July 18, 2008

TELL IT TO OFFICER KRUPKE

        Sounding like a candidate for President of the American Psychiatric Association, Barack Obama, in the New Yorker, offered his diagnosis of the 9-11 jihadi terrorists: "...The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity or suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, it may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair..."
        Thus does Mr. Obama flatter himself as someone who is so good, so noble, so nurturing that he CAN 'empathize', even with barbaric murderers of innocent fellow Americans. Just because the wealthy bin Laden (maybe Obama meant he suffered from poverty of spirit!) and his fellow jihadis did terrible deeds, doesn't mean Dr. Obama is numb to their pain, their desperation and their sense of helplessness. Perhaps when President Obama meets with bin Laden and Ahmadinejad, he can make an offer of free psychotherapy for all Jihadis. Meanwhile, our non-DSM diagnosis of Mr. Obama is that he's a typical Ivy League wordsmith steeped in post-modern relativism and multi-culturalism. His main accomplishment has been writing about himself, or shall we say creating a literary representation of himself. He overvalues words because they are what he's good at using, and he thinks, like most of his fellow Ivy League wordsmiths, that human nature is essentially good unless deformed by insufficient nurturing. Obama the healer will make us well.