Stay informed when making decisions

Last week, I discussed the manipulation of fear and how some politicians can use this process to influence the thoughts and actions of others.

I also provided some ways of spotting these manipulations in order to avoid being victimized.

So how do we know whether the beliefs and public positions of our leaders are sincere or simply a means to perhaps advance a covert agenda? One way is to observe their personal behavior. Do they practice what they’re preach or are they simply being hypocritical?

Take Neil Ferguson, for example — the former epidemiologist at Imperial College in London. He’s the one who’s credited with convincing the British government that imposing a complete lockdown was necessary to control COVID-19. He reportedly predicted 500,000 deaths without it. But did this “expert” follow his own advice?

Of course not! According to the Daily Telegraph, he was enjoying a secret rendezvous with his married girlfriend who lived on the other side of town a no-no by his own coronavirus rules, as well as decrees imposed by the government.

What about the controversial Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City? Despite his strict lockdowns, he was caught working out at the YMCA. But at the same time, he told his fellow New Yorkers to rat out anyone they saw violating his rules and issued a special text number to make it simple to do so.

And whom do you suppose got ratted out? You guessed it: de Blasio, himself. A citizen found the mayor and his wife 11 miles from their home walking in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Was this chaufferdriven trip an example of “essential” travel?

And then there’s

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who got a haircut - even though salons and barbershops were ordered closed. Apparently, the mayor of Chicago is immune to her own edicts, as she made excuses by stating the following:

“I’m the public face of this city. I’m on national media and I’m out in the public.”

You’d think untrimmed hair and foregoing a color touchup would be the message a leader would want to display under these circumstances. But once again, the rules do not apply to those who make them.

Oh, and let’s not forget Beaumont, Texas, Mayor Becky Ames. She got her nails done during the lockdown. I guess she never knows when a news camera might slip and accidentally photograph her hands. That certainly would be a tragedy.

So far, these folks are just the ones who have been caught. No doubt, several political elites are doing similar things but have managed to remain out of the spotlight.

So how do we get such blatant examples of hypocrisy from these “experts” and politicians? One possible explanation is that positions of power can be quite attractive to narcissistic and sociopathic personality disorders.

Briefly, a person who is a narcissist believes he or she is special and therefore, does not have to follow the same rules as everyone else. The have a sense of entitlement and expect people to comply with their wishes and commands without question.

They are known to take advantage of others and lack empathy. They either don’t understand or don’t care how their self-centered behavior negatively affects those whom they view as inferiors. Arrogance is a characteristic that most of them display openly.

Sociopaths are the classic con artists. They can be very convincing, charming and can easily sway the emotions and beliefs of others. They are chronic liars. As with narcissists, they also lack empathy. A sense of selfrighteousness and arrogance is characteristic of this personality style as well. Sociopaths have no genuine guilt or remorse when their behaviors harm others. They have no conscience.

No doubt you can think of several politicians that fit one or the other category. Of course, not all people who choose political careers have these personality styles. These traits also can appear in any profession or other walks of life - including clergymen, journalists, professors, attorneys, judges and even health care professionals.

So the point is, as discussed in last week’s column, if you want to avoid being “conned,” or misled, stay informed and consider many sources of information when making judgments. Retain a healthy degree of skepticism. A number of people in positions of power not only have sizable egos, but compromised integrity and owe allegiances to a variety of sources for which you may not be aware. Thus, their messages may not always be a source of reliable information.