With Liberty and

Trotter for All

by D. J. Herda

These are disturbing times for America.  With the highest jobless rate since the Great Depression, a skyrocketing national debt, and an indifference in the White House to the real needs of the people, I went looking for an underlying rationale behind it all.  And I think I found it.  It was right there next to half a bag of stale potato chips, vintage 2009.  It's labeled "psychopathy."

Now, to understand the workings of the psychopathic mind, you have to understand the characteristics of psychopathy.  Here are a few observations.

The prototype psychopath possesses shortcomings in many areas, including personal relationships, emotions, and behavior.  Psychopaths are antisocial, with no resulting shame, guilt, or remorse for their actions.  They lack a sense of responsibility for any harm they may cause others, choosing instead to rationalize their behavior, blame someone else, or deny it outright. 

Psychopaths lack empathy.  The result is tactlessness, insensitivity, and contemptuousness.  They may exhibit superficial charm to gain control of a situation, saying anything to anyone without concern for truth.  But they are emotionless, glib, cold-hearted, and egocentric.  They act impulsively and irresponsibly, often fail at their jobs, and default on their debts.

Researcher Robert Hare, whose "Hare Psychopathy Checklist" is widely used among psychiatrists, describes psychopaths as "intraspecies predators."  He writes that they "use charisma, manipulation, intimidation, sexual intercourse, and violence" to manipulate others and satisfy their own needs.  They lack conscience, taking whatever they want and doing as they please without guilt or remorse.

Yet psychopaths are often difficult to identify because they're superficially charming and excellent mimics of normal human emotions.  Many psychopaths can blend into social situations undetected.

Their behavior is impulsive and irresponsible.  They have a distorted sense of the consequences of their actions, not only for others, but also for themselves.  They do not recognize the risk or even the possibility of being caught, disbelieved, or injured as a result of their behavior.  They are omnipotent.  They will impulsively commit crimes despite knowing the potential consequences.  They are repeat offenders who never learn from their actions.

Psychopaths often claim to have ambitious goals in life but fail to follow through on the work, skills, and disciplines required to achieve them.  Hare writes of one psychopathic inmate who planned to become a competitive swimmer after his release, even though he was in his late thirties and obese.  Hare could have written about another psychopath, a politician who recently stormed out of a meeting with House and Senate Republicans, threatening one of the elected officials there not to "…call my bluff." 

There is a reason America is in shambles, of course, and that reason is Barack Obama.  You know, Trotter.  Named after the way he canters up and down the stairs of jetliners, stages, and anywhere else the camera happens to be rolling--simply because doing so conveys an image of hard work, diligent performance, and tireless dedication to his job.  In his mind. 

But it's his psychopathy that allows him to say things such as, "The economy is growing at a good clip" and truly believe that it therefore must be true.  Ditto for closing Gitmo; posting all new bills on C-SPAN 72 hours in advance of a vote; reducing partisanship in Washington; and dozens of other lies.  Some call it the Jesus complex.  But it's a lot more sinister than that.

This is a man whose only real emotion is anger when someone challenges his integrity.  Commentary's Peter Wehner sums it up.

"The president’s reported agitation, his lecturing tone, and his threats aren’t terribly surprising. Last week, I wrote about [his] narcissism, of which petulance is a...second cousin.  When an individual of almost limitless self-regard doesn’t get his way — when a man who was dubbed by his aides as the 'Black Jesus' during the 2008 campaign encounters resistance rather than compliance – he is not likely to handle it well.  And when you combine this with the fact that Obama’s policies are failing on almost every front and the soaring hopes of 2008 crashed and burned long ago, then storming out of meetings with members of the other party is predictable.

"The stress of the presidency seems to be bringing out some of the worst qualities in Obama.  Just wait until the campaign."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

And I…am D. J. Herda.

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D. J. Herda is President of the American Society of Authors and Writers (http://amsaw.org), an organization made up of authors, writers, editors, publishers, agents, directors, producers, and other media professionals who rely upon the printed word in the creation of quality literature and entertainment.  He is a member of the Author's Guild, a former member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and a former member of the National Press Club.  He has published more than 80 books and several hundred thousand articles, short stories, columns, interviews, plays, and scripts.
 

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