I posted this on our local blog (www.wataugawatch.com) and mentioned it in a group which gathers at #theyoungturks (IRC Chat4all port 6667) and it was well-received. Driven to share it with my fellow progressives, I post it here.
Republicans are afflicted by CHIDS-Chronic Humor and Irony Deficit Syndrome, pronounced 'kids' with a parental sigh.
Mulling further, I propose there should be a similar framing of their aversion to facts. The first step led me to the dictionary:
Aversion:
- a strong feeling of dislike, opposition, repugnance, or antipathy (usually fol. by to): a strong aversion to snakes and spiders.
- a cause or object of dislike; person or thing that causes antipathy: His pet aversion is guests who are always late.
- Obsolete. the act of averting; a turning away or preventing.
http://dictionary.reference.com/...
There are clearly psychogic influences at work. Wikipedia provides an interesting point for contemplation.
A phobia (from the Greek φόβος "fear"), is an irrational, persistent fear of certain situations, objects, activities, or persons. The main symptom of this disorder is the excessive, unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject. When the fear is beyond one's control, or if the fear is interfering with daily life, then a diagnosis under one of the anxiety disorders can be made.
Phobias (in the clinical meaning of the term) are the most common form of anxiety disorders. An American study by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) found that between 8.7% and 18.1% of Americans suffer from phobias. [2] Broken down by age and gender, the study found that phobias were the most common mental illness among women in all age groups and the second most common illness among men older than 25.
The ratio of phobias from men to women is 2:1, however this varies between different phobias. Also, the content varies within cultures e.g. fear of magic higher in cultures that believe in magic and it is also higher in lower socio-economic groups.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
What stood out to me was '...and it is also higher in lower socio-economic groups'. Therein, perhaps, lies the reason why some forces are motivated to exagerate the fears which plague life.
Any suggestions of how to simply convey, as with CHIDS, the concept of that aversion to facts?