Alexithymia, on the grand scale...,What happens in Carrabelle, Florida...

The image is Narcissus by Caravaggio.

I've had some conversations in this political season, usually with my wife about our shared opinions but also with people who don't see things the way I do and I've come to some medical conclusions. More specifically, psychiatric conclusions. Republicans are diseased, they have a very specific disorder.

I am making one big assumption as the basis when I conclude that the Republicans are sick, i.e., nobody actually believes that supply side economics helps poor people. The con of "trickle down" economics has been disproved to the detriment of our nation's majority yet again. I appreciate the optimism of it, "if rich people get more money, they'll do the right thing with it." Unfortunately the premises are wrong, when wealthy people get more wealth, it doesn't ever make its way to the homeless guy loitering by the McDonald's downtown. Additionally, government is not an inefficient delivery mechanism for help. In fact, from an economic standpoint, taxation and spending is the only way to ensure that funds are consistently recycled and spent in an economy that relies on the citizen to spend, not save. We all remember how Bush II advised us to fight back against Al Qaeda, I rushed to my neighborhood Target, well one of my neighborhood Targets.

If there is one truth about government and public administration it is that it spends what it gets. The simple reason behind that is self preservation. The government committee that doesn't come back in its second year to say it needs more funds to get the job done having spent its allotment, whatever the job is, clearly is not considering its own survival. This is the shortcoming of any public administration and also why it's hard to find an honest politician, but it does not work any less effectively to bolster our economy. Government spending is still spending. I've digressed.

So assuming there are no Republicans out there who actually believe in the trickle down farce, what would explain any one's inclination to support Republican policies and the agenda that has become the red state mantra? Alexithymia, sort of, and elements of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Shock and disbelief, how can this be, an entire voting block needs therapy? Yes, intensive psychotherapy, actually, we all do.

Alexithymia, comes from Greek words meaning "without words for emotions," it's actually a personality trait, not a disorder, in individuals who have a difficult time expressing emotions. It is also connected to their ability to sense emotions in the people around them and is directly related to an individual's ability to empathize with others. That lack of empathy is an element of Narcissism that threatens to disconnect people from each other in a very real and permanent way. Do you see where I'm going with this. We live in a disjointed society. People in Waukesha, Wisconsin have increasingly less in common with people in Manhattan, which makes absolutely zero sense in the era of mass communication. But it's not just geographic rural vs. urban lack of empathy, it's across financial, religious, and racial strata as well. I don't mean to intimate that this is a one way street, city dwellers can't empathize with farmers either, we all exhibit this nasty little personality trait because even as we learn more about each other, we become more and more divided. Those divisions then contribute to the lack of empathy we feel for each other. It is circular and it's a problem.

I'm not sure who said it first or if it's just a bastardization of Gandhi's quote about how a nation treats its animals but, shouldn't we be judged as a nation by how we treat the poorest among us. Those last two words color the issue, "among us." The poorest are largely not "among us." We all become callous when the scandal of American poverty is out of view, let alone the poverty of Africa with it's shocking qualities. The separation from those neediest people allow the richest to exhibit their base lack of empathy, maybe disguise it behind economic policy, but essentially admit out loud, "I already pay enough, I don't care." Is it any wonder that in the states where population density is the lowest, you hear the most fervent opposition to the expansion of civil rights. If your only exposure to a homosexual is the guy from What Not To Wear (one of my wife's favorites), it's no wonder you can't bring yourself to support gay marriage. Gay out of sight, gay out of mind. Poor out of sight, poor out of mind. I've never seen your school with the old books and leaky roof, then I am perfectly happy to keep funding schools the way we do now.

I was in Carrabelle for work a few weeks ago. Carrabelle is in the panhandle, directly south of Tallahassee. It is hard to get to and does not have any citified trappings. Though it does have some great eats and a packed marina with an attached motel. There is a stop sign and local claim to fame, "The World's Smallest Police Station."

In Carrabelle, the people look the same and generally all work the same type of job. Many of the people there are employed by the Department of Corrections. There is nothing wrong with any of that. What is wrong is the inevitable disconnect and lack of empathy they might feel for someone who needs it because the issues are too foreign for their sympathy. Rich versus poor, rural versus urban, there is no end in sight.

On the ballot in Florida, as in some other states, is another of those inartfully named "marriage protection amendments." It is Amendment 2 on the ballot. It will likely pass because prejudices are easy to exhibit when you have the privacy of a polling booth. It will also pass because small segments of the population who are disadvantaged will be victims of the barriers between them and the rest of society forever without external intervention, i.e., the courts. Gay people will never have numbers enough to win a vote on a marriage protection amendment, and as long as most people live where they don't have to interact with homosexuals they'll never have the empathy either. I've digressed again. We know it is not a one way street, city mouse lacks empathy for country mouse just as much. How many urbanites favor farm subsidies? Why can't the city understand the religious backbone and practical economics of the country. The empathy shortage flows in both directions.

The point is... we need to empathize, if we don't we are only the introspective self-admirers contributing to the divisive culture we have today. We should all strive to be as different as we can from the youth trying to kiss his reflection in Caravaggio's painting. If you live in Florida, please vote No on Amendment 2.