Recently I posted the list that psychologists and psychiatrists use to diagnose NPD, or Narcissistic Personality Disorder. I posted it as a reflection on how this diagnosis fits our President so closely and how two of those symptoms or traits scared me (#9 and #10 on the list). Today I want to talk about how #8 can be equally dangerous.
As you may know, Congress and the Trump administration (the White House) are currently at war on at least two fronts; Trump’s taxes and a copy of the unredacted Special Counsel report. Congress has issues deadlines and these have come and passed without compliance from the White House. On Monday, the secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, informed congress he would not comply with the request. Monday also marked a deadline set by the same congress, requiring an unredacted version of the Special Counsel report. In a letter dated May 1, Attorney General, William Barr, informed congress he could not provide a redacted copy of the report.
At this point, the Washington circus is in full effect and there are talks of holding Barr in contempt (a vote for this matter taking place today). However, most experts understand even if the outcome is favorable to congress, there is very little they can do. Execution of the resolution would have to be enacted by the executive branch (the White House). Which means the whole matter would have to be taken up by the judicial branch (courts) and who knows how long that would take.
All of these acrobatics bring us back to #8: Expect special favors and unquestioning compliance with their expectations. On the abstract, #8 may not seem too dangerous. In fact, one may even say, “I do expect some of that in my family, close circle of friends, etc“. And in saying so, you would not be diagnosed with NPD.
The issue, as you can image, is the extent of the expectation of favors and compliance. Would it be reasonable to expect others to break the law in the pursuit of complying? If the answer is yes, what would your accomplices expect in return? Could your accomplices, in turn, expect you to break the law. If so, could they black-mail you? To what extend would you go if you were black-mailed? You can see how #8 quickly turns into a liability rather than an asset. Even supposing your accomplices never black-mailed you and remained loyal. Are those the type of people we want in power? People without scruples?
This is the reason NPD is so dangerous. Each symptom or trait, on their own, can be benign. We may even posses some of the traits themselves. The issue is in the inability of the individual diagnosed with NPD, to see the error of his/her ways. Most of us would not want such a person working at the fast-food counter, much less as the most powerful person in the world.
