Barack Obama had to be delegitimized. In the brawl over the last eight years, perhaps they succeeded on a level not intended. They did not, I think, manage to delegitimize President Obama. Rather, they fulfilled one of Ronald Reagan’s rhetorical dictums and managed to delegitimize the idea of governance.
What happens when you pay two monkeys unequally? This is what happens, as narrated by primatologist Frans de Waal. This is an excerpt from the TED Talk: "Frans de Waal: Moral behavior in animals." Watch the whole talk here.
The article is titled, "The psychology of greed: 3 attitudes that explain the worst behaviors of the 1 percent." The thesis is that the upper class tend toward narcissism -- and their sense of entitlement appears to be growing. The three telltale signs: 1) It's all about me, me, me. 2) It's all about lazy-ass people who refuse to work. 3) It's all about waiting for the free market to work its fairy magic.
Societies worldwide are suffering epidemics of mental illness because “human beings, the ultrasocial mammals, whose brains are wired to respond to other people, are being peeled apart,” writes George Monbiot at The Guardian. “Though our wellbeing is inextricably linked to the lives of others, everywhere we are told that we will prosper through competitive self-interest and extreme individualism.” The consequence? “[P]lagues of anxiety, stress, depression, social phobia, eating disorders, self-harm and loneliness.”
Yes, this will no doubt offend. The carnage on the street has got to stop.