An alternate universe in Cleveland: What America just witnessed was a shared psychotic disorder

An alternate universe in Cleveland: What America just witnessed was a shared psychotic disorder

by Chauncey Devega at Salon

http://www.salon.com/2016/07/22/an_alternate_universe_in_cleveland_what_america_just_witnessed_was_a_shared_psychotic_disorder/

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At its core, shared psychotic disorder involves the creation of an alternate world that exists outside of empirical reality. This is the Republican Party en masse. Its base tenets include such lies as tax cuts on the wealthy create economic growth for all people, global warming does not exist, institutional racism is a myth, there is a “war” on Christians, white people are oppressed, evolution is just a myth or theory, and America was founded as a “Christian nation.”

Donald Trump is the perfect leader for a political party where lies are treated as sacred truths. For example, he led the slanderous racist “Birther” campaign against Barack Obama. Trump has also been judged by fact checkers to be one of the most dishonest politicians in recent American political history.

The health of a democracy is tied to its ability to resolve political disputes by finding a consensus that respects the interests of the parties involved, is mindful of existing political institutions, and operates within a framework bounded by shared norms and values. The health of a democracy is also dependent upon how various interest groups, publics, elected officials, and leaders find ways to work together—while still pursuing their own goals—with an understanding that they should preserve the ability to find common ground in the future.

This model of normal politics was fractured by Republicans during the Clinton years. It was broken by “mainstream” Republicans and the most extreme wing of the conservative movement during the Age of Obama. The shared psychotic disorder and mass psychosis that has possessed the Republican Party at present makes it impossible for the country’s leaders to conduct normal politics. Political madness rarely if ever engenders civic virtue.


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