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Narcissism and Tyranny — The Consequence of Executive Egocentrism

Self Service Masquerading as Public Service
By Mark Alexander
May 31, 2012

“He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.” –Benjamin Franklin, 1758

(Editor’s Note: Your Patriot team rolled out our new homepage this week. While the appearance changes will be obvious, there are also numerous technological upgrades. One key improvement is that reader comments are now “threaded,” which promotes meaningful dialog between fellow Patriots nationwide.)

Paraphrasing the ancient Chinese warrior Sun Tzu: To defeat your opponent you must know your opponent and know yourself.

If our generation of Patriots is to succeed in our mandate to extend the blessings of American Liberty to our posterity, then we must both know the depth of our devotion to Liberty and understand its enemies. Indeed, we must fully comprehend those adversaries beyond topical categorization by political and other affiliations.

Our nation was founded by Patriots who devoted their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to Liberty for all. They truly understood the nature of “public service” as opposed to “self service,” the former defined as the giving of oneself for the greater good as opposed to the latter defined as the taking for oneself to the detriment of anyone or anything else.

In our Republican context of governance, the spirit of public service was and remains essential for the advancement of Liberty, while the consequence of self-service has always been irrevocably linked to tyranny.

Our generation of Patriots understands this distinction, and we are steadfast in our fidelity to the higher calling of Liberty. However, this fraternity of dedicated Patriots has always been, and will likely always be, in the minority — which is to say we must each resolve to give our all. As often noted, Samuel Adams wrote, “It does not take a majority to prevail … but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”

In the generations since our founding, Liberty has suffered excessive insult by the rise of men who, under the banner of “public service,” are motivated principally by self service — and the greater the drive toward self service, the greater the threat to Liberty.

Recent history records the ascension of politicians who were incontrovertibly motivated by self service masquerading as public service — Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Albert Gore, John Kerry and John Edwards, to name a few. All of these men share tragic family histories, which indelibly imprinted them from birth. Each also has a common diagnosis for his behavior: Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD).

Post Your Opinion: Why is NPD epidemic among Leftists?

Understanding this pathology is key to defeating our opponents who manifest it.

By definition, narcissists are deeply insecure and, consequently, have an unrelenting need to be admired by others. Their low self-esteem is often imprinted from early childhood, and for many it is associated with ineffective fathering or worse, parental abandonment. Narcissists have a grandiose sense of self and of entitlement, and they have an excessive dependence upon others for self-definition and self-esteem regulation. Though they may project an image of great confidence, it is nothing more than arrogance pretending to be confidence in a cover-up of their insecurity….READ MORE

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