Maybe he can’t help it

In my web browsing I am noting multiple articles and comments lamenting President Trump’s lack of empathy for the victims of fires in California.

Perhaps it is time that we accept that he may be unable to express himself that way because he is a sociopath. I’m not using the term disparagingly here, though I will admit to being hugely disenamored by his behavior and decisions. Rather, I use the term as a bona fide mental condition that is characterized by an inability, rather than a disinclination, to understand the feelings of others.

Associated behaviors include taking any route to achieve goals that are overwhelmingly focused on self-interest, even if it offends or injures others, compulsive lying in order to achieve outcomes or protect a position, never feeling the need to apologize. Sociopaths can’t help themselves, though successful ones do learn to pretend to have feelings for others that allows them to navigate among larger communities of people.

There is no question that our president is single-minded in the achievement of his agenda, a masterful negotiator, but we should not ignore the underlying circumstances of those talents. In a world of complex issues, differing perspectives and viewpoints needs to be recognized and accommodated, can we afford to be represented by someone who can’t, really can’t, find the middle ground? While I would like to feel empathy for this man’s condition, I am too scared and offended most of the time to be able to do so.

Bob Schatz

Spokane