Advocacy
In Defense of Right-Wing Conservatives
A
scotoma is a visual defect or blind spot.
People with this condition cannot see objects
that fall within the affected area in their
visual field. It’s as though the objects are
just not there. Fortunately, in most cases,
slightly shifting one’s point of view brings the
objects into view.
The term scotoma is also
used in psychology to refer to an individual's
inability to perceive, often bothersome,
personality traits in themselves that may be
obvious to others. They are blind to these; they
do not exist.
I believe that there is yet
another condition; a powerful ideological
scotoma that presents its victims with a
distorted view of the world. Facts and truths
that fall outside the bounds of their ideology
do not exist and are not processed as part of
logical thinking. This condition, suffered by
many Right-Wing Conservatives, is a kind of
mental illness giving rise to illogical behavior
and the creation of elaborate campaigns filled
with fabrications and cleverly stated
misinformation.
It’s not their fault; we have to
be tolerant they just can’t see what is right
before them. Confronting them with credible
facts furthers their disillusionment resulting
in more bizarre fabrications.
I do not know of an effective
treatment for this condition; for friends and
family I suggest that achieving personal
maturity may alleviate some of the symptoms.
Asking questions in a private forum sometimes
allows them to hear how out of touch they are
and leads to a shift in point of view. Searching
for common ground is always a good strategy.
I wonder and worry about our
world often - but then sometimes I just wonder
what’s for supper; these are the best times.
“Whatever
is, is right.” –Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
