Freedom
Now, on to freedom. Our goal is to have all of our patients, families, colleagues, and communities able to live without fear that our leaders are not able to apply humanitarian principles to keep all of us safe. The next few months are crucial. Americans must speak out and debride the wound that bullying intentionally causes. Just as with a school bully, Mr. Trump’s behavior has to be called what it is, not sugarcoated or normalized.
History is full of critical moments in time in which, even in our fear, we said nothing. Even the most empathic of us watched the bully at school and felt relief that his behavior was not directed toward us. But we must not avert our gaze.
Bill Moyers and Michael Winship compared Mr. Trump to Sen. Joseph McCarthy, whose reign of terror was ended when journalist Edward R. Murrow courageously spoke out in defiance of the senator. At the end of one of his segments on “See It Now,” Mr. Murrow concluded as he signed off:
We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men — not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular.9
And, so, how do we cope?
Fortunately, we understand bullying. The bully doesn’t take over the entire school and won’t have the power to take over one’s entire life if the behavior is brought out in the open and openly discussed. But bullies need to accept responsibility, which is what Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada and other legislators urged President-elect Trump to do in days immediately following the election.10 They have called on him to discourage the fear, anger, and violence leading up to and following the election. This action on Mr. Trump’s part would promote a vitally needed national healing process.
Ultimately, this is “the land of the free, the home of the brave …” and we will do what we have always done as psychiatrists and mental health professionals who help to heal wounds. Not all of us will participate in social justice initiatives. However, each of us can listen with intense compassion and interest to those with whom we identify politically and to those whose views diverge from our own. This is our most potent tool in a conflict where we don’t understand the motives of unpredictable leaders or their followers. It is only with this skilled listening that a space is created in which each “other” hears the “other.” This is where real healing begins.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors, and are not meant to represent the views of the American Psychiatric Association, Novant Health, Clinical Psychiatry News, or any other organization.
References
1. http://billposters/story/trump-virus-dark-age-unreason
2. http://blackdoctor.org/495036/national-medical-association-statement-on-police-use-of-force
3. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/28/upshot/donald-trump-twitter-insults.html?_r=0
5. http://www.obamaonthecouch.com
6. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/us/politics/donald-trump-interviews.html
7. “The Nature of Prejudice,” (New York: Perseus Books Publishing, 1979).
8. DBT® Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition (New York: The Guilford Press, 2014).
9. http://billmoyers.com/story/trump-virus-dark-age-unreason
Dr. Dunlap, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who practices in Washington, is the immediate past president of the Washington Psychiatric Society, and associate clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at George Washington University, Washington. She is interested in the role “difference” – race, culture, and ethnicity – plays in interpersonal relationships and group dynamics. Dr. Ifill-Taylor, a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, is in practice as a medical director in Charlotte, N.C. Previously, she was in private practice in the Washington area and worked as a staff psychiatrist for the Department of Veterans Affairs. She is particularly interested in the effect of our social, political, and occupational environment on mental and physical health.