Confusion of Tongues by Gustav Doré

IN THOSE YEARS
by Adrienne Rich

In those years, people will say, we lost track
of the meaning of we, of you
we found ourselves
reduced to I
and the whole thing
became silly, ironic, terrible:
we were trying to live a personal life
and yes, that was the only life
we could bear witness to.

But the great dark birds of history screamed and plunged
into our personal weather
They were headed somewhere else but their beaks and pinions drove
along the shore, through the rags of fog
where we stood, saying I.

It's a popular myth that today's youth are particularly narcissistic and that the pastime of navel-gazing has reached an historic high among the new generation fascinated by YouTube, networked by Facebook and self-exposed through Twitter. But as psychologist Jeffrey Jensen Arnett has written, such "glib generational generalizations" are inaccurate and unfounded.

I'll probably get in trouble for saying so, but I think it's conservatives of any age who tend to be most narcissistic.

When I saw how many young people flooded into the political process during the campaign of president Obama, I was overwhelmed with joy for the republic. Given a leader who could inspire, America's youth weren't the sullen, self-absorbed slackers they were portrayed as being; they were positively inspirational in and of themselves! By hard work and earnest hearts, they showed they care deeply about the country. They care about others, not just about themselves.

In my work canvassing for a congressman, I've knocked at the homes of all kinds of people, from all walks of life and of all ages. And here is what I see:

America is fragmented, polarized and deeply divided along the lines of ideology and information. No surprise there.

Democrats and Republicans alike have offered me a cold drink of water on hot, muggy evenings when I've knocked at their doors in my trademark sweat-soaked shirt. Bipartisan chivalry is still alive in America, and that does surprise me somewhat. (No, I wasn't expecting Republicans to offer a Democratic canvasser anything better than polite scorn.)

Does that help my case? No. So why do I say that Republicans tend to be the most narcissistic people in these United States? Simple.

Nothing--and I mean NOTHING--in Republican principles advances any concept of "We, the People." Republican philosophy is completely and totally about "I, the Person."

Taxes? Don't tread on me, say Republicans. In other words, they don't give a damn and they'd rather not give a dime for the needs of their countrymen.

Civil rights? I already have mine, say Republicans. They don't want to hear how others don't have all of theirs.

Government spending? It's a commie, social welfare plot to redistribute my wealth to someone else, say Republicans.

Health care reform? Double the above response, say Republicans. It won't benefit me, so it must be unimportant or worse.

Anytime a Democrat proposes anything, the first thing out of a Republican's mouth is that it will hurt somebody (them). Nothing Democrats propose ever seems to help anyone. And if it does, like, say, extending unemployment, then there's always a downside that supersedes the up side. And the down side is always spending and taxes. Always taking and not giving. Always depriving me who has much to help him and her who have next to nothing.

And him and her always got where they are in life because of their bad choices--never, ever by circumstance. Lost your job because your company's credit dried up? Your fault. Lost your home because you lost a job or had to take a pay cut or reduction in hours? Your fault. Lost your marriage because you couldn't get health insurance and didn't know your wife was schizophrenic? Your fault.

The entire concept of a social safety net is antithetical to Republican beliefs. In the minds of the GOP faithful, it's not that shit happens; it's that God punishes you because you're not worthy.

And don't take away the guns of a Republican. It's his right to own as much firepower as an aircraft carrier. After all, it's his Constitution, not yours--until he wants to amend it. For that matter, the country itself belongs exclusively to him--and he wants to "take it back" from people trespassing on it.

Republicans do not believe in enlightened self-interest. They believe only in a stark self-interest. They cast their votes in childish tantrums of narcissism, for themselves only and never for the good of the country as a whole.

Me. I. My. Mine.

Not us. Not ours. Not "We, the People."

So yes, I'm a little shocked that some Republicans bother to offer a thirsty Democrat a sip of the most abundant resource on the planet. I wonder if it hurts them to do so.