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writing for godot

The Republican Party of Pain

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Written by Albert Z Lewis   
Friday, 04 October 2013 02:06
It Hurts Me More than It Hurts You . . .

Why does the Republican Party seem embarked on such a destructive course that seems unrelated to fact or reason? The answer seems to be derived from certain psychological needs, perhaps related to religious over-excitement, but definitely resident in certain psycho-types of “The Great American Parent”.

“It hurts me more than it hurts you!” — the disclaimer some use as they beat their children with a belt, or a switch, or an open hand delivered with ferocious self-righteousness to a recalcitrant child. The child hollers and screams bloody murder throughout the course of this vigorous exercise in generational instruction. In the end, the parent, feeling slightly guilty but somewhat gratified in the exhausting exercise of imagined responsibility, wanders back to more dignified pursuits, while the child, generally less gratified, whimpers and moans a little, then scampers off determined not to share much of anything, in the future, with his or her parent, and definitely not to be so easily caught, or observed, in activities which may, or may not, be sanctioned in a similar way.

Well, much like the pedophile priests who tell themselves that their obsessions are based on moral and not sexual enthusiasm, the reality is a little darker and much uglier.

The Sadistic Impulse exists, as does the Masochistic Impulse, and both now combine to define what it means to be a Conservative Republican, possessed of a righteous paternalism (maternal instincts not much appreciated), and an unambiguous view of the American people, a certain percentage of whom (47%?) who are in need of proper parental guidance, unaffected by external community standards or “interference.” Theirs is the certitude that those who have not suffered pain and agony are morally weak, believing themselves entitled to something more than the ”right to fight” for the limited resources available. It follows that losers in this fight are morally defective, not worthy of any assistance since, to do so, weakens the success of the successful, rewarding the undeserving, further sapping their interest and desire to improve. “Unearned assistance” is seen to cause the death spiral of the welfare-seeking, lazy, unpatriotic, “liberal” parasite often found in large, dysfunctional cities.

In this strange world, the Conservative moves angrily, embittered by any observations of joy or happiness, or economic improvement, which almost by definition appear to be evidence of corruption or criminal achievement. The only honest joy possible seems derived from the company of “like-minded” ideologues who congratulate each other on their shared vision and mutual horror at the“other” who is destroying their world. Yet amidst the backslapping joy of these moral convocations, (think of Sara Palin sharing her delight in assault weapon marksmanship), lurks an unease that demands further satisfaction to soothe the disquiet of one’s certain knowledge. What can be done, ask these embittered souls? What can save the day?

The answer appears to be pain and howling agony, that elixir that invigorates the lazy and gratifies the righteous, providing relief from that sense of helplessness that one feels just complaining and doing nothing. Even if it hurts you as well, (after all you have already suffered and can “take it”) the benefits are overwhelming — everyone must take you seriously, accept the reality of your importance, and pay the price that you have now set. And the value is really not in whatever you may have accomplished tactically, but in the cleansing and steeling pain that you have inflicted upon those who disagree with you, forcing them to accept your Truth, or at least, become so discouraged and demoralized that they are unable to resist your righteous will, especially since you, in your superiority, may have suffered even more in the struggle.

Of course, the child (or country) has suffered greatly in this exercise, but in your clear eye, you see the long-term benefits, the reinvigoration of decayed family values, passing on from generation to generation what you have obtained through your own sad and difficult journey through life, having defeated all those who would rob you.

Yes, Pain is what the Republicans now think they must administer as their most valuable insight into human nature, even if it causes the destruction of the economy and the continuing angry debates that seem to have no end. Just as warfare can spur the development of so many wonderful scientific improvements, so economic and social destruction will kick-start a lazy, unmotivated populace into free-market activism! At least, that is the theory. And explains the utter willingness of this once-conservative party to subject so many to devastation. Much as the Anarchists believed that only the destruction of the civil order could bring about a better society, now the Republican ideologues believe that only the destruction of comity and reason can create a politically sustainable future (for them).

What does this bode for resolution of the crisis? Unfortunately, not much. Without a full, bloody pound of flesh, the Party will continue to press for continued agony and destruction, even at the expense of their own electoral fortunes, until every segment of society feels the hurt and pain that is their secret political need. Anything less leaves them unfulfilled. If the US dollar loses value, if the economy suddenly tanks, and unemployment surges, only then will there be some ability for political compromise, complete with the assertion that the “other side” caused the result, and the re-emergence of a little magnanimity in dialogue.

Some find a parallel with the current “Catholicism” of the Supreme Court, and a certain “punish, then determine guilt” attitude that some would contend it represents, upholding imagined problems (like voter fraud) with sanctimonious solutions (“Your papers!”) Perhaps they are related, this need for hurting, for correction before wrong, and distrust of the weak and ill-represented. Yet the Protestants have their traditions of Pain before Pleasure, and what some would call the Pain or Work Ethic. And the new Pope – not sure he would go along with Citizens United if it were up to him.

“It hurts me more than it hurts you!” Perhaps. But why measure hurt this way? Why this statement of “Superior Pain”? Why pain for pain’s sake? Sure, it “hurts” to pay taxes, and cutbacks are painful especially for programs of proven value to the economy. But such pain can be shared in reasoned compromise, where all suffer and all benefit. But No, that’s not good enough! It must hurt ME more than it does YOU! So Wall Street must wither, big banks must be twisted on the rack, and even the oil industry must suffer though delayed profit taking, and the country itself must writhe, as in a Prophecy of Pain, in order for the Party to relent from its destructive path.

Is there a cure? How does one treat such dysfunction?

. . . Perhaps if RR were alive and voiced his utter rejection of the current Party platform, which boils down to “kill universal healthcare or I shoot the dog” . . . ;

. . .Perhaps if “being a Republican” were a medical condition fully described in the DSM . . . ;

. . . . perhaps treatment could be found to assist this Grumpy Old Party of Partisan Purity, of Superior Rectitude, of CO2 Denial and Oil-based Affirmation, this Party of Impossible Principle and Paternal Righteousness, this Republican Party of Pain.


Inside the Pain Beltway
Arlington Virginia
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