This post was first published as a column in the Cannon Beach Citizen, in the 1st congressional district of Oregon.

“We’re all mad here.” -- Lewis Carroll

Actually, Mr. Carroll didn’t say that. He merely put those words into the mouth of a furry character in one of his children’s books. Surely the man was as sane as the average deacon.

Yet the bounds of sanity shift as we venture through the land of words and pictures. Take it from me, your grinning columnist. Our mental health is mirrored in the stories that dominate our media. Public response to these stories reveals something important about society’s psyche.

Two case studies recently caught my eye:  one centered on a seven-term congressman, the other starring a seven-figure actor. I’ll focus mostly on the former here.

Several weeks ago, after a flurry of media attention, the editorial boards of several Oregon newspapers opined that Congressman David Wu (D-Portland) should resign his post. That struck me as a rash response to what I saw in the public record. “Premature,” was the word used by Steny Hoyer, Minority Whip for the House of Representatives.

What drove the media to circulate that opinion?

Based on published reports, Wu’s behavior has at times been erratic and temperamental, so much so that six of his staff members quit after urging him to seek medical assistance. We’ve learned he sought help in the past, and at one point had an adverse reaction to drugs prescribed by his physician. His decision to take an un-prescribed medication on another occasion showed bad judgment. This merited a public apology, which was given.

If that had been the extent of Wu’s story, however, I doubt the national spotlight would have fallen on him. What the congressman did to anchor public criticism was put on a tiger costume while celebrating Halloween with his children. He then sent photos of himself in the outfit to his staff. The pictures were publicized as implicit proof that Wu had flipped his lid.

Is this how Americans now draw the line with respect to mental stability? By saying that a parent who holds public office should not communicate with co-workers about playful antics with his kids?

If so, what we call sanity might be better described as social constipation. Maybe Washington’s stiff suits and stodgy scriptwriters should all don animal outfits for a week. They could exclude elephant and donkey costumes in order to foster trans-partisanship.

I’m neither Republican nor Democrat, but I can see how some leaders in both parties may want to remove Wu from the picture. Meanwhile, on the ground here in the 1st district, a precinct committee person with the Clatsop County Democrats told me their consensus is the media has “made a mountain out of a molehill.”

The close up of Wu’s tiger suit short-circuited our rational judgment, in my opinion. Reminds me of what happened to Howard Dean during his presidential bid, when news outlets broadcast questions about his mental stability based on his roar at the end of a campaign speech.

Repeat such clips again and again, and regardless of their relevance, we start to see them as signs of some deeper affliction. This tendency is tied to a predatory disorder that lurks inside human group dynamics. We’re prone to pounce on those who seem different. This helps the rest of us loonies feel like normal functioning citizens.

The fact that Wu is the only Chinese-American in Congress strengthens the impulse to see him as outside the norm. Not in his home district, perhaps, but I’m sure it played a role with other audiences when the national media ran with those photos.

It can play out differently if the person in question has a solid base of followers and is a mega-confident member of the white ruling class. Mainstream media reports of drug problems and other errant behavior haven’t dented the popularity of Rush Limbaugh, for example. I suspect Donald Trump could sport just about any eccentricity and the media’s coverage would bolster his branded empire, comb-over and all.

Which brings me to another fellow who’s been in the news at the same time as Wu -- a guy who claims to have “tiger-blood” and “Adonis DNA;” who brags to the masses about raising children in the same home where he parties with his cannabis cover girl and porn star “goddesses.”

Charlie Sheen lives large in his megalomania. Yet his kind of cuckoo isn’t compatible with the compelling characters in Wonderland. He’s not the March Hare or the Mad Hatter or the Cheshire Cat. I suppose some edgy director could cast him as the Queen of Hearts’ playboy, since he cottons to a similar vainglory.

But that’s about all the space I have here for a self-acclaimed “rock star” who’s probably no more crazy than the average person of his pay grade in Hollywood. Except to say it’s noteworthy how quick we are to boot some suits when mental health is questioned, yet boost the ratings of other apes who pound their chests for entertainment.

Somewhere beyond this mainstream headtrip is a kinder gentler madness that is safe and sound for children and adults. Oh to live in a land where popular people are neither big-headed nor boring. In my dreams we fall down a rabbit-hole that leads us there.

Cross-posted at FireDogLake.com.