Dr. Ben and Politicians

Last night, Shari and I watched some of Charlie Rose's interview of Ben Carson. We often tune in to Charlie to check out who is on his show. My impression was that Charlie was pretty disgusted with Dr. Ben, but Charlie is an experienced and professional interviewer. He didn't reveal too much in his facial expressions, and nothing in the tone of his questions.

What got my goat, aside from Dr. Ben's glib attitude, was towards the end of the segment when Charlie asked what Dr. Ben thought distinguished him from the other presidential candidates. The answer? "I'm not a politician."

Okay. What do you call someone who has entered an election race for office? An electrician?

Dr. Ben's distinction is that he is a politician without any experience whatsoever. So when is inexperience a qualification for a profession? But, among some of our less critical thinking electorate, inexperience is the ultimate qualification for the highest office in the land.

Which makes Dr. Ben and Donald Trump similarly "qualified". In the world of demagoguery, "inexperience" means "qualified", and up is really down. The two leading Republican candidates for president are similarly inexperienced. So when Dr. Ben answered that not being a politician was his distinction, he also endorsed Trump's qualifications. Some distinction.

But there is an additional quality that Benny, Dumpy, and too many of the other Republican candidates share: intolerance. Among too many of the Republican base, the idea of compromise is heresy. Ask John Boehner. These people live in a world of black and white where facts, understanding, representing other views, and an exchange of ideas all disqualify a person for office. In a world where up is down, the quintessential qualities of a politician in a democracy — representation of others and compromise — are loathed as weaknesses.

Others, notably comedians, have already observed that the same egotistical demagoguery and simplistic intolerance of Trump are the qualities of dictators, not statesmen. I suggest that Dr. Ben is also better suited to serve as a dictator rather than a politician.

It's ironic that Dr. Ben interprets the Nazi holocaust in the light of gun control. Benny may be a highly educated brain surgeon, but he is a complete knee biter when it comes to social studies. Benny, the National Socialists obtained power in Germany during the Great Depression because they were popular. Enough people responded to simplistic demagoguery to form a base for the National Socialist party. Like Trump and Carson, the self-absorbed leader of that inter-war movement didn't care a whit for compromise or people with differing views. Enough people wanted a leader, and the leader thrived on simplistic solutions and scapegoats.

If Dr. Ben wants to draw a lesson from Nazi Germany for the voters in United States today, it's not the dangers of gun control. It's mistaking intolerance for leadership.