• Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt
• Authoritarian
• Glib and Superficial
• Unable to feel remorse or guilt
• Manipulative and Deceptive
• Grandiose (self-important, not based on achievements)
• Pathological Lying
• Shallow Emotions (limited range or depth)
• Callousness/Lack of Empathy
• Poor Behavioral Controls
• Early Behavior Problems
• Promiscuous Behavior/Infidelity
• Criminal Versatility
• Contemptuous of those who seek to understand them
• Does not perceive that anything is wrong with them
• Exercises despotic control over people's life
• Secretive
• Paranoid
• Conventional appearance
George Bush?
These are all traits of a psychopath, unburdened by the constraints of conscience, they can just as easily hurt somebody as tell lies, it's all the same to them, as long as they get the results they want. Psychopaths are almost emotionless, their limited range of emotions is truly astounding, leaving them without guilt, remorse or mercy. As individuals there may be 4% of the general population with a full blown set of syndromes, that's one in twenty-five Americans. The real concern are the functioning or successful "psychopaths" among us, who can easily set aside their conscience when called on, and who are just as untrustworthy and dangerous. Stick around, these numbers could be much larger, let me introduce you to someone that's different from everyone else you know.
How would we perceive our surroundings, our fellow humans, our past, or our future, without emotions. Without emotional responses to our world, what would be our reaction to those around us, would we feel like caring for people, would we feel like obeying the laws of society, especially if we felt no fear? The psychopath is missing one of the hallmarks of humanity, emotions, and thus an inability to develop a conscience. They have an inborn neurological deficit, the machinery simply isn’t there. MRI brain scans reveal that the limbic (emotional) region of the normal brain is missing or underdeveloped in the psychopath.
The basic nature of the conscience may be to keep us from harming others, it regulates our behavior by connecting our memories of people or events to our feelings. For the psychopath doing something good and generating a positive response, holds no real value. They don't speak the emotional language of people or have an intervening sense of obligation to others. Likewise getting caught telling a lie garners no embarrassment, or remorse, bypassing the normal rule making process that works towards establishing a conscience. This process of "remembering" is what checks our behavior in similar circumstances and keeps us from repeating the same mistake or helps us project into the future in avoidance of potential "problems".
Must be a Neopath?
What we wind up with is someone who is capable of the despicable and horrendous, someone who can destroy a nation, and do it without fear. Someone who can't see consequences or feel their affects. Someone who stops at nothing in a quest for power or money, but is never satisfied. This faulty emotional process reflects in the psychopaths pathological lying and pathological egocentricity with poorly connected thoughts and strange justifications such as "the weak demand to be exploited". Their creative abilities are limited to redefining reality and usually result in an upside down world as perceived by others but suits their purposes.
Has'to be a right wing talk show?
To override reality the psychopath uses the tools of freedom [radio,newspaper,TV] to go about distorting the perceptions of others for personal gain. Or as an authority figure, one with a demonic ability to talk others out of everything, their purpose, their assets, their very lives. Or when threatened by others who display a conscience, the psychopath becomes a predator, redefining the victims ideas, mischaracterizing their intentions or calling for their destruction. With no concern for consequences, their self centered lives almost always turn out poorly for others. This mind set is inherently destructive, and can become insidious when institutionalized by an organization or religion or political party, and needs to be identified before it gains control.
Must be Republicans?
The real enemy is a psychopath at the reigns of power and a population under their spell. They systematically try to manipulate using deception, and herd the conscience bound like cattle with intimidation and fear. Using an us-verses-them mentality, [us vs goverment, gay/straight, pro-life/pro-choice, liberal vs conservative] they gain support and credibility, while the real problem is their breeding of contempt and intolerance. If in goverment they will break down checks and balances, make up the rules of governance and rewrite its very reason for existence to suit their needs. They will eliminate all opposition, whether it be the laws of the land [the peoples conscience], or a coworker, this is the danger of psychopathy prevailing and organizing, it always results in destruction. This is what pre-WWII Germany faced as the Nazis gained control, or when Stalin came to power in communist Russia, Mao, Saddam and on and on. Statistically just over 60% of the population will obey authority more or less without question, leaving a little over 30% who don't automatically defer to it, not good odds.
You can spot psychopathy by its remorseless action, cool lies, inventive redefining wordsmithing, and feigned ability to care for people. A hallmark of the psychopath is the inability to follow rules, rules get in the way of what they want, and what they want is the most important thing in the world, regardless. A psychopath will have very little emotion in their words, their eyes are empty and show their true colors to be unconcerned, dispassionate, cold hearted, and unempathic. Psychopaths are a malevolent all consuming force with an inability to experience satisfaction, a limiting emotion. They are a consummate chameleon that learns to mimic how people act, and can show up anywhere, make sure you see the signs, before it's too late.