The Doctor is In
Do delusional people know they're delusional?
The Doctor Is In
Doc: Hello, Mr. Everman, please come in.
Ev: Thank you, doctor. And thank you for agreeing to see me on such short notice. I know you are very busy.
Doc: Yes, in times like these, many people feel quite distressed and find the need of a good therapist. But, this hour is about you. Just you. How can I help?
Ev: Well, sometimes I think I’m crazy, but I know I’m not. I know you must counsel some real crazies, and I’m certainly not like that…
Doc: If you don’t mind, I’d prefer not to use the term “crazies”. Yes, I have clients who are quite unbalanced, but there are specific terms with which to accurately describe their conditions.
Ev: Of course. I wouldn’t want to offend someone. But maybe that gets to the point of why I’m here. It seems sometimes that there are people who blindly obey false beliefs. That would be OK, but somehow they expect me to go along. I really don’t think I’m paranoid or anything. There are just so many times when people just presume that I agree with them. They don’t ask my opinion. They don’t seem to want to know my opinion. They just presume that I agree with them. Once or twice, I’ve said, very quietly, that I don’t think that I do agree with them. And they get very agitated. So I end up going along, and I really don’t think that’s healthy.
Doc: Interesting. Social dynamics can be somewhat complicated and perplexing. It can be difficult to accurately assess the degree to which you should comply with the norms, and under what circumstances. Sometimes it is best to go along, but at other times you should certainly express your individuality. Could you perhaps give an example?
Ev: Sure. And it’s pretty much the main example. But it happens continually. It’s every time there is mention of Dondald Trump.
Doc: OK. I can see your issue. And I think, under the circumstances, you should try to be bold enough to speak up. The Trump supporters can be very rigid and imposing. Now, I am here to counsel you emotionally. As to your physical safety, you must make your own assessment. But, where possible, you must not allow yourself to be intimidated by these people who are simply unthinking clones, doing the bidding of a demagogue. We know these are violent people, and you must think first of your safety, but otherwise, do not be intimidated. Speak up!
Ev: Well, I get your point, but you don’t seem to understand. I’m talking about the Trump HATERS! Just out of nowhere they’ll start spewing hate, and I don’t even know what they’re getting at. What did he ever do? I’ll even ask them that, and they’ll launch into tirades about how horrible he is. I ask them in what way is he horrible, and they’ll talk about Russia, or strippers, or documents, or Jan 6, or some such. But everything they say about him is true of any number of other politicians that they not only don’t hate, they praise. I ask, what law did Trump break on Jan 6, and they don’t even get my point. They presume that, if they don’t like him, he is guilty. Guilty of not being liked. Send him to prison, because they don’t like him.
Doc: OK, now I think I see the issue. I’m going to suggest that you might be suffering from an instance of cognitive dissonance. Are you aware of that term?
Ev. I’ve heard of it.
Doc: Cognitive dissonance is the existence of conflict of belief within a person’s mind. We all have such conflicts, but they sometimes rise to a level where it is debilitating. Oh, for instance, a person who knows that driving drunk is dangerous, but who drinks and drives, might tell himself that he is an exception, that, even drunk, he’s a better driver than all the other drivers on the road.
Ev: Well, but I don’t drink and drive. I don’t see where cognitive dissonance applies to me.
Doc: Of course, that was just an example. A very common one, as a matter of fact, unfortunately. But in your case, perhaps you have problems with political tension, and you want a simple answer that defines your political beliefs, so that you don’t have to equivocate. Thus, you sublimate your knowledge of the issues, and even when others point out Mr. Trump’s failures, your mind finds ways to pass over them without consideration.
Ev: But I have considered them. I’ve considered them as much, more really, than the people who make the accusations.
Doc: Yes, you say that. You BELIEVE that. But, perhaps you have not.
Ev: Then again, perhaps I have. How can you say that I haven’t? You’ve only known me for a few minutes, and know almost nothing about me.
Doc: What you say is true, to some extent. But I have been doing this for a number of decades. I have learned to recognize the symptoms rather readily. I don’t want to be confrontational with you. That would be counterproductive. But I do see the clear signs of the denial of reality. We are not talking here about shades of meaning, or of ideological differences. We are talking about criminal acts. About racism and bigotry. You must learn to get past your emotional blocks, and see that.
Ev: What racism? What bigotry?
Doc: And there you have it. You don’t even see the things that are right before you.
Ev: No, seriously; what racism? What bigotry? Give me concrete examples.
Doc: I see you are becoming defensive. That’s entirely normal. It’s actually a good sign. We can use that to work our way into the issues which block your cognition.
EV: Yeah, maybe later. Right now, what racism? What bigotry?
Doc: It’s not the specific instances that matter, it’s the underlying practices. It’s the means by which Mr. Trump signals to his acolytes that they should perform their violent and racist acts.
Ev. What signal? I never heard Trump signal anything to anybody about committing violent acts or practicing racism.
Doc: I’m sure you didn’t hear it. But others did. And they are the ones who Trump uses to undermine our democracy. I know this is a counseling session, and I don’t want to drift away from that, but we can not simply ignore the threat to democracy.
Ev: What threat? Everything Trump did on Jan 6 has been done before. The challenge to the election itself. There have been countless claims by members of both parties about election fraud. It really has never been presumed that there is no election fraud, or that it can’t swing an election, until Trump made the claim. It is generally believed that JFK won over Nixon, as a result of fraud. True or not, Trump was within his rights to question the election. And all we get in response is that his claims are false, yet the claims are never examined. The average Trump hater has no idea what the claims actually are, and has no way of knowing if they are false. They just believe what they are told to believe. And the challenge to the certification of the electors has been done many times by both democrats and republicans. It’s actually the reason why there is certification. It’s to certify that all electors have been legitimately selected, and their votes properly counted. Anyone may object for any reason. That’s part of the process. And it’s been done, many times prior to Trump doing it. What happened in Congress on Jan 6 was constitutional and very precedented. So why make as if this time it was unusual?
Doc: You are rationalizing. Again, that’s a sure sign of cognitive dissonance.
Ev: But isn’t that what you’re doing? I ask you to support your statements about racism and bigotry, and you deflect them. I ask you what law Trump broke, and you deflect that. I point out that everything that Trump did on Jan 6 was legal and constitutional, and has been done by both parties. And you deflect THAT.
Doc: Yes, you are showing the classic signs. I think it might take many sessions, but if we stick with it, I think we can get past this block that keeps you from seeing the realities.
Ev: Me? What about you? You are in complete denial. I’ve still got those questions out there, that you have left untouched…What racism? What bigotry?
Doc: Yes, I think you are also showing signs of Aspergers. You are lost in the details, but fail to see the overall picture. It doesn’t come down to just an instance here, or an instance there. Racism and bigotry need not be provable by actual facts, in order to be true. Taken as a whole, Mr. Trump has indeed demonstrated that he is an antisocial, narcissistic personality who will pervert the existing cultural mores to his own advantage.
Ev: As do most politicians and demagogues. I never said he wasn’t all that, but that only makes him a normal resident of Washington DC. He has been arrested and impeached more times than I can count, yet the guy went thru his entire life, over seventy years of it, with little more than a traffic ticket. In fact, he has been friends to many of the leaders of both political parties. Does it make any sense to suddenly conclude that he has just recently become this terrible, horrible crook, when his entire life has been nothing like that? It seems to me that what is really going on is that the political class sees him as an existential threat. He has barged into their closed system and completely up-ended it. They presumed that he could not possibly win the first election, precisely because he didn’t have an established political infrastructure to get him through the process. Yet, he did it. And then he was a very effective president. I had my doubts myself. But far from this cognitive dissonance that you’re laying on me, I paid attention. I was as impartial as I could be, and I just observed. The economy didn’t collapse, as we were assured would happen when he took office. His tariffs against China did not destroy our trade. There was no WWIII, as we were told would happen. Far from it. His presidency was the most peaceful one in recent memory. Pretty much EVERY prediction made against him proved false. And it was clear, pretty early on, that the Trump/Russia claims were a hoax. Yet the politicians persisted with it anyway. Clearly, they wanted to keep Trump on his heels, on the defensive, and had no concerns with integrity, ethics, or even with just plain facts.
Doc: It appears we have a lot of work ahead of us. Clearly you have gone beyond simple roadblocks to cognition, and have become delusional. But please don’t be despondent over it. I have had cases much deeper than yours, and with continual effort, I feel confident that we can achieve the breakthroughs that will be required for you to become fully functional in society. It will take time…
Ev: Fully functional? What does that mean? I have my own successful business. I have a great family and good friends and neighbors. How much more fully functional can it get?
Doc: Yes, yes. Outwardly, everything is fine. You have the structure of a successful life that misleads you into thinking everything is OK. But it is just a mask that covers over some very deep-seated conflicts. This is going to take time, but we can get past all this.
Ev: I just came here to try to understand why there is such deep-seated hatred for an essentially likable guy who had a presidency that was at least as successful as most. There are people, college graduates, that want to see him in prison. They don’t even know why. They just won’t be happy until he’s in prison. They can’t name a significant law that he’s broken. Yet, they believe he’s been involved in espionage, and in an attempt to overthrow the country. THAT’S delusional. Near as I can tell, the real issue that some people have with Trump is that he has poked a very large hole in their belief that they are essential to the operation of government, and of our culture. These are the people with severe cognitive dissonance. The more I think about it, the more I can see that I’m the one who’s normal. It's those people with Trump derangement syndrome that need a LOT of counseling. But I’m not sure the counseling should be coming from the same people with the same cognitive dissonance. I don’t mean to be rude, but maybe I should be counseling YOU.
Doc. This has become very interesting. Unfortunately, I see that our time is up.