Lately, I’ve been determined to limit my daily news intake to maintain some level of sanity while witnessing what often feels like a bad reality show playing out in our governmental institutions. So many of today’s political leaders are an embarrassment to our country and themselves – diminishing the credibility and respectability of our nation across the global arena. While I’m not a certified mental health care provider, one doesn’t need such a certification to diagnose these politicians as suffering from narcissistic personality disorder.
Let me first say that I’m neither a Republican nor a Democrat. In truth, I cast my vote based not only on proposed policies and philosophies but more on the integrity and morality of a politician. Today, more than at any other time in our nation’s history, it’s critical that we as a society begin to strip away a politician’s party affiliation and observe them not as Republicans or Democrats but as people just like us.
People who should be accurately representing our needs and concerns with honesty and equality, not manipulating the intelligence and welfare of their constituents as though they were playing an innocent game of Monopoly®.
They should be role models for the younger generations just beginning to learn about politics, government, and everything in between. Inspiring young people by their actions and reactions while guided by the humility necessary to be compassionate of others’ struggles and situations.
At this point, many of you may think that I’m aiming this post directly at the Republican party – and possibly finding my sentiments somewhat contradictory to the above that I’m neither a Republican nor a Democrat.
For those high-ranking Republicans (and even everyday Republicans) who might be offended by this post or my assertion that they have narcissistic personality disorder, I remind you that the truth may not always be popular – but at the end of the day, it’s still the truth.
I turn to the Mayo Clinic professionals for those unfamiliar with the disorder.
“Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence, they are not sure of their self-worth and are easily upset by the slightest criticism.”
Sound like anyone you know?
Let’s return to my point above that we as a society must begin to strip away a politician’s party affiliation and observe them not as Republicans or Democrats but as people just like us.
What we’re seeing in many of today’s political leaders are extreme levels of self-importance and entitlement. Not to mention their exploitation of others, need for excessive attention, a belief they can only associate with individuals like themselves, lack of empathy, difficulty handling criticism, and persistent arrogance.
These are proven tell-tale signs of narcissistic personality disorder and can be confirmed by researching the hundreds of reliable websites and texts that exist on the subject.
Again, I’m not aiming this at Republicans or Democrats. However, the individuals I’m referring to in this post are not bashful or even remotely trying to conceal the behaviors that quickly diagnose them with narcissistic personality disorder.
All one has to do is view or visit a trustworthy news outlet, and the definitive proof is practically handed to Americans on a silver platter. This isn’t just political propaganda. It’s been recorded for us to review repeatedly in videos and on social posts, which should be enough to prove and support my diagnosis.
More disturbingly, they’re all signs of a government no longer functioning effectively or positively.
Today, the United States government is no longer operationally effective. Instead, it’s being heavily influenced by fearmongering, misinformation, hatred, and prejudice. So, how did we get to this point?
Well, electing politicians with narcissistic personality disorder directly results from exercising our power to vote (sometimes irresponsibly) – thus allowing these individuals to ascend to levels of political power they have no business holding.
Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t vote – a privilege you should never take for granted. But I must reiterate it’s time to strip away a politician’s party affiliation and truly see them for who they are as a person, not the party they represent.
Are they individuals you’d want in your home sitting among your family and circle of friends? Would you be okay with their hateful and disrespectful behaviors if directed toward your spouse, children, or other family members? These are important questions, and more people should be asking them.
In his article, How Narcissistic Leaders Make Organizations Less Ethical –
A narcissist’s bad behavior infects their organizational culture even after they’re gone, writer Mickey Butts writes, “They are abusive to their subordinates, think they are superior, don’t listen to experts, create conflict, and believe the rules simply don’t apply to them. There’s a colorful saying that the “fish rots from the head down” – employees see leaders acting like jerks, and they become jerks, too.”
In four years of so-called “leadership,” Donald Trump has infected our governmental culture. As the defunct leader of the narcissist party, Trump has single-handedly transformed the opinion of Republicans in the White House, our communities, and even in our homes into radical extremists who are essentially rotting from the head down. But, again, this isn’t about attacking Republicans. This is about exposing a person’s hateful and disrespectful behaviors, which we all agree should not be tolerated in our homes, schools, relationships, and not the government.
Today, politicians seem to think that ethical behavior is now a sign of weakness – that the more extreme they are, the more support they’ll acquire from those Americans who cannot (or will not) think for themselves. And conversations about respecting our societal differences based on race, sexual orientation, gender, and more are now prompts for white supremacist ideals and even violence.
What disgusts me most is shouldn’t we be far removed from this kind of behavior in 2023. How can we profess to be an advanced and progressive society when our governing officials long to revert to a generation where white men were secure in their dominance and influence over women, African Americans, homosexuals, and so on. Is that really where the citizens of America want this country to go? Backward?
Jennifer Chatman, Paul J. Cortese, Distinguished Professor of Management at the Berkeley Haas School of Business, says, “Narcissists don’t create narcissists. It’s not about doing what the leader does. It’s about the leader creating a culture that induces people to act less ethically and less collaboratively than they would otherwise, whether they’re narcissists or not.”
It’s time the American people turned off all the chaos in life, found a quiet place for personal reflection, and asked themselves a few critical questions.
Are the behaviors I’m now supporting and exhibiting really who I am? Or am I being induced by the narcissistic leaders of my political party?
While there are a lot of sound bites on each side of the political aisle regarding policies and agendas for the betterment of the American people, are such policies and agendas benefitting the average, hardworking American who far too often struggle to make ends meet?
American football coach and executive Al David once said, “One lie has the power to tarnish a thousand truths.”
It’s time Americans – Republicans and Democrats – pay more attention to the political misinformation being thrown at us daily and do what we were taught in school when we don’t have the answer – look it up and learn something.
Our political leaders suffer from narcissistic personality disorder, and the ONLY thing they care about during their term in office is what benefits them. I’m sorry, but you’d be a fool to believe anything different.
We, as citizens, are sadly at the bottom of our governing officials’ priority list. For proof, keep asking yourself, are the policies and agendas being proposed and enacted benefitting this country’s average, hardworking American? Are they benefitting you?