When the Media Covers Madness, Beware When Bizarre Becomes Banal

Every family tree has at least one branch labeled Crazy Uncle Charlie Their sizes shapes and ages may vary but not the ranting voice or their readiness to reignite dormant family feuds that turned previous evenings39 polite company into pyrotechnics From decorous silence to invited departures workarounds usually come with familial ties that bind But for American citizens who are a family of sorts except for elections their options are limited when Charlie is the President of the United StatesIn his scholarly article in 1993 Professor Raymond Birt wrote that social scientists quotare unable to allow for the emergence of a mentally impaired individual to a position of great power in what they see asamp8230a purposely driven statequot They dismiss he continued quotthe role of personality and the presence of a leader with enormous personal power and the ability to translate his impulsive personalitydriven behavior into official acts of statequotThe professor was writing about the failure of Kremlinologists to appreciate the paranoia that drove Josef Stalin His critique sounds alltooapt todayNeither Americans nor Russians are the first to have a national leader distinguished by personality disorders Consider 19th Century Europe Until he died in 1820 Britain39s King George III a manic depressive spent his last decadeamp8212as historians put itamp8212quotintermittently madquot In Bavaria court ministers declared King Ludwig who disdained governing in favor of patronizing artists and building castles mentally unfit permanently affixing quotmadquot to his royal name The volatile moods of Kaiser Wilhelm II led Britain39s Lord Salisbury to call him quotnot quite normalquot Wilhelm helped push Germany into World War I for his Reich and the world that didn39t end wellWhether it would have mattered if journalists had reported on a king39s mental problems two centuries ago of course is a moot point If they had tried to call out a screwball sovereign odds are they would have paid a high price Lamp232semajestamp233 laws protected royalty sanctioning those who insulted them with fines jail time or depending on the realm worse Five European countries still have such laws on the books including Britain where the statute allows political leaders to sue if they39re insulted To their credit prosecutors haven39t pursued a case in over a hundred yearsLaws or not journalists still contend with big challenges in reporting on any political figure39s psychoses Reporters aren39t psychiatrists compelling them to seek facts and analysis from a profession that ethically has foresworn remotely diagnosing political candidates The quotGoldwater Rulequot adopted after psychiatrists surveyed in 1964 deemed the Republicans39 presidential candidate unhinged hasn39t prevented some from speaking and writing about President Trump Nonetheless their professional association still frowns on their ideaamp8212that they have a quotduty to warnquot when the condition of the nation39s leader suggests he is off the railsAs for covering a sitting president39s mental health like any other health topic journalists depend on honesty from not only the patient but also his caregivers Notwithstanding the public39s right to know about the commanderinchief39s status privacy laws that protect medical records also can become political dodges when presidents tell their doctors what to say The ploy was on full display last week when Trump visited Walter Reed Medical Center Backed by a whitecoated chorus line of clinicians Dr Sean Conley the president39s physician provided press briefings that gave a master class in malarky The performances hinted at what journalists would face if Trump39s cognition not the coronavirus was the diagnosis at stakeTo be sure Trump39s erratic acting out and fantastical claims are receiving attention Print broadcast and cable news outlets have enlisted an array of medical experts to detail COVID1939s impact and its treatments including the risk of altered mental states Firsthand accounts of his psyche also have made the news cycle Mary Trump whose book delved into her uncle39s family history provided her diagnosis as a psychologist as well as his niece putting his mental issues squarely on the table But as Trump39s statements including threats to destabilize the November election grow more extreme the question is obvious is businessasusual eventdriven news coverage of his mental state enoughIndeed from hourlong rants aired by his Fox News courtiers to warnings that his defeat can only mean a rigged election with the implication of violence to follow the raw material for more intensive reporting is accumulating by the day Sharper focus on the topic isn39t beyond the news media39s ken As professionals psychiatrists have an optic that may allow them to pick out signs of danger Masha Gessen wrote in the New Yorker three years ago quotButquot she said quotthey are analyzing what we all see the President39s persistent blatant lies his contradictory statements his inability to hold a thought his aggression his lack of empathy None of this is secret special knowledgeamp8212it is all known to the people who voted for himquotGessen39s point applies not only to Trump39s supporters and others who have rationalized his behavior but to the press as well The news media have followed Trump doing his job whether it39s his pathological lying or incredible rationalizations for policy failures or family scams they have let the facts suggest what they may Fair enough But the consequences for the country of tiptoeing around his mental condition including its latest resultamp8212a president who has produced a public health carnage while portraying a glowing successamp8212present the price of ignoring the obvious the tragic evidence of an illness that makes him unfit to servePhoto courtesy of Harrington GroupClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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When the Media Covers Madness, Beware When Bizarre Becomes Banal

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Kent M. Harrington

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When the Media Covers Madness, Beware When Bizarre Becomes Banal

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