as them, they need someone to take care of them, so INTJ's vote Democrat so these people are looked after. While that does seem noble and caring, but only 19% of INTJ's call themselves Democratic whereas 40%+ call themselves Republican and Independent. Why is that?

Well, while some Democrats may call themselves liberal, which should mean they believe in liberty for all, many liberals' actions are actually quite contradictory or they believe in selective liberty. Take ANTIFA for example, they're all apart of the political left and don't believe in the freedom of speech, and anyone who doesn't agree with them instantly becomes a target for a beatdown. Looking further into the liberal stance, they believe that Muslims shouldn't be judged by the actions of a few, but they're willing to persecute all Christians and prevent them from worshipping in peace. Add to that, Democrats believe in big governments that do get involved in the lives of the people like a parent handling children. None of this is appealing to INTJ's, a group of people who believe in "live and let live," and who don't want people butting into their business. And as if that weren't all bad enough, it's left wing politics that gave rise to socialism and communism, two systems where the root words are "social" and "commune," meaning a system where everyone is dependent on everyone else. And don't even get me started on their objections to unions.

Like I said, knowing what I know about INTJ's and knowing what I know about the Democratic platform, I don't know why any INTJ vote Democrat. At its best, it forces people to be dependent on each other, and at its worst, it's highly contradictory and hypocritical, two things that are sure to immediately burn any INTJ's ass.

What really burns my ass is a fire about 3' tall.

So, that was a brief look at the political views of INTJ's. Hopefully, it gave a little insight into their actions and political beliefs. Next week, I hope to write a small piece of the INTJ mystique. It'll sort of be a freehand essay on why INTJ's are awesome and why everyone needs an INTJ in their life. Or, I could look over a list of people who are considered INTJ's and talk about why they are or are not actually INTJ's based on the perspective of a true INTJ, moi. Basically, I'm just trying to put some room between my next ten ways I'm totally an INTJ and five more ways I buck the INTJ stereotype. Read the originals here and here. Writing those two articles made me think of a few things I forgot to mention.

Anyway, that's it from me this week. If you'd like to know more about INTJ's you can look us up the website 16Personalities.com or you can check out the book The True INTJ on Amazon. See you later.

Keep writing, my friends.

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