STATE OF CONFUSION STATE OF CONFUSION POLITICAL MANIPULATION AND THE ASSAULT ON THE AMERICAN MIND DR. BRYANT WELCH THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS ST. MARTIN'S PRESS NEW YORK THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS. An imprint of St. Martin's Press. STATE OF CONFUSION. Copyright © 2008 by Dr. Bryant Welch. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States ofAmerica. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010. www.thomasdunnebooks.com www.stmartins.com Book tksign by Jrmathan Bennett Ubrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Welch, Bryant, 1946- State of confusion : political manipulation and the assault on the American mind I Bryant Welch.-1st ed. p. em. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-312-37306-1 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-312-37306-6 (alk. paper) 1. Manipulative behavior-United States-History-21st century. 2. Political culture-United States-History-21st century. 3. United States-Politics and govemment-2001- L Title BF6325.W45 2008 155.8'973-dc22 2008011065 FU"St Edition: june 2008 w 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 DEDICATION To my family My father, Ervin Welch, whose love, wisdom, and integriiy have bem the constants qfmy lfft and who taught me through his example that govem­ mmt can be as good as we an wrlling to make t~ My wfft, Debbie, the most beauttfol woman I know, who has .for over.forty years done nothing less than make my worldfeelfamrliar My sons, Lucas and Tucker, who have taught me that somettines things just work out very, very well through no fault qfmy own My artist sister, Manlyn Hotes, who I hope has not absconded wr~h all qf the famrly creativriy Wt~h love and gratr~ude CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................. ix 1. THE ASSAULT ON THE AMERICAN MIND: Gaslighting ...... 1 2. THE MIND: Reality Sense, Perplexity, and Regression ........ 15 3. STATES OF CONFUSION: Paranoia .................... 27 4. STATES OF CONFUSION: Sexual Perplexity .............. 57 5. STATES OF CONFUSION: Envy ........................ 81 6. THE GASLIGHTERS: Architects of False Realities .......... 107 7. FOX NEWS: Speaking Power to Truth ................... 135 8. THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT: Faith-Based Reality .............. 159 9. THE ASSAULT ON PROFESSIONALISM ................ 183 10. POLICY IMPLICATIONS: The Real Fleecing of America ...... 213 11. THE POLITICS OF REALITY: Battleground States ......... .241 NOTES ......................................... 257 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................. .269 INDEX ......................................... .273 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My thanks go to Tom Dunne and his staff at Thomas Dunne Books and St. Martin's Press for making this book possible. In addition to Tom Dunne, I have benefited from the suggestions of editors Mark LaFlaur and Erin Brown and their assistant, Lorrie McCann. My agent, William Clark of William Clark Associates, lent his credibility to the project. I was most fortunate both to have him represent me and for his guidance throughout. Walt Bode's diverse professional editing skills and extensive experi­ ence in the publishing field were also invaluable throughout the preparation of the manuscript. I am fortunate to have lived in the worlds of psychology, law, and politics. They provided the experiences that shaped this book. In the psychology community, Dr. Richard Wolman made many helpful suggestions for the chapter on religion; Dr. Toni Thompson and Dr. Pam Winton did the same for the section on education. Dr. Nancy McWilliams read the entire manuscript and lent her vast clinical expertise and support to the project. Early in the development of the ideas for the book, Dr. Gil Ger­ ard provided helpful theoretical input. Chuck Zapiec shared his unique perspectives on religion and has been a wonderful friend throughout this process. Jean Perwin, Esq., provided legal assis­ tance. Ervin Thompson, M.D., made valuable comments about the manuscript. While this book reflects my own idiosyncratic view of the mind, it evolved from clinical supervisors who, while personally ACKNOWLEDGMENTS very diverse, shared a wonderful capacity to foster independent clinical awareness and judgment. I am especially indebted in this regard to David P. Rogers, Ph.D., who showed me that the in­ mates often have far more humanity than those who run the asy­ lum, to William Burlingame, Ph.D., for his extraordinary professional judgment, and to the late Mary G. Clarke, who had a Zen-like wisdom witnessed by everyone who knew her and who taught me the folly and destructiveness of all attempts to fit patients into the procrustean bed of psychological theory. In the 1980s, I filed a successful class action antitrust suit against the medically controlled American Psychoanalytic Asso­ ciation to open psychoanalytic training to clinical psychologists and social workers. Immediately after the "cessation of hostili­ ties," I trained at one of their institutes, the Washington Psycho­ analytic Institute. I am grateful to the Washington Institute and to my supervisors there, Richard Waugaman, M.D., and John Kafka, M.D., not only for their clinical skill, but also for the open­ ness and kindness with which I was received. Most of all, I am in­ debted to the late Roger Shapiro, l\'I.D., whose professional influence shaped the psychological thought in this book more than any other person. Roger enabled me to experience the mind in ways that I never could have without him. He helped me see that our inner emotional experiences often hide in the unrecog­ nized recesses of our mind and take flight from our awareness in amazing and highly idiosyncratic ways. l\tlost importantly for this book, he helped me see that our ability to experience our own true self is ultimately a quasi-political psychological struggle that takes place inside each of us. I learned much about ·washington politics and organiza­ tional dynamics while working at the American Psychological ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi Association. Dr. Faith Tanney, Dr. Nathan Stockhamer, Donna Daley, Clifford Stromberg, Arnold Schmeinder, Ph.D., Helen Desmond, Ph.D., and Patrick Griffin made enormous contribu­ tions to the ideas expressed in this book from that period, and I consider all to be invaluable friends. My fellow psychologist/attorney Bruce Copeland, J.D., Ph.D., not only spoke the bizarre language that results from mixing psy­ chology and the law, but he carried a special burden during this period by serving as my best friend. Other psychologists who should be acknowledged include Dr. Rebecca Goz, Dr. Harry Whitehorse Parad, and Dr. Marc and Judith Mann. In the legal arena, I learned invaluable lessons working with distinguished attorneys James Overholser, Mathew Quint, Robert Jenner, and Kenneth Curtis. The legal world is a jungle full of predatory monsters. Thus, their friendships are appreciated even more than their considerable legal acumen. I met and benefited from knowing hundreds, if not thousands, ofwonderful psychologists across the country. They are without question an extraordinary blend of understanding, intelligence, and kindness. I do not believe any profession has loftier values than psychology. At the same time, it is important in making the acknowledg­ ments for this book to say that along the way I encountered evil as well as goodness. It was not until I got to Washington that I encountered the kind of clever and often diabolical political ma­ nipulations that have ultimately proven so valuable to under­ standing political deception and manipulation. These occurred in many places, even in the inner sanctum of the American Psy­ chological Association. While those experiences were at times distressing, at this point in my life, I would not have missed them XII ACKNOWLEDGMENTS for the world. They, more than any others, helped me finally un­ derstand and conceptualize the pages that follow. My wife, Debbie, is an extraordinarily talented designer and builder. More than anyone, she was the architect of this book. My recurring personal mental image while writing the book was to framing a house. What made it especially difficult was the sense that I had to drive every nail with my head. Debbie pro­ vided badly needed support and stability, and read every chapter, critiquing and suggesting. She is an integral part of every line, and without her, the book simply would not have happened. STATE OF CONFUSION CHAPTER 1 THE ASSAULT ON THE AMERICAN MIND: GASLIGHTING I don~ want to just end the war; I want to md the mind-set that got Its into war. -SENATOR BARACK 0BAMA merica is rapidly becoming a nation psychologically unable Ato confront its problems. From the \Vhite House, from the media, and from the pulpit, Americans have been deceived by predatory political forces into fighting a disastrous war, squan­ dering our national wealth, destroying our standing with other na­ tions, and neglecting badly needed initiatives at home. It is a series of failures that will haunt America for generations to come. And the consequences will not end simply because George Bush leaves office. America has been gaslighted. Gaslighting is an insidious set of psychological manipulations that undermine the mental stability of its victims. These techniques have invaded our media, infil­ trated our churches, and attacked our most basic free institutions. For millions of Americans, the techniques have altered the way they think, feel, and act. It has been nothing less than an assault on the American mind. State of Confusion explains from a psychological perspective how and why these manipulative and destructive techniques are now deeply embedded