10/26/2016
Will Americans Elect a Self-Addict for Its Next President?
Craig N. Piso, Ph.D.
Not since President Richard Nixon became publicly embroiled in the infamous Watergate scandal in 1972–including the toxic spillover that culminated in his resignation two years later–have I witnessed more controversy surrounding a US President or among presidential candidates than has been the case during the current campaigns by Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The Monica Lewinsky affair that erupted as a public scandal for President Bill Clinton in 1998–leading to his impeachment and eventual acquittal–seems to pale by comparison with today’s tumult regarding both of these candidates. Firestorms have erupted around both of them and continue to emblazon this presidential election with confusion, negativity, and increasingly divisive sentiments about the prospect of unifying the US through effective post-election leadership at such a critical time in our nation’s history.
As part of the constructive dialogue underway regarding both presidential candidates, a number of people have asked me as a psychologist with almost 40 years of experience to weigh in about them from a personality perspective. While it is certainly not my place to judge them, nor am I in a position to offer a clinical assessment of their respective personalities, I’m writing this article to shed light on the narcissistic personality disorder, in general, in the hope that informed readers will be better equipped to form their own opinions with a greater degree of validity (i.e., information is power when it is fact-based, timely, relevant, and helpful).
Toxic narcissism in adulthood, as opposed to the normal narcissism we find in young children, can be best understood as an addiction to oneself, and it is evidenced by:
1) Egocentrism – a primitive obsession with being the center of attention…not only positive attention, but also the negative attention that is generated through antagonistic, provocative, and defiant statements and behavior;
2) Omnipotence – a compelling drive to become all-powerful, even god-like, including a grandiose sense of entitlement, in order to perpetuate one’s denial of vulnerability and fallibility (i.e., they can NEVER lose nor take responsibility for either their wrongdoing or the negative consequences of their actions); and
3) Omniscience – an all-consuming need to be all-knowing and, therefore, superior in one’s ideas and points of view with accompanying disdain/condescension/rage for those points of view differing from their own (i.e., there is absolutely no room for nor tolerance of divergent ideas or opinions)
Like any other form of addiction, the narcissist (i.e., “self-addict”) can never be satisfied, only temporarily appeased by getting his/her “fix” (e.g., attention of any sort, including sensational media coverage; control victories; subjugation of any person or group deemed to be inferior, etc.), all serving the ego’s insatiable need to substantiate the lies upon which his/her fragile identity and weak sense of self have been errantly constructed.
Further, just like any addict, the narcissist goes into withdrawal with painful regularity, especially as he/she habituates to previous levels of stimulation, requiring ever more strong doses of ego-building events to escape underlying feelings of inadequacy, self-loathing, and emptiness. The narcissist eventually “hits bottom” when their house of cards comes crashing down – a victim of their falsely constructed, haughty, arrogant, and unrealistically inflated sense of self.
A relevant and timeless adage asserts, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely!” While this is certainly true for primitive, immature, and otherwise disturbed individuals (i.e., those evidencing elements of toxic narcissism), the opposite principle holds for those individuals who view power with a sense of stewardship and aspire to demonstrate servant leadership. That is, while the narcissist is driven to acquire ever increasing power with a sense of entitlement and an almost exclusive focus upon self-aggrandizement at the expense of others, the servant leader seeks a position of authority and influence in order to serve a mission and purpose greater than oneself. It is through this latter feature of selfless dedication to the greater good with accompanying stewardship and humility that the mature servant leader is most reflective of Christian values and teachings. One might say, therefore, that power is corrupting only for narcissistic and comparable individuals who harbor motives that are self-serving and impure (“Unhealthy Power”). However, the unselfish, outward mission focus of the servant leader and true Christian makes his/her pursuit of power both honorable and admirable, striving for the greater good with a sense of responsibility, rather than entitlement...with love, rather than hatred...with faith, rather than fear.
