self-grat·i·fi·ca·tion
Pronunciation: -"gra-t&-f&-'kA-sh&n
Function: noun
: the act of pleasing oneself or of satisfying one's desires; especially : the satisfying of one's own sexual urges
OK, I'm about to go Freudian here so all of you Jungians can move on; there is nothing to see here.
I have been struck lately by how upside down our political landscape has become. There are many reasons for why we have arrived at this point in our collective development; the rise of a political aristocracy, corporatism and the development of a professional political class. Of course, none of these things are new, they have always existed in form or another throughout our history. We had the robber-barons of the industrial revolution, Tammany Hall and the backroom political powers choosing our leaders and some form or another of those who were other than statesmen, drawing roadmaps for aspiring candidates. However, technology and time have converged to bring about a higher level of proficiency amongst the practitioners of these arts.
Now, what is especially confounding is that our political discourse has become a reflexive dialect of it's own existence that excludes common sense and defies disbelief. We are told that there are "threats", ominous dark threats that we cannot comprehend. Those who tell us this also told us that Saddam had massive WMD stockpiles, conspired with Al-Qaeda for 9/11 and that tubes of toothpaste on airplanes were as dangerous and Iraq purchasing aluminum tubes for centrifuges. Of course none of that was true. As a matter of fact, those things all turned out to be outright lies. Indeed, the chief law officer of the land - and the architect of the destruction of our liberties and honor as a nation - has dissembled with such aplomb that even politicians of his own party have called on his resignation. And yet, our representatives, those we fought to bring to power allowed a vote to go forward to take away our liberties once again without even discussing the validity of what they've been told. To paraphrase our decider (because to quote him is to challenging) who badly fused a popular expression and Pete Townsend, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me.. Uh, fool me twice, we won't get fooled again."
Most of the people who post and contribute here have repeatedly scratched their heads over the last six and a half years wondering how a man with limited verbal skills, a dimwitted comprehension of the complexities of policy and no real understanding of our democracy can be so admired and quoted as a great statesman and bold leader. Indeed, if this were not a virtual village green, but rather a room containing continuous head scratchers, the result would be akin to upstate New York in February. I believe though that I can put forth a theory and possible explanation on what has taken us down the rabbit hole and why it is so hard to get back up.
I am from Texas. I don't live there any longer, nor have I lived there in years. I do believe though that the roots of my origin offer me some insight into the kind of thought process that would lead to an insidious retort such as "Bring 'em on." As a kid I distinctly remember men commenting in the coffee shop on the topics of the days such as the rise of gasoline prices or the latest ventures by the Soviet Union. These folks (all self-proclaimed Christians with a twist of irony) would easily solve thorny foreign policy issues with a simple two-word phrase: "Nuke 'em." Yes, they truly believed that dropping nuclear bombs on any adversary would solve all problems presented by said opponents and restore peace and harmony. As a bonus, it would feel real good too (foot stomp here for those of you taking notes.) This belief arose from a limited understanding of the close of World War II where our use of atomic weapons hastened the Japanese surrender. Of course, no one ever pointed out the obvious, that the Japanese could not respond.
As Bush rose through the process in 1999/2000, I noticed how much of the political exposure of my youth seemed to be resurfacing in his use of rhetoric, his championing by people who wanted "action" and his faux Texas swagger. I assured myself that if this guy got elected, there would be brakes applied by the system to prevent him from getting out of control. In the past, presidents had often arrived with bold agendas only to find out that congress, even their own party, was loath to let them charge blindly ahead. Little did I realize that this time, they would let him charge recklessly ahead, indeed they would offer to push. This led to lots of folks who may not have direct experience with this bizarre type of worldview massaging their noggins.
You may be asking at this point, "How does this relate to your title and your above the fold word for the day?" Good question and very astute of you to ask.
Self-gratification can be achieved by various means; over indulgence in food, impulse shopping or any activity that focuses on a quick but short-term pleasure response. Of course it is more often associated with onanism or masturbation. Now don't get me wrong, masturbation is something that everyone does and there is nothing wrong with that. One of the funniest things I heard occurred on the Lionel program on Air America when a caller was on an extended rant about the destruction of our society as we moved away from the bible. He pointed out how masturbation was a terrible thing and spoke of how his own addiction to it ruined his life. Lionel's retort was "Maybe you just weren't doing it right." I also remember reading years ago about a minor Greek philosopher in ancient Athens who appeared in the public square one day and began going to work right there in public. As the crowd gathered around him they heaped scorn, ridicule and derision on him. His response was "If you could satisfy your hunger by rubbing your stomach, wouldn't you do it?" The answer is you would but then think of all of the wonderful sensations you would miss from enjoying a good meal.
Yes, there is an upside to having the ability to gratify yourself but if it is done exclusive of all other activities, it can limit you from the world. Some popular belief claim that it becomes self-abuse. I don't know enough to comment on that but anything that is done to excess and to the exclusion of all other things can have a negative affect. Even though we may all practice it, most of us seek out intimate relationships. We learn that these take work. They require interaction, empathy, a tuning in to the emotional as well as the physical needs of our partners. Even though this effort can be daunting, draining and difficult, our reward comes in the the attachment and the intimacy where we realize the payoff of two people attuned to each other and working in harmony almost as complicated as the synchronization of a collection of instruments that becomes a beautiful orchestra.
My theory is that our political leaders and many of our representatives have given up on the effort it takes to achieve goals by working together and negotiating compromises outside of their own immediate self-interest. They've succumbed to the self-gratification of solitary activity. What passes as policy in our land today has become a short-term feel good session that leaves an empty feeling afterwards and quite frankly, a mess that then has to be cleaned up. I do not point the finger only at the Republics, some of our so-called Dems have fallen into this trap too. They may have had a proclivity towards this behavior although I honestly have not checked for the tell-tale signs of hairy palms, blindness or curved spines.
Noting this trend though I have decided that we must not quickly cast away the beauty of our language as practiced by it's rightful owners, the English. They have a wonderful term for people who behave this way. That word is wanker. I have decided we should apply that term to the wanker-in-chief and all of his minions and obsequious participants in the great circle-jerk of the corporate press and the Congress. They must be pulled out of their solitary rooms, told to drop the lotion and get back out there, roll up their sleeves (OK, their sleeves may have already been rolled up) and perform the interaction that is required to keep our nation safe and sane.
If you are represented by a wanker, let them know how you feel. In the meantime, enjoy a cover of this classic by Jackson Browne.
Finally, any real psychologists, therapists or other related professionals who want to challenge my theory based upon a lack of empirical evidence, professional methodology or other issues, I say "Bring 'em on."