The Narcissist In All Of Us

Dr. Pat Santy over at Dr. Sanity has an excellent post on Narcissism, and this is only part one. I can't wait for part II. As is typical of the good doctor, she is both eloquent and on target. A sample:

"But what is not generally or readily seen (either on the Left or Right) is the flip side of "selfish" or "grandiose" Narcissism-- and that is what I will call Narcissism rooted in idealism, rather than selfishness, or "idealistic" Narcissism. This second kind of Narcissism (the flip side of the coin, if you will) is less obvious to an observer, since it is disguised with a veneer of concern for others. But it is equally�if not more�destructive and causative of human suffering, death and misery. Both kinds of Narcissism are a plague on the world; and both are well-travelled avenues for limiting freedom and imposing tyranny. The "grandiose" Narcissism is the stimulus for individual tyrants, while the "idealistic" Narcissism leads to groups imposing their will on others. We will talk more of this in Part II."

I await the second part with bated breath. You will too. Go read the whole thing!!!!

UPDATE: While reading the comments to Dr. Pat's article, I came across another site posted by a "Shrink" in ShrinkWrapped - A Psychoanalyst Attempts to Understand Our World. As does Dr. Pat, the author of this site has a great take on the subject. Go read it too. You'll be glad you did.