tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235303708202109019.post8231900613925226312..comments2023-12-13T12:36:55.729-08:00Comments on Phronesis / {fro-nay-sis}: I WAS WRONG: DICK CHENEY IS A SOCIOPATHPHRONESIShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07591076303642667442noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235303708202109019.post-7687596562071710232015-01-31T11:41:29.720-08:002015-01-31T11:41:29.720-08:00Ron,
I did not mean to imply that those I mentione...Ron,<br />I did not mean to imply that those I mentioned were either sociopaths or psychopaths. Rather, my point is that you don't have to be either to take amoral or even immoral actions or make policies that lead to those actions in the name of your country. Reinhold Niebuhr spoke of "moral man, and immoral society" to make the point that individuals will do things in the name of the state that they could never contemplate in the personal behavior. A prof of mind recalled a party game in D.C. in the 60s, in which some of the attendees (policy makers, scholars and others) would admit what they might do in the name of their country. The prof said that you would not believe how high up the scale from, say, wire tapping a colleague to dropping THE BOMB participants would go. Of course, that was just a party game, albeit a sick one, I'd say. But it is somewhat revealing given the nature of the place and the group. I doubt that we have improved since the 60s.Jim Dubbsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235303708202109019.post-75639808376467727662015-01-20T16:38:07.144-08:002015-01-20T16:38:07.144-08:00Jim,
To repeat, a sociopath is: a person with a p...Jim,<br /><br />To repeat, a sociopath is: a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. With the possible exception of Kissinger, I don't think the others you named fit the definition. Besides, I don't recall any of them launching a one-man publicity campaign to blame all bad outcomes on a successor. Regarding Realpolitik, I take your point. I used to shun the Realpolitik perspective, but neo-conservatism is making it look better all the time. My how the times have changed.<br /><br />PHRONESIShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07591076303642667442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235303708202109019.post-61996644296743412482015-01-20T15:58:36.018-08:002015-01-20T15:58:36.018-08:00I don't know, Cheney is just too easy a target...I don't know, Cheney is just too easy a target. It would be pretty to lay so much blame on one man, but my suspicion is that we are all culpable to a greater or lesser extent -- depending on how much we have drunk the Koolaid of American exceptionalism and or arrogance. It's just another variation of the earlier British 'white man's burden". (Perfidious Albion to the French.) Acheson, Reagan, Kissinger, Cheney, Clinton, Bush, Obama -- all have played a role in the US vainly trying to shape the world to suit it, and the inclination to do so has only increased in a post-Cold War world. We could use a little Realpolitik. Where's Hans Morgenthau when you need him? Jim Dubbsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235303708202109019.post-26697031931533587552015-01-15T09:59:27.391-08:002015-01-15T09:59:27.391-08:00Very nice piece, Ron. Cheney will never pay the a...Very nice piece, Ron. Cheney will never pay the appropriate price for his evil influence in our government. What an embarrassment! He is an ugly savage. On a last night, while you might be the first to volunteer to feed Cheney rectally, you just don't have it in you to undertake such a process. Thanks for the article.Lynn Routt Swansonnoreply@blogger.com