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05/06/2005: "Crazy – the Right Wing’s Patriot Act!"

You’ve doubtless figured out the routine by now. I present a real mental disorder, then make the case that it nicely dovetails with Dittohead political views, behaviors, policies, wars, etc. Today let’s look at Antisocial Personality Disorder. Following is the writeup, which I’ve embellished a bit with some parenthetical subjects to consider in concert. Here we go: “This disorder is characterized by a long-standing pattern of a disregard for other people's rights, often crossing the line and violating those rights. (on track so far!)
- deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure (so much profit and pleasure they’ve gained through reelection as enabled by patriotic military entertainments enabled by fudged intelligence!)
- impulsivity or failure to plan ahead (seen that one before!)
- irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults (getting spooky!)
- consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to honor financial obligations (this deserves special comment, as does the final symptom>)
- lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.”
The “consistent irresponsibility” and “lack of remorse” strike a particular chord with me, considering that the distinguishing characteristic of Our Right Wing is their enthusiasm for intergenerational theft. A central theme of right wing policy and “principle” is the downloading of posterity’s money by signing them up for debt and downloading posterity’s natural resources by slurping them out as fast as tax subsidies can motivate. When I think of morality I think of qualities like responsibility, empathy, and, quoting a favorite line from the Cadet Prayer, “choosing the harder right over the easier wrong.” I can’t conceive how they’ve gotten away with positioning themselves as the party of morality. What they’ve actually done is turned irresponsibility, unthinking greed in squandering finite resources, and total lack of remorse for the clear impact of their self-serving expropriations on our children and grandchildren into a perverse evil twin morality. To be fair, though, I have to admit they have a good shot at an insanity defense!