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Friday, May 16, 2014
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For now, we're opening this blog to Anonymous comments. This will continue as long as civility rules. Disagree as you may, just keep it clean and stay on topic. No profanity, and no name calling. We reserve the right to moderate such comments, though the person who made it may come back and reword their message in a more civil way.
Recently, I had the opportunity to engage in a political discussion with a highly uninformed acquaintance named Ron. He was telling me of his inside knowledge of how corrupt the Mayor of his small town was. His serious allegations didn't surprise me at all. Always trying to steer people towards the "big picture", I stated to Ron that at least half of the people who enter politics are actual undiagnosed psychopaths to begin with. And the worst of the worst inevitably reach the higher levels of government (Congress, Senate, Governors etc); with at least 80% of the high climbers being hard core psychopaths. Not in the metaphorical sense; I mean true clinical psychopaths, albeit undiagnosed. I'm talking about the type of individuals who should either be straight-jacketed and institutionalized in lunatic asylums, or locked away in heavy labor prisons.
ReplyDeleteStill under the impression that my rant was intended as an exaggerated metaphor, Ron laughed and responded, "Well, I think you're exxagerating a bit, Mike. But there are some bad apples in Washington, in both Parties."
I held firmly to the 80% figure, and I gave him my reasons: "Ron; let me ask you this. If I were to inform you that 80% of professional basketball players were 6' 5" or taller, would you say I was exaggerating?"
"No; 80% sounds about right. But what does that have to do with politicians?" asked Ron skeptically.
By the time I had finished the rest of my discourse, Ron was nodding his head in enlightened agreement. "I never thought of it that way. I think you're right, Mike!"
My case for an 80% psychopathy rate was based upon a very simple analogy to professional basket players. Sometimes, the most effective philosophy is the simplest; like Aesop's Fable for example.
You see, most of us "normal people" are able to contain our dark sides; being more 'good' than we are 'bad'. Then there is another group of people who are generally more bad than good, yet not totally evil either. Those are the people we talk about as, "He's a real such and such, but he does have a good side to him." These types can still be salvaged, or at least contained.
Then there is the true psychopath; a heartless, soulless, shameless devil who will smile in your face, charm you and flatter you as he (or she) sticks the knife in your back. He is often charismatic, likable and energetic. He lies effortlessly. He will draw anyone into his orbit that can serve to further his ambitions, or fuel his ego with "narcissistic supply". He manipulates. He cheats. He sucks the lifeblood out of you and then, when you are no longer of any value to him, he will discard you like a used up lemon.
To achieve his nefarious ends, the narcissistic psychopath will play every emotional card in his manipulative arsenal; alternating between outbursts of anger and verbal abuse, empty flattery, fake sympathy for others, false pity for himself, fake smiling or laughing, fake crying, fake humility, false charity and fake piety.
Good luck Ronnie.