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Grand Old Problem: Biology, Boorishness and Bush
Does Bush have Asperger Syndrome? Has his substance abuse returned?
By Juliet Eastland Oct 6, 2005
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Is it my imagination, or is the Republican relationship with the
English language growing ever more tenuous? During Bush’s reign, we
have become accustomed to linguistic distortions, ranging from
inconsequential (malapropisms) to inaccurate (“mission accomplished!”)
to devastating (W.M.D.). But in the past few months, the party seems to
have been swept by a particularly virulent outbreak of foot-in-mouth
disease.
Well-known
religious leader and GOP crony Pat Robertson advocates assassinating –
sorry, “taking out” – no, wait, “assassinating” – a world leader. (A
democratically elected one, no less! Now that’s tough love.) Asked to
explain FEMA’s dysfunctional response to Hurricane Katrina, ex-Director
Michael Brown unleashes a torrent of blame worthy of an eighth-grader
on the playground, lashing out at the officials above him at Homeland
Security, below him at regional levels, and at the entire
“dysfunctional” state of Louisiana.
And our president, as
always, strikes the perfect note. Standing amidst the smashed ruins of
New Orleans, W. reminisces with a chuckle about the good times he had
when the city was still standing. When he finally turns his attention
to the devastation around him and addresses what is left of the (black,
poor) populace, he homes in on (white, privileged) Trent Lott as an
example of the city’s tragedy and redemption: Lott lost his home, but
he will rebuild from “the rubbles,” and by god, it’s going to be good
to kick back on that front porch. (Lott himself, of course, resigned as
Senate Majority Leader in 2002 following a few unfortunate remarks
regarding former segregationist Strom Thurmond.)
Referring to
the New Orleans residents evacuated to Texas, the president’s mother
displayed equal sensitivity, noting that "…so many of the people in the
arena here (in Houston), you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this
is working very well for them."
Well, thank goodness. Cocktail,
anyone? I hope it was a double; by the time these lucky folks were
settled in their comfy Astrodome chairs, Global-Warming-Catastrophe
Rita was descending on Texas and forcing the next round of evacuations.
This is “compassionate conservatism?”
The
administration’s lack of understanding of the challenges facing the
common man is well documented, of course; witness policies on
elementary education (unfunded mandate), or military benefits
(inadequate armor), or health care (45 million uninsured), or adequate
sex education (“Sex: Don’t”), or…or… With the exception of certain
groups – the religious right and big oil come to mind – our current
leaders have never been accused of over-identifying, or even
identifying, with the masses; Bill Clinton they ain’t. But recent
remarks have been so inappropriate, so offensive, so oblivious of
audience, that they transcend callousness. We have – I hope – reached
the nadir.
Bush in particular has always found effective
communication challenging. Is it possible that his difficulty has
neurobiological roots? Asperger Syndrome, for example, could explain
some of his interpersonal deficits. Individuals afflicted with AS
possess normal intelligence but have “marked deficiencies in social
skills” according to Online Asperger Syndrome Information &
Support. AS sufferers “may be preoccupied with a particular subject of
interest” [four letters: I-R-A-Q] and may “perceive the world very
differently” than you and I [“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job”].
While language development “seems, on the surface, normal, individuals
with AS often have deficits in pragmatics and prosody” (oh, lord, don’t
get me started) and can be “extremely literal and have difficulty using
language in a social context.” Experts at Worcester Polytechnic
Institute note, “adults with Asperger's have trouble with empathy and
modulation of social interaction.”
Bush’s rigidity and denial,
his difficulty adapting to an audience – never mind his difficulty
adapting to changing external circumstances – bring to mind another
mind/body condition: substance use. By his own admission, Bush
conquered demon alcohol and averted a slide toward alcoholism almost
two decades ago, and more power to him. But as New York addiction
expert Michele Fontaine, MA, CASAC, CRC points out, denial – a Bush
administration hallmark – is “the most common defense in the addictive
world.” And no one could dispute that the denial has reached epic
proportions when it comes to “facts” and the like. The war? What war?
Oh, that one – going great, thanks, as long as you don’t count the
thousands of Iraqi and American lives lost. Evolution? Just a theory.
Global warming? “La, la, la, la” (hands over ears), never mind that
rising temperatures may have exacerbated Katrina and led to one of the
largest forced human migrations in the U.S. on record.
Having
struggled with sin himself, as have we all, Bush might have emerged
from his personal battles a humanist, a larger person, someone whose
trials heightened his empathy for others and strengthened his ability
to embrace the complexities and ambiguities of the world around him.
Instead, he seems to have become more armored, not less. It is our
loss, and his, that the leader of the free world insists on clinging to
his version of reality, be it in the deep south or the middle east,
with the tenacity, defensiveness, and self-justifications of an addict.
And in a perfect example of “trickle-down,” the attitude of the leader
colors the attitudes of his followers.
But really, these medical
suppositions may be inaccurate and, alas, overly charitable. Substance
users and AS sufferers, after all, can get put a name to their
condition and obtain behavioral and psychopharmacological help,
assuming that they are aware of and ready to address their condition.
But treating afflictions of the soul – meanness of spirit, weakness of
character, paucity of perspective – may be a far more challenging task.
Juliet Eastland is a writer in New York City.
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