Last updated on February 8th, 2013 at 03:51 pm
One of the most difficult and under-appreciated jobs in America is being a public school teacher for myriad reasons, but none more than dealing with children whose parents coddle them from birth and inculcate them with the notion they can do no wrong. It is a disservice to children, and teachers, for parents to indoctrinate their child to believe that not only are they perfection exemplified, but that their excellence makes them immune to authority. Most teachers have experienced a student who refuses to follow instructions based on their deep-seated belief their superiority exempts them from following directions or adjusting to social norms. Early primary grade teachers have an especially trying job because they may be the first real authority figure the blessed student interacts with, and possibly the first non-family member who either corrects them or gives them negative feedback for improper behavior.
There is no dearth of analysis of the 2nd presidential debate on Tuesday, and critics and pundits alike weighed in on the exchanges between Romney and President Obama as well as the fine job the debate moderator, Candy Crowley, pulled off during tense exchanges as Romney and the President answered questions posed by audience members. However, there were several instances during the debate that a seasoned school teacher may have noticed that Willard Romney exhibited all the characteristics of a petulant child who was corrected, and challenged, for the first time in their life. Whether it is due to his cult’s belief that Mormon males are without fault and princely from the age of twelve, or because he was born into wealth and privilege, Willard had the look of disbelief that anyone on Earth dared to doubt, challenge, or correct his stunning lies and misinformation, and for the first time in the campaign, his vapid, soulless eyes showed emotion.
It was not surprising Willard stood and lied time and time again, it is what pathological liars do, but his insolence, rude behavior, and blatant disrespect for the President, moderator, and debate rules he agreed on was stunning. What Romney verified was that he presents symptoms of anti-social personality disorder that informs his “narcissism, extreme sense of entitlement, and intolerance for authority figures” that he put on display for 65-million Americans in Tuesday’s debate.
One of the rules Romney agreed on was no questions from one candidate to the other, and Romney broke that simple rule often. It wasn’t just that he asked President Obama direct questions, he harassed him and at one point told the President “answer the question, answer the question” as if he was the authority figure and the President was his employee or a witness being grilled by a slimy defense attorney. In one exchange, Romney asked the President about oil drilling permits, and he interrupted and badgered the President by repeating the question 6 times before he stopped running his mouth, and then interrupted the President again and told him “you’ll get your chance in a moment, I’m still speaking.” It was, without a doubt, typical of an arrogant spoiled child used to bullying his parents that educators see from children who never learned social convention whether it is in a school setting, at home, or at family functions, but one never expected to see such rude behavior from a presidential candidate.
Romney also attempted to bully and manipulate the moderator as he had done in the first debate, except Ms. Crowley is not Jim Lehrer and at one point she told Willard, “if I can have you sit down governor Romney;” it must have stung Romney to have anyone, much less a woman, tell him, in essence, to sit down and shut up. One wonders if anyone, male or female, ever gave Willard Romney a direct order he had to follow, because this was not Bain Capital’s board room, or a Mormon temple event, but a nationally televised debate witnessed by 65 million Americans and there is little question it flustered Romney when he realized he was not in charge. Romney failed to appear presidential, because he is an overbearing bully used to never being challenged, and it plays out every day in public schools by children whose parents are either too in awe, or too frightened, to discipline their child to function normally in society, public school, or a presidential debate.
Romney challenged the moderator, disrespected the President, and showed America he is rude, obnoxious, and a schoolyard bully borne of arrogance, entitlement, and inability to acknowledge authority. One observation psychologists make regarding sufferers of ASPD is their behavior closely resembles that of convicted felons unable to recognize they are not a law unto themselves, or that as members of civilized society they are required to demur to authority, rules, and social conventions. School teachers are hardly surprised when petulant, overbearing children find themselves in trouble with the law as adults, and they can cite the same behavior and attitude Willard Romney displayed in the first two debates.
What should concern voters is how Romney could work with Democrats if he brings his overbearing boardroom-boss style of governance to negotiations with Congress, or worse, if he meets with foreign leaders. What the people witnessed was a man unwilling to follow social norms of mutual respect that good parents teach their children long before they reach school age. It is safe to say that every public school teacher has witnessed, at some point in their career, the Willard Romney’s of the world in their classrooms, and because their parents treated them as entitled little gods they become socially inept bullies who lord their arrogance over classmates, teachers, and their parents until they end up in jail or the CEO of Bain Capital.
No-one really knows what shaped Willard Romney into the self-important, arrogant malcontent he is today, but it appears that between his life of wealth and entitlement coupled with his religious upbringing as a princely god-in-waiting, he was molded into a disrespectful bully who cannot bring himself to show deference to the President and in fact, treated him like an underling or worse; a cursed-by-god dark-skinned man unworthy of respect.
President Obama won the debate on Tuesday, and he won using facts and challenging every one of Romney’s lies and deceitful assertions. He also exposed Romney as a fraud because when his lies were stripped away, and the bully was smacked down, what was left was a sniveling little brat who has never been challenged or corrected. When he was confronted as a liar and bloviate incapable of showing deference to the President or debate moderator, he was exposed for what he really is; a bully that a school teacher would report as antisocial and in need of immediate intervention.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn't look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
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