All Roads Lead to Trump

It seems that no matter what I do these days something, somehow, leads me to the fact that everything is Trump related.  There I was, minding my own business, watching a season two episode of the witty Australian drama, Rake, and it happened again.  This series, available on Amazon Prime Video, involves the escapades of the rascal barrister, Cleaver Greene.  In this particular episode, two very bright young girls plan and commit a murder just for the thrill of the act and the fact that they believe they can get away with it.

Great Australian Comedy Drama

During some of the dialogue, a reference is made to the Hitchcock thriller Rope, which was based on the play of the same name.  Both of these fictional accounts are in turn, based on the real life drama from 1924, which involved Leopold and Loeb.  If you are not familiar with the case and trial, wherein Clarence Darrow delivered an impassioned plea supporting his clients and attacking the death penalty, it is worth researching or following the link above.  This was the start of my research and the cause of my consternation.

Leopold (l) and Loeb (r)

In this episode of Rake, there is also mention of Nietzsche's doctrines as they related to the Leopold and Loeb case.  It was Nietzsche who proposed the possibility that there were Übermenschen, or supermen who, because of their superior intellects and abilities, were above man’s laws.  Such individuals were not bound by society’s ethics and rules, and were subsequently not liable for anything they might do.

If you have been awake and living in a civilized country for the past couple of years, some individual may come to mind at this point.  I’ll give you a minute on this one.  Well, those of you up on Greek mythology might think of Narcissus who gazed upon his own reflection in a pool of water and fell in love.  In the Greek myth, Narcissus was unable to leave the beauty of his own image, lost the will to live, and in typical Greek fashion, died.

Those of you who thought immediately of Narcissus get two points for having stayed awake in high school.  Our discussion here however deals with NPD, or Narcissistic personality disorder, named after our Greek son of the river god Cephissus.  Affected individuals have exaggerated feelings of self-importance and a continued need for admiration.  They are fixated with achieving power and success.  They tend to exaggerate their skills and accomplishments as well as their level of intimacy with people they consider high-status.  They want to monopolize conversations.  They are intolerant of others’ views and often devalue, denigrate, insult and blame others when they feel threatened.  They do not tolerate criticism and will respond with hostility and anger.

Narcissus Gazing at His Own Reflection

I’ll bet you have someone in mind now who meets these criteria.  If you don’t, take off your red MAGA hat and read the list below to see if this sounds familiar.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders lists the following as NPD’s telltale signs:

1. Grandiosity with expectations of superior treatment from other people
2. Fixated on fantasies of power, success, intelligence, attractiveness, etc.
3. Self-perception of being unique, superior, and associated with high-status people and institutions
4. Needing continual admiration from others
5. Sense of entitlement to special treatment and to obedience from others
6. Exploitative of others to achieve personal gain
7. Unwilling to empathize with the feelings, wishes, and needs of other people
8. Intensely envious of others, and the belief that others are equally envious of them
9. Pompous and arrogant demeanor

Yes, OMT, Our Man Trump seems to tick off all the boxes here.  He dominates the news cycle and, even when I’m trying to watch a simple comedy-drama he invades my privacy.  Do we really have to keep this up for two more years?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Perhaps at some point in the future NPD will be renamed TPD.

Hey, It's Me, Look at Me