Worldwide, 4% of the population — that’s 4 out of every 100, or 1 in every 25 people — has no conscience, which is the clinical definition of a sociopath.

 

Stop and think about those numbers for a minute. 1 in every 25 people… And while that statistic sounds ridiculously high the first time you hear it, after you think about it for a minute — the ever present crime, the hard drug cartels, the ubiquitous school bullies, the completely unnecessary wars which happen all over the world almost all of the time, torture, rape — that statistic starts to make sense. (See The Sociopath Next Door, The Ruthless versus the Rest of Us–Marcia Stout, PhD)

 

Such folks can do anything –absolutely anything– without feeling guilty. They do not have empathy for others. It’s a brain wiring issue. And these typically high energy, charismatic people wreck a great deal of damage in the world because the rest of us let them. Since the rest of us can’t imagine hurting others without feeling guilt or shame, we completely miss what the sociopaths among us are up to. While we feel bad about eating the last piece of cake, a sociopath enjoys getting more than their fair share. A sociopath lives for getting more than their fair share. They’re driven by power, not ethics.

 

In some cultures, say Switzerland or Japan, where overt narcissism or bullying is frowned upon, it’s difficult for sociopaths to make much headway. But in cultures like ours, where bad boys are celebrated and outlaws become famous, a clever sociopath can take an express elevator right to the top.

 

Unless we want the USA to be completely ruled by sociopaths from here on out, we need to stop letting them get away with things. We need rules. We need laws. And we need to enforce those rules and laws or those who do not play fair are going to come out on top, every time, from here on out.

 

Everyone knows Trump didn’t win the last Presidential election. Everyone knows the ‘Big Lie’ is exactly that. But we’re still letting Trump hold our entire country hostage. Everyone knows there is no reason for Russia to annex Ukraine, but Putin is still getting away with waging an unnecessary, bloody and horribly damaging war on a neighboring country.

 

Sure, Donald’s useful if your aim is to pack the Supreme Court with conservative judges or block all legislation proposed by the opposing party. But, in the long run, are such goals really worth sabotaging free election results? Do we really want to establish the precedent of whatever it takes to win? That’s not democracy, folks. That’s a sure slide into chaos. That’s Putin’s Russia. The boss says it, we do it…

 

Let’s get beyond the childishly naive idea that ‘everyone’s gonna play nice,’ because the sociopaths among us are not ever going to play nice. Let’s make lying to the public for personal political gain HURT. Let’s make tampering with election results HURT. Let’s make attempted political bribery HURT. Let’s make evading taxes and profiting from the Presidency HURT. Let’s make refusing to testify or pleading “The Fifth” over and over again in one of our courts HURT.

 

Let’s stop pretending that the sociopaths among us are ever going to play fair, and start holding them accountable when they don’t.