Dear Free Press,

President Trump’s steady following among his base of support is worth a reflection. No matter how often he “spins” the truth on matters large or small, and acts like a “bully” to demean those who have another view, his followers persist.

Psychiatrist Scott Peck followed up his famous, The Road Less Traveled, with a rather frightening book entitled, People of the Lie, 1983.

A summary of People of the Lie found in Wikipedia, captures what Peck said:

“According to Peck an evil person:[9][10]

·         Is consistently self-deceiving, with the intent of avoiding guilt and maintaining a self-image of perfection

·         Deceives others as a consequence of their own self-deception

·         Projects his or her evils and sins onto very specific targets (scapegoats) while being apparently normal with everyone else ("their insensitivity toward him was selective" (Peck, 1983/1988, p 105[10]))

·         Commonly hates with the pretense of love, for the purposes of self-deception as much as deception of others

·         Abuses political (emotional) power ("the imposition of one's will upon others by overt or covert coercion" (Peck, 1978/1992, p298[9]))

·         Maintains a high level of respectability, and lies incessantly in order to do so

·         Is consistent in his or her sins. Evil persons are characterized not so much by the magnitude of their sins, but by their consistency (of destructiveness)

·         Is unable to think from the viewpoint of their victim (scapegoat)

·         Has a covert intolerance to criticism and other forms of narcissistic injury

Most evil people realize the evil deep within themselves but are unable to tolerate the pain of introspection, or admit to themselves that they are evil. Thus, they constantly run away from their evil by putting themselves in a position of moral superiority and putting the focus of evil on others. Evil is an extreme form of what Scott Peck, in The Road Less Traveled, calls a character and personality disorder.”

Peck also said that evil arises out of free choice.

All this being said, I think our culture, nation, and political systems are living on the edge of a precipice, like at many other times in history, when “People of the Lie” gave allegiance to a similarly elected leader.

Bob Krasen

President Trump’s steady following among his base of support is worth a reflection. No matter how often he “spins” the truth on matters large or small, and acts like a “bully” to demean those who have another view, his followers persist.

Psychiatrist Scott Peck followed up his famous, The Road Less Traveled, with a rather frightening book entitled, People of the Lie, 1983.

A summary of People of the Lie found in Wikipedia, captures what Peck said:

“According to Peck an evil person:[9][10]

·         Is consistently self-deceiving, with the intent of avoiding guilt and maintaining a self-image of perfection

·         Deceives others as a consequence of their own self-deception

·         Projects his or her evils and sins onto very specific targets (scapegoats) while being apparently normal with everyone else ("their insensitivity toward him was selective" (Peck, 1983/1988, p 105[10]))

·         Commonly hates with the pretense of love, for the purposes of self-deception as much as deception of others

·         Abuses political (emotional) power ("the imposition of one's will upon others by overt or covert coercion" (Peck, 1978/1992, p298[9]))

·         Maintains a high level of respectability, and lies incessantly in order to do so

·         Is consistent in his or her sins. Evil persons are characterized not so much by the magnitude of their sins, but by their consistency (of destructiveness)

·         Is unable to think from the viewpoint of their victim (scapegoat)

·         Has a covert intolerance to criticism and other forms of narcissistic injury

Most evil people realize the evil deep within themselves but are unable to tolerate the pain of introspection, or admit to themselves that they are evil. Thus, they constantly run away from their evil by putting themselves in a position of moral superiority and putting the focus of evil on others. Evil is an extreme form of what Scott Peck, in The Road Less Traveled, calls a character and personality disorder.”

Peck also said that evil arises out of free choice.

All this being said, I think our culture, nation, and political systems are living on the edge of a precipice, like at many other times in history, when “People of the Lie” gave allegiance to a similarly elected leader.

Bob Krasen