The Man with Blue Eyes

Form Follows Function?

Although the media has not picked up on it, there has been a great deal of chatter on the internet in regards to the cognitive structure of Republicans versus Democrats. As a true believer that "Form Follows Function" which I always thought was reversed, shouldn't it read, Function Follows Form? Might have something to do with my Dyslexia or Lysdexia as I frequently describe it. We may all harbor the illusion of free will, but we are really wired to respond in prescribed ways, much of it an interaction between our cognitive structure and environmental influences. We are also quite familiar with the effects the environment has on our cognitive structure as well. Since so much of our neural circuitry is chemical in nature, it is subject to change. PTSD is one of most powerful examples. Individuals who undergo a traumatic event with heightened sensory awareness; in a war theater, or violent assault are forever changed, they perceive things differently and react accordingly.

RPSD -Republican Party Stress Disorder

I say all this not to suggest that members of the Republican Party have been exposed to trauma or abuse, rendering them apathetic and insensitive to the plights of others, but there are a lot of studies that point to their inability to care about others, only themselves, hence the frequent description of the narcism of a Ted Cruz, or Scott Walker, or Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity. Similarly many "second amendment" types are so obsessive in their need for self-protection, their guns, that they are oblivious to the suffering of parents and others who have lost loved ones to gun violence. Many are so self-absorbed, that they think only of their own needs for food and shelter and the pleasures of life, and are completely apathetic when it comes to the needs of the poor, or the immigrant, or people of color.

The Sad Man Behind Blue Eyes

I am not making excuses for them, only suggesting that rather than this being a matter of choice for them, it is a function of their psychological wiring, their cognitive structure, that drives them to be the sad examples of human forms they are. Democrats, on the other hand, have brain structures that prevent them from ignoring the suffering of others, manifest feelings of guilt when they fail to act (make the right choice), and drives them to advocate for the poor, the immigrant, the disabled, and members of minority groups. We can't help ourselves, and neither can the sorry lot of human beings who call themselves Republicans. It brings to mind a song by The Who, on Tommy, "No one knows what it's like to be the sad man, to be the bad man....behind blue eyes."

Man to Man?

I think this goes a long way to explain the impasse the two parties reach as they attempt to negotiate. It also brings to mind something someone once said to me. I was bemoaning the fact that I was unable to resolve a long running dispute with a superior at work. I confided in an associate, "I just would like to sit down and have a man to man conversation with him," I said. He replied: "Only one problem. You're short one man." How true that was.