Thursday, October 11, 2018

Stand Up and Be Counted...thoughts on President Trump and H.L. Mencken


I am sure I used this quote when George W. Bush was president and here I am again. H.L. Mencken foretold our future...again we have our "downright fool and a complete narcissistic moron".


I often wonder if we can understand what is wrong with our president and then forgive him for being...well...who he is. If he were not in charge of my world, maybe. But since he is, I am struggling to understand him so maybe I can defend myself when I stand up and be counted among my conservative friends. 

I honestly think he is a very sick man...clever, perhaps evil and very sick. In the style of others in our history that have manipulated people to do unforgivable things, he is leading even some very smart people down a path that I think they or generations to follow will greatly regret.
But what is it he is afflicted with? Is there a pattern that he follows that we can name and actually understand? I thought I knew but I needed to see it in print from a reliable source.

Then I asked Siri on my computer to see if she could help me confirm my belief.

The question was, "Siri can you tell what making yourself feel important by making someone else feel unimportant is called." She sent me over to Psychology Today to look up what a narcissistic personality disorder is. Wow, it fit like a glove.
The Mayo Clinic research group defines narcissistic personality disorder as “a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. Those with narcissistic personality disorder believe that they're superior to others and have little regard for other people's feelings. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem, vulnerable to the slightest criticism.”
In an article called 5 Ways a Narcissists Compensates for their Inferiority  I found a road map to what we have all been experiencing on a daily basis that is truly driving us mad. See what you think.

The narcissist...
  1. Over inflates their sense of self by a) exaggerating with self flattering statements, b) often does this at the expense of others, c) in an effort to make others admire them.
  2. Reacts poorly to criticism with statements like "How dare they criticise me. They are a nobody (have no talent, are a bad actress, etc)."
  3. Are jealous of others. "How did they get picked. They must have cheated." 
  4. Uses manipulation to get what they want. a) gains advantage by causing the victim to feel inferior. b) bribes emotionally, c) uses deception (lies) d) acts helpless, e) is hateful and abusive.
  5. They are not able to face their real self so they do not see us and our concerns either.
I restated to my husband again today that this guy just makes me so mad EVERYDAY that it is not healthy. Oh my goodness, now I am doing research and reading a H.L. Mencken's biography. A little history always does a whole lot of good. I am often reassured by the fact that we have gone through this before and survived it. 

But, in this case, I am very afraid that we have never seen this in our country but that does not mean that another country's history has and is not being repeated here.

Sorry about this...but WHAT DO YOU SEE THAT I DON'T?

b+

p.s. I think we all have a little narcissist personality lurking inside. Thankfully, most of us can control it. When it becomes an illness, we need help.




7 comments:

  1. I see the same thing you see. I only watch the news for the weather in the morning because my stomach goes in knots when I see or hear him. This morning it was all about that other narcissist Kanye West visiting the White House. Two of them were just too much for me in the morning. I wonder sometimes if those peers and family members of mine who today speak of him as the second coming will EVER come to see the truth.

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    1. I am with you in that I don't understand how people can actually support him. Why would they blindly follow along? I for one did watch the election rallys that he spoke at but did they? I was shocked and appalled. The only thing I can figure out is that someone...a talk show host?...are explaining away his behavior and willing to accept it because they think the end justifies the means? Maybe.

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  2. One very interesting thing about these times is trying to figure our what those who voted for him think about his actions. I have never managed to get anyone to say why they think he is so great. For periods of time in my youth I grew up with an extreme narcissist as my mother so I spotted Trump way before he was elected.

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    1. I knew the H.L. Mencken quote but the part of that quote that points to narcissistic behavior had been deleted so that didn't pop into my mind. I only took a couple of psychology classes in college and evidently did not pay much attention. Darn!

      Thank you for your input RJ.

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  3. I so agree. I knew he was a Narcissist personality and should be diagnosed as such. I am dismayed by the news but refuse to NOT watch or read some. I mostly read the Washington Post and NYtimes. I don't think we can bury our heads. We must stay informed. But to that end I do feel overwhelmed by it all and it just seems to get worse. Why isn't someone in Congress doing something to change this is beyond me. Now with Kavanaugh in place and the horrible news about Kasghoggi it is almost too much to bear.

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    1. I am with you Christina. I bet that medication for stomach acid is flying off the shelves. Don't you agree?

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  4. I don't like the place our country is in (understatement). When I visited NYC around 2001 and bought a bottled water at Wollman Rink, which Trump owned at the time (Trump Wollman Rink), I bought a bottle of water and guess whose face was on the label? I am so sorry I threw it away b/c it was the perfect example of his grandiose sense of self (I kept it for YEARS). The best strategy I can think of is to encourage everyone to be vocal and vote. Nice to meet you and I appreciate your comment on my blog.

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