A Psychologist's Open Letter to U.S. Voters [View all]

[damnedifIknow]

Dear Fellow Voters:

I've been watching all the presidential candidates with great interest—and deep concern. Concern for us. Concern for the fate of our country. Concern for our world.

As an expert on narcissism, I'm not especially worried that narcissists might make it to the White House. According to research , they've always been there. And that shouldn't scare us anyway, because just to be clear: being a narcissist is not a diagnosis . It never has been. Narcissists are people higher in narcissistic traits than the average person, and while they may or may not be disordered, they all share one thing in common: They feel special . Some feel special enough to lead a nation, in fact.

So what we should be far more concerned about is not whether or not politicians are narcissists—most are —but how healthy they are. And that's where you come in. You have the power to shape the future of this country.

Politicians are groomed by us—by our applause, by our polls, by our votes. Whatever you seem to love or hate, they'll embrace or reject. So be careful what you applaud or attack. It matters what they—and all the little future leaders watching them—think you want in a leader.

That's why this isn't another rant about Donald Trump being a narcissist because:

a) Did you really need an expert to tell you that?

and b) We don't need another article or book about obvious narcissists, because apparently we're pretty good at recognizing (link is external) them already."

More: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/romance-redux/201509/psychologists-open-letter-us-voters