Suckers for Socialism

I don’t know of anybody who thinks that Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have anything close to a real marriage.

Bill Clinton’s sexual addictions/compulsions – resulting in sexual harassment, if not rape – are well-known.

So why does Hillary Clinton find it politically advantageous to appear in public with her husband, going through the motions of having a happy, healthy marital relationship?

I know that Hillary Clinton is a liar, as are most politicians.

But the real question is: Why do people like to be lied to? So many people, at that?

Consider the context. Politicians like the Clintons perpetuate one of the biggest lies of all time – socialism. They can rename it “progressivism” or whatever they wish; but lies are lies.

The best definition of socialism, as a lie, came from nineteenth century French thinker Frederic Bastiat:

“The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else.”

Bingo. That’s what socialism is. That’s what Democratic-Republican socialism is. Bill and Hillary Clinton are central to the great fiction by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else.

Bastiat went on:

“Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all. We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education. We object to a state religion. Then the socialists say that we want no religion at all. We object to a state-enforced equality. Then they say that we are against equality. And so on, and so on. It is as if the socialists were to accuse us of not wanting persons to eat because we do not want the state to raise grain.”

Socialism props itself up with unearned guilt, as Bastiat points out. Bill and Hilary Clinton have made full-blown careers out of “shaming” the productive and the accomplished into giving most of it up to the government.

It stands to reason that people who fall for this kind of lie will likewise fall for the more obvious, self-evident myth that these two people – Bill and Hillary Clinton — feel anything like authentic romantic love or dedication to one another (or anyone).

You might think of it as romanticism or idealism gone horribly wrong. How? It starts with the false belief that self-sacrifice is the central purpose of any individual’s life. The Clintons run with it, from there.

Do most of us want to sacrifice ourselves? No. But we’re told it’s the ideal, and in varying degrees most of us have bought into it.

How do you square self-sacrifice with personal responsibility? After all, if you run around sacrificing your health, money and well-being for everyone else, you won’t be very responsible, will you? That’s where professional do-gooders like the Clintons come in. They’re there to make sure you never have to own responsibility for yourself. It validates their own sorry lives, and gives them a false sense of meaning and purpose while pursuing power and “glory.”

And what about self-esteem? Our government schools shove “self-esteem” down our throats, without ever really defining it. And then these same government schools turn us out into the real world and expect us to believe our central purpose is what people like Bill and Hillary Clinton tell us – to sacrifice and work for the sake of others.

Self-interest and individualism versus duty, sacrifice and self-denial. These are central questions in politics; but they are also central questions in psychotherapy. I confront these issues with people every single day of my job. I find that people are riddled with unearned guilt and unnecessary energy spent on trying to please others.

Socialism, like the “ideal” of self-sacrifice upon which is relies, is an especially vicious lie, because of all the damage done by the delusions it perpetuates.

It takes liars and cheaters to make a Big Lie, such as socialism, seem plausible. Who better suited for the task than this lying, cheating, deceiving and glorified criminal couple?

Show me someone who cheers and applauds the sight of Bill and Hillary Clinton appearing as a loving “couple,” and you will have shown me the perfect sucker for socialism.

You can follow Dr. Hurd on Facebook. Search under “Michael  Hurd” (Rehoboth Beach DE). Get up-to-the-minute postings, recommended articles and links, and engage in back-and-forth discussion with Dr. Hurd on topics of interest. Also follow Dr. Hurd on Twitter at @MichaelJHurd1