Posted on 03/12/2008 9:18:30 PM PDT by Got a right to Life? . . Huh?
When the Gallup pollsters asked Americans what they thought about their own mental health, they were intrigued by the difference between Democrats and Republicans.
While 58 percent of Republicans reported having excellent mental health, only 38 percent of Democrats described themselves that way.
The study was no surprise to D. Lyle H. Rossiter, Jr., a noted psychiatrist and author of a controversial book that makes the clinical case liberalism is a mental illness.
"Based on strikingly irrational beliefs and emotions, modern liberals relentlessly undermine the most important principles on which our freedoms were founded," says Dr. Lyle Rossiter, author of the new book, "The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness." "Like spoiled, angry children, they rebel against the normal responsibilities of adulthood and demand that a parental government meet their needs from cradle to grave."
Rossiter says the kind of liberalism being displayed by the two major candidates for the Democratic Party presidential nomination can only be understood as a psychological disorder.
"A social scientist who understands human nature will not dismiss the vital roles of free choice, voluntary cooperation and moral integrity – as liberals do," he says. "A political leader who understands human nature will not ignore individual differences in talent, drive, personal appeal and work ethic, and then try to impose economic and social equality on the population – as liberals do. And a legislator who understands human nature will not create an environment of rules which over-regulates and over-taxes the nation's citizens, corrupts their character and reduces them to wards of the state – as liberals do."
Dr. Rossiter says the liberal agenda preys on weakness and feelings of inferiority in the population by:
creating and reinforcing perceptions of victimization;
satisfying infantile claims to entitlement, indulgence and compensation;
augmenting primitive feelings of envy;
rejecting the sovereignty of the individual, subordinating him to the will of the government.
"The roots of liberalism – and its associated madness – can be clearly identified by understanding how children develop from infancy to adulthood and how distorted development produces the irrational beliefs of the liberal mind," he says. "When the modern liberal mind whines about imaginary victims, rages against imaginary villains and seeks above all else to run the lives of persons competent to run their own lives, the neurosis of the liberal mind becomes painfully obvious."
"The reason the relationship exists between being a Republican and more positive mental health is unknown, and one cannot say whether something about being a Republican causes a person to be more mentally healthy or whether something about being mentally healthy causes a person to choose to become a Republican," the study concluded.
Bump.....
This is much better than I thought. If so, I suspect this was the compromise bill that some in the industry supported.
You forget, they are all helpless victims. Only big government can step in and save them from their imagined foes. To liberals, government is the answer to everything.
The dangers of an imagined dependancy on government are that an irrational majority will grasp for an even BIGGER GOVERNMENT.
Interesting. Do you think this “drift” could be changed if we implemented the plan originally intended by many of the Founding Fathers, that the right to vote is preserved for those who own property?
Of course now with an income tax (arguably unconstitutional) that gives everyone the “right” to vote as everyone is paying and supporting the government. But when “the voters” blithely pass bond measures and it adds several hundred dollars to my property tax bill and nothing to the rent of someone on subsidized (again with my taxes) housing.
Yes, some liberals own property, but it might greatly reduce the nanny state if the “infants” were not allowed to be decision makers in the system.
Anytime I see this pic I think he’s having a stroke...
Also, in terms of numbers, for example:
20 percent of adults at some point in life will experience clinical depression. Very, very few commit suicide or even lose significant income due to it (1% or less). Granted, it’s painful, but they usually survive. Many health plans already offer some treatment, a fixed number of therapy sessions, etc, for depression.
However, only 1 percent of the population suffers from bipolar disorder, and 20 percent (1 in 5 people!) with that condition die by suicide. Many cannot work or only on a limited basis.
From a compassion standpoint, of course we want to help both groups. But depression is now much more widely understood; like the flu, it’s almost possible for the patient to treat himself except for Rx’s, and there are books, support groups, etc. For bipolar patients, intervention is essential.
Financially it makes no sense to mandate treating every depressive, or you would bankrupt the system, perhaps only those who are suicidal, for example, could be a distinction. However, the more serious illnesses are also much less common, so hopefully not so much of a financial burden on medical plans.
Abe Lincoln did, and recovered.
My point is that once the door is forced open to insurance benefits, each mental ailment is just a simple lobbying effort away from being paid for by people who choose a healthy, well balanced lifestyle, outlook, attitude, etc.
Sorry, I may have misspoken that it was written by a doctor. Is Michael Savage a psychiatrist too?
From Savage’s website:
“he holds Masters degrees in medical botany and medical anthropology, and earned his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in Epidemiology and Nutritional Science.”
Not sure about “alot” but definitely you’re right in the case of Hillary and Obama.
This is exactly how liberals see government. The brighter ones may know that not everyone can get from government what they ask, but they will have theirs no matter the consequences or the cost to anyone else. They believe that they are entitled to it simply because they have needs; democrats constantly reinforce that fairytale. Virtually gone are any concept of personal responsibility.
Most Democrats I know are always angry or complaining about something. And I'm not kidding. It's like there's a black cloud around them all the time.
Should we be surprised at this revelation?
NOT!
LOL!
Wondeirng how Hillary and Obama graded themselves.
What a riot!
Most here get it : liberals are infants who never grew up. This is the basis of socialism/big government but it never works : The First Law of Thermodynamics : energy can never be created or destroyed, only transferred. Although there are GIFTS there is no such thing as a free lunch. Rs understand that(an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay)but mentally ill Ds never do...pity...
I'd agree that mental illness is caused by a number of factors including: drug abuse, poor life choices, irrational expectations and coping strategies, flirtation with the dark side of the moral spectrum, (i.e. folks that practice and believe in the occult), faith in nothing beyond themselves, (i.e. atheists, agnostics), etc.
I'd guess that the vast majority of mentally ill folks followed a very flawed yellow brick road. It's probably a small minority of the mentally ill that are seriously ill in spite of good life choices and a "normal" environment.
For those who are politically crazy, changing your political affiliation is simple and easy. Check the right box anytime you choose. You'll still have irrational thoughts and impulses from time to time. A little talk radio, Fox News, and an honest days work will have you mentally fit in no time. :-)
The simple lessons we need to share with all liberals are that there is hope, that things are not as bad as the main stream media would have them believe, and that liberalism is disastrous and unsustainable both personally and for our nation as a whole.
I always answer the question, “I’m not a Republican. I’m a conservative, though I usually vote Republican.” I would wager that people who answer likewise would answer the “excellent mental health” question “YES” more near 85% of the time as opposed to the R’s 58%.
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