July 1, 2018 Editor

Trump is now dangerous – that makes his mental health a matter of public interest

This world authority in psychiatry, consulted by US politicians, argues that the president’s mental fitness deserves scrutiny

Trump Imperils the Planet (Enzo Pérès-Labourdette)

WN: Today in Rwanda, we discussed why many African leaders have destroyed home and people over whom they rule(d).  When traits such as hubris, overweening greed, unbridled will to dominate, runaway narcissism, rampant nepotism, sheer will to power, and unhinged personality traits were mentioned, I replied that Trump is the very personification of all the above! So this in not only an African problem, it is a Planet Catastrophe.

Were Trump a circus sideshow, people with a disposition to guffaw at such beyond-the-pale boorishness would offer a non-stop spectacle of such.

One of Rob Rogers’ recent illustrations that did not make print was this one depicting presumably illegal immigrants with their child being snatched away by Trump. He was fired by the Pittsburg Post-Gazette because of it and other cartoons about Trump being “angry and mean instead of funny and clever”. “Outraged and unsparing” is what every decent American should feel, besides feeling shame and repentance for the monster who sits in the Oval Office.

But Trump as Planet Enemy Number One and Ultimate Ugly American is not remotely a joke. A potentially world-destroying far cry from it! Anyone who can fiddle/tweet while families are violently separated at a U.S. border (and in America’s heartland too!)[ref number =”1″]From the highlighted article: One of the things that had confused him during the past few weeks was the shock he sometimes saw reflected back at him in strangers’ faces — the volunteers who toured the trailer park in utter disbelief, or the TV anchors who broke down in the middle of their live broadcasts from the U.S. border. They said separating a parent from a child was cruel and un-American. They said the United States was in the midst of a singular humanitarian crisis. They said these were the actions of a country they no longer recognized. But, to Alex, the act of family separation seemed quintessentially American. It was the cornerstone of his American experience.)) is deliberately doing and inciting a vast evil.
He indeed is loved by God, and Christ also died for him. But to assign a book title we know well here in Rwanda, by Canadian Roméo Dallaire, to the Catastrophe/Horror of Trump, shaking hands with those tiny hands (still large enough to push the Ultimate Doomsday Button) is the same as if one were toShake Hands With the Devil“.

Please read below some excerpts and their source about the near and present danger of the Planet in Peril of Trump.

And finally, what however this “world authority in psychiatry” is possibly blind to is, the tragic reality of American Empire in the world that is far and away the most dangerous Gang of Pirates ever to haunt humanity – and since its founding. Sadly, even when Trump disappears from the scene, American Empire remains as Ultimate World Threat. (Please see Chris Hedges’ recent “The Coming Collapse“.) Furthermore: ever since his election, Trump has been the above “Ultimate World Threat” personified. So “now” in the article’s title bespeaks a certain political naïveté.

Germany’s magazine Der Spiegel featured this image last year in February on their cover. While it drew widespread criticism, it could not be more accurate…

Augustine recounts this story((See Home Page to read quote in context, and about Humanity, Empire and the Gospel as Counter-Narrative to Empire)) :

The king asked the fellow, “What is your idea, in infesting the sea?” And the pirate answered, with uninhibited insolence, “the same as yours, in infesting the earth! But because I do it with a tiny craft, I’m called a pirate: because you have a mighty navy, you’re called an emperor[/President].”

May God have mercy on us all! Thankfully he does and always has!

excerpts:

Eight months ago, a group of us put our concerns into a book, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President. It became an instant bestseller, depleting bookstores within days. We thus discovered that our endeavours resonated with the public.

It is Trump in the office of the presidency that poses a danger. Why? Past violence is the best predictor of future violence, and he has shown: verbal aggressiveness, boasting about sexual assaults, inciting violence in others, an attraction to violence and powerful weapons and the continual taunting of a hostile nation with nuclear power. Specific traits that are highly associated with violence include: impulsivity, recklessness, paranoia, a loose grip on reality with a poor understanding of consequences, rage reactions, a lack of empathy, belligerence towards others and a constant need to demonstrate power.

There is another pattern by which he is dangerous. His cognitive function, or his ability to process knowledge and thoughts, has begun to be widely questioned. Many have noted a distinct decline in his outward ability to form complete sentences, to stay with a thought, to use complex words and not to make loose associations. This is dangerous because of the critical importance of decision-making capacity in the office that he holds. Cognitive decline can result from any number of causes – psychiatric, neurological, medical, or medication-induced – and therefore needs to be investigated. Likewise, we do not know whether psychiatric symptoms are due to a mental disorder, medication, or a physical condition, which only a thorough examination can reveal.

A diagnosis in itself, as much as it helps define the course, prognosis, and treatment, is Trump’s private business, but what is our affair is whether the president and commander-in-chief has the capacity to function in his office. Mental illness, or even physical disability, does not necessarily impair a president from performing his function. Rather, questions about this capacity mobilised us to speak out about our concerns, with the intent to warn and to educate the public, so that we can help protect its own safety and wellbeing.

Please click on: Trump Ever Dangerous

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Editor

Wayne Northey was Director of Man-to-Man/Woman-to-Woman – Restorative Christian Ministries (M2/W2) in British Columbia, Canada from 1998 to 2014, when he retired. He has been active in the criminal justice arena and a keen promoter of Restorative Justice since 1974. He has published widely on peacemaking and justice themes. You will find more about that on this website: a work in progress.

Always appreciate constructive feedback! Thanks.