As I read headlines today, and thought about how the Obama administration is responding to something, it occurred to me that they are suffering from group think.This isn't a throw-away comment, it is more of a diagnosis of a psychological illness on a social level. It wouldn't be so bad if this illness was affecting some crossroad town in somewhere USA. Sure, that place might be destroying some people's lives, but the damage of the socio-psychological illness would be isolated.
However, in the case of the group-think in Washington, DC, the illness is at the center of power where decisions are made, or aren't made, that affect the world. OK, so I'm saying the obvious and it's even got a label: Beltway Mentality. There are even blog posts about "fighting beltway mentality." I remember the ladder-climbers in DC, even in the progressive organizations supposedly devoted to good causes. But it's more than just ladder-climbing... it's ... group think. Which is part of the reason I left the DC scene.
So, today when I experienced that natural reaction of, "Wow. Our leaders have group think," in the sense of a clinical observation is.... was just a wee bit sobering and frightening.
Just saying the obvious. I suppose we should fight DC group think.
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