Trego's Mountain Ear

Years ago, a therapist named Virginia Satir coined the phrase ‘crazy maker’. 

“Crazy”-Making | Psychology Today gives a definition of crazy making:

“What is a “crazy”-making behavior? It is behavior that is made to sound very logical and practical, but which actually makes no sense and/or serves to give options that only punish the abused. The double-bind is one of the primary “crazy”-making behaviors.”

Politics seems to be a place that is encouraging the crazy makers.  As I pick up the mail, Jon Tester and Tim Sheehy photographs look at me – first from my mailbox, and then, accompanied by many others, from the trash bin where I deposit them unread.

I’m not particularly affected by the crazy makers who talk about Trump and Harris.  Montana’s electoral votes will be going to Trump, and it doesn’t make any difference if I say good things or bad about him.  The crazy makers can’t affect me if I realize that nothing I do or say will make a difference.  On the other hand, we have seen two people attempt to assassinate Trump.  They drank the Kool-Aid. 

The system seems to encourage crazy making.  We have two choices for President – somehow, out of 330 million Americans, we’re left with picking Trump or Harris.  The statistical likelihood of either actually being the best the nation has to offer approaches zero – but that’s the choice we have.  If that gets folks who are mentally healthy otherwise to either don MAGA caps or move into Trump Derangement Syndrome, what can we expect from people who are a bubble or two off plumb?  It may not be that great a stretch from deciding that Trump is the new Hitler, out to destroy democracy, to taping a scope onto a rifle and stalking the man across a golf course.  

As I look locally – Jon Tester has convinced me that Sheehy has no redeeming virtues.  On the other hand, ads from Sheehy’s side have pretty well convinced me that I could select a better Senator than Tester by throwing a rock at a Cat-Griz game audience and anointing whoever yelled “Ouch!”  with the position.  The reality is something different – I’m certain each man is easy to get along with.   And I’m glad that Montanans – arguably the best armed citizenry in the nation – aren’t grabbing rifles to stalk either man in Bozeman or in Big Sandy.

So I’ve argued myself into looking at a system where crazy makers control the story.  I’m back to Shakespeare – Macbeth, I think: “It is a tale, told by an idiot.  Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Satir and the psych folks look at individuals who are crazy makers – yet we live within a system that promotes crazy making.  Perhaps the real wonder is that we’ve only had a couple of people so far off plumb that they have tried to go out and shoot a presidential candidate. 

As for me, I have some great candidates to vote against.  At all levels.

“The problem with educating stupid people was that they didn’t know they were stupid. The same went for curing crazy people.” ~ Chuck Palahniuk