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writing for godot

Is life imitating art with sociopathic policies?

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Written by Robert Douglas   
Friday, 21 February 2014 09:48
A high-functioning sociopath. That’s how Holmes describes himself in the PBS series Sherlock.

I’ve never thought of the fictional detective in such terms. Perhaps because I’ve always thought of his character as more heroic. An eccentric master of deductive reasoning who solves crimes and, therefore, is the good guy who carries the day.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle introduced the popular persona to readers in the 19th century. In this latest TV iteration of the Sherlock franchise, the challenges he’s presented have been adapted for the 21st century. His cases are more complex, the stakes higher and his antagonists more diabolical.

Therefore, if you use Peewee Herman reasoning — “it takes one to know one” — it makes sense that Sherlock’s success in neutralizing dastardly schemes be rooted in sociopathic tendencies. So what we might ordinarily consider as antihero characteristics become the qualities of a hero.

It’s a brilliant dramatic twist in a conventional theme of the greater evil succumbing to pragmatism in the name of good — even though at best it is only a lesser evil. And that makes for provocative entertainment.

But take a step back and consider how this same perverse dynamic might look when it plays out in the real world. Life imitating art, as it were.

Isn’t it the basis for American geopolitical policy? In the name of counterterrorism, we indulge acts that are, in fact, terroristic.

CIA drone attacks that kill innocent civilians and writes their deaths as collateral damage, for example. (War is hell, don’t you know.)

Or the NSA shreds our right to privacy to defend our rights — including our right to privacy.

Are our own policymakers calculating Orwellian's bent on making the whole world bow to their will without feeling any need to justify their conduct?

Or are they more like Sherlock — high-functioning sociopaths who check their consciences at the door while they engage with evil-doers in the game of power politics in the name of righteousness?

At least Sherlock knows who he is. And that makes him almost endearing because his goal is to match wits with the enemy and defeat him with cleverness. And because he’s aware of his sociopathic tendencies, maybe there’s hope for rehabilitation.

I sometimes wonder if those who drop bombs and tap phones in name of protecting us from the enemy know who they are?

Or if they’ve been playing power politics for so long that they’ve forgotten about their consciences they left at the door?

It’s an elementary question worth pondering, my Dear Watson.
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Robert Douglas is a former union official and former business editor for The Palm Beach Post and Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. You can find him at RBDMedia.com/blog.htm
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