Acquired/Induced Bush Derangement Syndrome

On December 5, 2003 Dr. Charles Krauthammer, a trained psychiatrist coined a new term for a then recently discovered psychiatric syndrome. Then name of that syndrome became known world wide as "Bush Derangement Syndrome" and it apparently afflicts approximately 30% of the populace of the United States, 50% of England, 75% of Germany and 137.33% of the population of France (They always did go overboard on these things.)

The term became so well known and applied to so many, that if you do a Google Search you will get about 11,000 entries. A Yahoo Search produces almost 38,000 entries and a Dogpile search of other search engines lists 65 search engines with BDS listed.

Although not listed in DSM IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision) of the American Psychiatric Association, it's definition is fairly clear as postulated by Dr. Krauthammer.

BUSH DERANGEMENT SYNDROME: the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency -- nay -- the very existence of George W. Bush.

The signs and symptoms of BDS are all around us, afflicting some otherwise seemingly intelligent and articulate people. This is especially true since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Perhaps, in the case of Afghanistan, it is because the predicted mass starvations and 10's of thousands of American Body Bags weren't filled, though too many were. Perhaps in Iraq, it is because the terrorists have been re-branded as insurgents and "freedom fighters." What ever the source, BDS is the symptom, rationality remains the cure.

Today, BDS has a new, very public, very sympathetic, very grieving celebrity; a mother named Cindy Sheehan. In fact, I propose that Ms. Sheehan is afflicted with a new variety of BDS which I shall name Acquired/Induced Bush Derangement Syndrome. Like Dr. Krauthammer, I will give a definition:

Acquired/Induced Bush Derangement Syndrome: In an otherwise normally grieving individual, A/I BDS is the presence of irrational thinking patterns, of a paranoiac mindset that allows the victim to espouse such phrases as

We wanted to use the time for him to know that he killed an indispensable part of our family and humanity,"

and

We need to get our troops out of Iraq. The only reason Bush wants to stay there is because his buddies are getting rich and feasting off the blood of our children,"

that has been fostered by those individuals who attempt to portrey Mr. Bush in as bad a light as is humanly possible regardless of the consequences to others.

Note the phraseology, "...he killed an indispensable part of our family..." and "...feasting off the blood of our children." A number of conservative bloggers indicate that Ms. Sheehan has "flip-flopped" on the issue, being somewhat glowing regarding her meeting with President Bush in Fort Lewis in 2004 and how she feels now. Drudge, Malkin, O'Reilly and others have made note of what she said then and what she is saying now. Media Matters for America Attempts to "de-bunk" the conservative POV and states that Ms. Sheehan didn't put the same meaning to what she said as did the conservatives. Well, dear readers, I'd have to say that there are some qualitative differences in the two POV's of Ms. Sheehan, but I'm not her so I can neither guess her motivations nor her thought patterns, though she and others seem to have no problem guessing the motivations of Mr. Bush.

I do know however, that the MSM is playing this up for all it's worth, a grieving mother attempting to accost the President to let him know how much the death of her son has affected her. Well, Duh! Of course it has. If you Google "Cindy Sheehan" you will get, are you ready for this, some 729,000 hits. Seven Hundred Twenty Nine Thousand. I checked out the first 10 pages (some 100 mentions) and found that the vast majority of these mentions were from left wing blogs/sites.

I'm not going to question the grief that Ms. Sheehan is experiencing. I know that when my sister died in 1990, my parent's still felt the grief to the very day that they died, eight and ten years later. That is not disputable. What I'm curious about is who is behind the media circus that this has caused. Is Ms. Sheehan, despite her belief that the war was a mistake, being used because of her grief? In the counseling/psychology/psychiatry profession, secondary relationships between the therapist and client are forbidden by both law, and by codes of ethics precisely because the client is in a emotionally vulnerable position.

Can I prove that Ms. Sheehan is a victim of A/I BDS? No, but I know grief and how it affects people. I know that unscrupulous individuals will stop at nothing to gain their goal. I know that Ms. Sheehan is a grieving mother, one who has lost her son tragically.

I also know that this has a significant impact on her family with lines drawn in the sand as it were. Ms. Sheehan and some family members on one side, Grandparents and other family on another side, each claiming the high road. That in and of itself is a tragedy.

But politics, the war, and media attention tend to focus on tragedy. The end result is that Ms. Sheehan makes intemperate statements that Mr. Bush killed her son. No Ms. Sheehan, Islamo-fascists killed your son. They killed thousands in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. They have killed hundreds of thousands of their own people, they have used bombs, suicide bombers, chemicals, retarded teen-agers and children as bomb carriers, they have used ambulances to deliver ordinance and they have used terror to foster their fascistic POV with the stated goal of bring Shaira law to the world, a world under a Caliphate where Islam is the only religion allowed.

That Ms. Sheehan and others don't see this is also a tragedy, for they have their heads collectively buried in the sand. And a storm is coming!

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